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World Industrial Reporter » Innovation » NTU 3D Prints Bathroom Unit in Less than a Day

NTU 3D Prints Bathroom Unit in Less than a Day

May 23, 2019

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NTU Singapore has created a new record of sorts by 3D printing an unfurnished bathroom in less than a day.

Once printed, the bathroom can be furnished with toilet fittings to become a prefabricated unit.

According to the researchers, there is enough space to include a sink, mirror, shower, toilet bowl, ceramic tiled walls and flooring, complete with concealed drains and piping.

The new process has been heralded as a game changer, as it could help firms build Prefabricated Bathroom Units (PBU) about 30% more quickly and 30% lighter than current PBUs.

According to the engineers, the printing process takes half the time needed in the construction of a conventional bathroom unit using concrete casting.

The fittings, tiling and finishing on the other hand, take another five days to complete.

The new innovation is based on a joint research between NTU associate professor Tan Ming Jen’s team, Sembcorp Design and Construction, and Sembcorp Architects & Engineers.

According to the researchers, the 3D printed bathroom aims to improve productivity through the use of digital and robotic fabrication methods.

PBUs are usually cast from concrete and completely pre-assembled offsite with all necessary finishes and fittings, ready to be lifted and installed in a building project.

3D printing a bathroom unit could help manufacturers halve their production time while lowering transport costs, carbon emissions and materials wastage.

“By being able to print-on-demand, companies can save on their inventory costs as well as manpower costs, as they don’t have to hold as much stock and their workers can be redeployed to do higher-level tasks,” says Tan.

“This approach improves the safety of the workplace, since robots are doing the construction of the bathroom unit.”

The printing is carried out in a single build using a 6-axis KUKA Robotic arm, which has a reach of about 6 meters in diameter.

The specially designed concrete mixture is then fed to mixers and pumped out of a nozzle mounted on the robotic arm, depositing the material layer by layer according to the digital blueprint.

The walls of the PBU were printed in a W-lattice shape to save material and lend additional strength to the final structure, apart from inducing weight savings of up to 30%.

Image and content: NTU Singapore

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Filed Under: Additive Manufacturing, Innovation

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About Aruna Urs

Aruna is an industrial journalist. He writes on innovations that emanate at the intersection of science and engineering having a profound impact on the manufacturing sector.

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