Dutch Company Planning to 3D Print Functional Steel Bridge

MX3D will test build a bridge before determining whether the real bridge will be built live on site or built off site and moved to location

Manufacturing.net
A visualization of the MX3D Metal technology 3D printing a bridge over a canal in Amsterdam.
A visualization of the MX3D Metal technology 3D printing a bridge over a canal in Amsterdam.

Dutch research and development company MX3D is planning to 3D print an ornate metal bridge over a downtown canal in Amsterdam. In October the team will create a full-scale test bridge. The final bridge will either be printed at the test lot and moved to location or printed live on location depending on the final destination site.

The team and designer Joris Laarman, who is spearheading the project, have created an additive manufacturing method called MX3D Resin which is able to form 3D objects on any surface, independently of its inclination and smoothness, without any additional support structures.

The team also developed MX3D Metal which combines an industrial robot with a welding machine and software to drive the combination. The MX3D robot can print with metals including steel, stainless steel, aluminum, bronze and copper.

(more on MX3D's plans to build a 3D steel bridge...)

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