Last year Fortex Pty Ltd secured the exclusive Australian distributorship of Denmark-based COBOD International’s 3D construction printing (3DCP) technology, a world-leading technology which provides operational efficiency, cost control, freedom of design, labour management, and sustainability.
Compared to conventional construction, 3DCP enables a substantial time reduction in delivering a wall system, while utilising 99 per cent locally available raw materials. Importantly, the material costs when using concrete in conjunction with 3DCP are lower, as well as the amount of labour required.
The BOD2’s 3DCP process uses a modular truss structure that can be scaled to suit both small and large projects and a proprietary slicer that converts CAD files to 3D printable files in minutes, removing the need for robotic programming.
Fortex Chief Executive Officer David Lederer told Green Review that at a time when many homes were needed quickly, 3DCP would make the difference. He explained: “To best illustrate the time savings, we can utilise a .dwg file of a design and slice it with the printer software to determine a relatively close estimation of the print time, as well as the amount of material required. As an example, utilising a design of a 210-square-metre, single storey three-bedroom and two-bathroom, Fortex calculates a print time of 70 hours for the entire wall system.
“That is very different to conventional building, even when ignoring the supply chain delays around inputs such as timber – we are reliant [only] on locally available raw materials to feed the open-source batch plant, pump, and printer.”
Image courtesy COBOD International
3DCP uses a product called D-Fab that was developed by COBOD in collaboration with CEMEX, which comprises around 1 per cent of mix volume to allow the pumpability of concrete through the printer, and then uses accelerators to rapidly set the concrete once extruded through the print head.
The innovative process emphasises sustainable construction, producing minimal waste. COBOD has also experienced CO2 emissions reduce by 50 per cent since early builds using mortar to the transition to concrete.
This is notable since conventional building is associated with high volumes of carbon emissions and waste, with around a third of Australia’s waste in 2020-21 attributable to construction according to the National Waste Report 2022.
Lederer added: “Unlike other 3D printing systems that rely exclusively on mortar, which is much higher in cement content and therefore substantially more expensive with a higher embodied carbon dioxide content, the opensource design allows for various mixes of concrete and the ability to determine a mix comprising fly ash or slag for instance, to achieve a further CO2 reduction.”
Though customers can determine their own mix, Fortex has engaged Swinburne University to work with them during the mix design development and testing phase, which promises further development in this area.
The 3DCP technology itself can also operate on electricity instead of diesel, while batching is conducted on site so emissions associated with materials production and constant delivery are also reduced.
Lederer said that since announcing the distributorship in mid-2022, there had been very strong interest in the product and technology from builders interested in utilising it, through to homeowners wanting their home built with 3DCP.
He continued: “The market is clearly ready to build in methods other than conventional.
“We see opportunity in the full breadth of what 3DCP offers, be it from affordable housing applications to architectural designed homes of a premium nature to commercial and industrial projects as well as prefabrication applications.”
In its current form, the COBOD BOD2 printer utilised by Fortex is the highest sold and utilised for builds internationally, and is already capable of printing a 9.1-metre or three-storey building.
A key aspect of the 3DCP technology is its freedom of design, such as printing curved walls for the same cost as a straight wall.
Lederer said the technology provided architects and designers a new platform that had a greater level of freedom, even allowing control over the finish, with a natural textured finish or a smoother finish being possible as layers are trowelled by the print head.
He continued: “One of the aspects of COBOD that attracted us is that they are a technology company focused on furthering the technology, which is reflected in their quick adaptation and improvements to the BOD2 based on market feedback at an operational level.
“These upgrades are in most cases retrofittable to the equipment ensuring minimal obsolescence. There has been substantial progress to date and there is much more in the pipeline.
“The equipment is designed as modular and based in 2.5-metre increments, which allows for the reduction in printer size applicable to smaller jobs, and the addition of additional modules to scale for larger projects.”
Lederer said he expected the 3DCP process would increasingly automate home builds in the future.
Fortex is focused on introducing COBOD International’s 3DCP technology to market in a measured way to ensure it delivers better outcomes for residential builders and homeowners alike and is confident about establishing the technology with a proof of concept in 2023.