Politecnico di Milano is leading an international consortium dedicated to improving resource efficiency in the construction and automotive sectors through metal 3D printing. The consortium's goal is that additive manufacturing technology will help usher in a new era of increasing customization and optimization, allowing companies to reduce waste and energy consumption during the steel manufacturing process.
30% of all waste produced annually in the EU comes from the construction and demolition industries, according to the European Commission. That's why an international research project coordinated by Politecnico di Milano is focused on reducing the carbon footprint of the sector and the automotive industry through innovative 3D printing technology for steel.
ConstructAdd
ConstructAdd is funded by the European Coal and Steel Research Fund and brings together companies, technology, and research centers from five European countries to improve resource efficiency in the steel industry.
"The main goal of ConstructAdd is to bring metal 3D printing technology into regular use in the construction and automotive industries. This is because the current goals of governments around the world and society at large are to reduce carbon emissions and address waste issues. These problems, which are particularly challenging for the construction industry, cannot be easily solved with conventional techniques, simply because conventional techniques were invented for problems from the past," said project coordinator Dr. Alper Kanyilmaz.
Specifically, ConstructAdd aims to demonstrate that the adoption of metal 3D printing can reduce energy consumption by about 30% and generate less waste during manufacturing. In addition to the Politecnico di Milano, ConstructAdd's project partners include the IMDEA Materials Institute in Madrid, the University of Pisa, RWTH Aachen University, Prima Industrie S.p.A., BLM Group, Det Norske Veritas, CIMOLAI SPA, VALLOUREC, MIMETE and ArcelorMittal Vitry.
"In view of the fact that around one third of all waste generated worldwide each year comes from the construction industry, steel production has an important role to play here. The manufacturing processes currently available cannot be easily optimized, and a lot of material is wasted. For example, in the cutting and welding of steel plates. In addition, conventional design techniques use a lot of material in places where it is not needed and place it in unnecessary places," says Dr. Kanyilmaz.
This is where 3D metal printing becomes relevant. Printing custom parts and connections from scratch eliminates the production of scrap metal that would otherwise be a byproduct of making parts from an existing steel plate. The manufacturing process can be streamlined, and it allows greater flexibility for contractors, who can print specific components on-site instead of relying on them to be shipped.
"When we talk about additive manufacturing, there are already some very interesting results in other industries. For example, some small houses are being built out of concrete using this method. Steel comes into play when printing critical components that can be integrated into larger structures. Steel is much more resistant and ductile compared to other materials. So it offers more opportunities to produce more complex geometries that can withstand higher loads and fatigue," Kanyilmaz says.
Steel 3D printing is particularly attractive to the construction industry because of its high strength-to-weight ratio, tensile strength, flexibility, and versatility. The EU is currently the world's second-largest steel producer after China, producing more than 170 million tons of the metal annually.
