Completion of the entire construction of the 3D printed post-office building in Bengaluru within 45 days proves that cost and time savings make 3D-concrete printing technology a viable alternative to conventional building practices which would take up as long as six to eight months to get the job done.
India got its first ever 3D-printed post office building at Cambridge Layout in Bengaluru on Friday as Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw unveiled it. As per media reports, the building has a built-up area of 1,021 square feet. The officials of the Department of Posts said that the office would be functional following the inauguration.
According to the postal officials, the construction of this post office building was carried out by construction company Larsen & Toubro Limited alongside a technical guidance and supervision from IIT Madras.
Completion of the entire construction within 45 days proves that cost and time savings make 3D-concrete printing technology a viable alternative to conventional building practices which would take up as long as six to eight months to get the job done.
After the inauguration, Vaishnaw, who holds the Railways, Communications, Electronics and IT portfolios, said: "The spirit of development, the spirit of developing our own technology, the spirit of doing something which was considered impossible in the earlier times. That's the defining feature of these times."
According to the minister, the building contruction deployed 3D-concrete printing technology, which is a fully automated building construction technology. This modern technology leverages robotic printer that deposits the concrete layer-by-layer following the pre-approved blueprint of design. A special grade concrete is also used in this project that hardens quickly to ensure bonding between the layers to print the structure.
"Having a 3D-printed concrete building constructed on site is a great initiative. This is a technology demonstrator. IIT Madras has done fabulous work on this. When this technology will become mainstream, we will see more such initiatives on taking this technology forward," Vaishnaw told reporters.
He also added that nobody had ever thought that India would be developing its own 4G and 5G technology. "Nobody ever thought that India would manufacture its complex telecom equipment."