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If you walk along the Oudezijds Achterburgwal Canal in Amsterdam, you will notice an elegant and aesthetic steel bridge for pedestrians. Without the media attention it garnered, you would even consider it a regular feature of the city’s architecture. But this sensor-laden bridge is actually the world’s first 3D printed steel bridge, according to a press release from Imperial College London.
Printed by four robots in just six months, the bridge heralds a new start in additive manufacturing. Most 3D printing projects, whether designed for space or fast infrastructure, use proprietary inks or starting materials. This bridge, however, uses steel, a tried and tested construction material, and is actually an experiment to test whether it can find applications in 3D printing.
“A 3D printed steel structure large and strong enough to handle foot traffic has never been built before,” Imperial co-contributor Professor Leroy Gardner of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering said in a press release. . “We tested and simulated the structure and its components throughout the printing process and upon completion, and it’s fantastic to see it finally open to the public.”
The project, launched in 2015, used multi-axis robots to heat steel to 2,732 ° F (1,500 ° C) and built the bridge layer by layer. The nearly 12-meter-long bridge is made of nearly 4,500 kg (10,000 pounds) of stainless steel. Considering the way the bridge was built, it was fitting that a robot be used to inaugurate it. Queen of the Netherlands Maxima pressed a green button to set in motion a robotic arm fitted with a pair of scissors to cut the tape and open the bridge to pedestrians and cyclists.
The bridge is also equipped with several sensors that will collect data on stress and vibration when people use it in various weather conditions. This data will then be fed into a “digital” replica of the bridge that will help researchers better understand the behavior of 3D printed steel over a period of time. It will also help them identify areas that might need maintenance or modifications and use this information for larger construction projects.
The project was carried out thanks to the collaborative efforts of MX3D, a Dutch startup specializing in metal 3D printing, researchers from Imperial College London and the Alan Turing Institute.
“3D printing is fast becoming a major technology in engineering and we need to develop appropriate approaches for testing and monitoring in order to realize its full potential,” said Professor Mark Gilorami, of the Turing Institute, who led the project.
The 3D printed bridge is expected to remain there for a period of two years, while the original bridge is undergoing renovations.
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