How Cybe wants to "relearn how to build" with 3D printing of concrete

How Cybe wants to "relearn how to build" with 3D printing of concrete

The Dutch company presented its 3D concrete printing technology at Viva Technology, which runs until June 17 in Paris. On the occasion of this event, the start-up shows a partnership with Bouygues Construction. Goal ? "Relearn to build".

This is a first in a show: the company Cybe demonstrated at the Viva Technology show its ability to print complex shapes in concrete. The Dutch start-up, created four years ago, printed its first major building - 168 m2 - in Dubai a month ago. Special feature of this building dedicated to drones - the R & Drone Laboratory -: its complex forms. "The impression of concrete began a little less than a decade ago," said Bart Vaessen, head of Cybe's economic development, "but this is the first building printed directly on site, and not not in pieces in a factory "


The advantages over conventional construction methods: print for cheap, fast, forms impossible to achieve with concrete and conventional methods, for a concrete that Bart Vaessen says "stronger and harder than normal concrete. "

A concrete that dries in a minute!

In terms of materials, Cybe had to work on the chemical additives that go into the composition of the concrete to control the rheology of the material, its setting time, and its viscosity. Rheology is the holding of concrete under the effect of constraints. A first layer, in particular, must be able to support a second layer. The setting time of the concrete must also be extremely fast, of the order of the minute. This is not without problem as regards the management of the manufacture of concrete at the foot of the robot, but can drastically reduce the drying time! Finally, the viscosity of the concrete must be such that it can be pumped by the robot and "printed" without being too solid or too liquid!

On the hardware side, Cybe has used some of the existing industrial robots on the market (here ABB) but has designed a custom print head for these applications. In addition, the robot can then integrate on different media, such as caterpillars, to move on all types of terrain.

On the software side, 3D concrete printing is like other 3D printing processes, based on the same file format. "We start from the BIM to make a 3D model, from which it is simple to make a small model to present to the customer, then print the building itself," says Bart Vaessen.

Relearn how to build

If he considers that his concrete printing technology is one of the best on the market, especially with regard to the holding of the material, Bart Vaessen explains that the company, now composed of ten people, sees further. "We want to learn to build again," explains Bart Vaessen. With this technique, the different parts of the construction, from design to finalization, are much more integrated, and must be so that it works. Everyone works together. "

With this in mind, "relearn how to build", Bouygues Construction announced that it is collaborating with Cybe, testifies Roland Le Roux, Head of Open Innovation and Virtual Reality at Bouygues Construction. "What interests us in this technique is flexibility," explains Roland Le Roux. "Flexibility as shape but also on costs and speed. We could not have built the building in Dubai with classical materials. We should have had molds made by subcontractors, which could have taken a month, and once the concrete poured, it would have taken three weeks to dry! "

In addition to the construction of buildings, including a building that should be "printed" next to the headquarters of Bouygues Construction, Cybe plans to use its technology for the construction of non-standard wells, and eventually believes possible the construction of tunnels. the same way.

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