Formwork and scaffolding manufacturer Peri is creating the first concrete 3D-printed house in Germany.
The construction is taking place in Beckum, northern Germany.
Named BOD2, the 3D concrete printer is operated by two people and follows the 160sq m, two-storey house’s design, leaving gaps for pipes and services. Manual work, such as pipe installation, can proceed while it is printing, according to Peri.
A camera monitors the print head and the cementitious layers as they are extruded. Peri said that with a linear print speed of one metre per second, the BOD2 is the fastest printer on the market. It can print a square metre of double-skin wall in five minutes.
Peri believes printing will take its place in German residential construction. It said other projects are now being drawn up.
"3D construction printing fundamentally changes the way we build and the process of residential construction," said Leonhard Braig, the company’s production and supply chain director. He added that the Beckum house was good practice and that costs would come down with more experience.
The 3D concrete printer is made by Danish firm Cobod, which Peri acquired a minority stake in two years ago.
HeidelbergCement subsidiary, Italcementi, created the cementitious material, called i.tech 3D, specifically for 3D printing.
Peri’s BOD2 3D concrete printer in action in Germany
