3d Printing Technology in Construction Industry on-Site: Analysis of the Implications

Abstract

Technology has accompanied human race since ancient times through tools that were invented to facilitate his life, which has changed his traditional lifestyles. Use of technology has become a fundamental requirement for all societies. In a world, its title is speed and its identity is progress, today humanity begins a new phase of change as it stands on the threshold of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which was built on the basis of digital revolution but offers many new technologies related to the automation of the industry. One of the important technologies that plays a major role in this revolution is 3D Printing (3DP), which is one of the most flexible manufacturing methods, and has seen significant development in recent years in many fields. Architecture also had a significant share, not only in design where 3DP was associated with architectural models, but also in the construction industry, where recent studies have been conducted to develop 3DP for manufacturing of buildings, where the site is considered a temporary factory in which the building is manufactured. I.e., its use has transformed into the construction industry, which is one of the vital pillars of development in any country for its benefits to society and the economy. However, little is known about the current role of this technology in the construction industry. Besides, this industry, with growing demand for buildings' construction at the local level, faces many challenges that negatively affect the economy, society and the environment, thus reducing its effective and pivotal role in the development process. Within this context, this study seeks to analyze the impact of using 3DP technology on the various corners of the construction industry on-site, namely: the stage of preparing the architectural working drawings, building implementation phase, and the architectural output. Besides extracting what has changed from the general culture of the construction industry through this technology. By reviewing the stages of preparing architectural working drawings for the 3DP process, in addition to studying some international experiences of buildings constructed using 3DP. Then, the study proposes a methodological framework to apply 3D construction printing technology on the local scene. As such, the study concludes by presenting the most important research findings and proposed recommendations.