Additive Manufacturing in the Construction Industry:

Getting Beyond the Hype

Mitch Pryor 2William O’Brien 1 Raissa Ferron 1

Salvatore Salamone 1Maria Juenger 1 Carolyn Seepersad 2

1 Dept. of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering (CAEE)2 Dept. of Mechanical Engineering (ME)

Patricia Clayton 1

The University of Texas at Austin

EXPECTATIONS

TIME

The Hype Cycle

Peak of Inflated Expectations

Plateau of Productivity

Slope of Enlightenment

Trough of DisillusionmentTechnology Trigger

• First-generation products• Lots of customization needed• Mass media hype begins

• Negative press• Company failures

• 2nd-generation products• Best practices developing

• High growth• 20-30% adoption

Gartner’s Hype Cycle for 3D Printing, 2016

Macro printing

3D Printing in ConstructionThe Hype The Reality

EXPECTATIONS

TIME

Peak of Inflated Expectations

Plateau of Productivity

Slope of Enlightenment

Trough of DisillusionmentTechnology Trigger

• Embrace “low-hanging fruit”

• Fill gaps in current construction technologies

• Learn from AM advancements in other sectors

Realistic Expectations

Novel Forms

Dead Cholla cactus

Evilldesign.com

ARUP

Forms in construction:

Forms in nature:

Nonstructural Components

www.constructionmanagermagazine.com

Aesthetic 3D printed cladding

Skanska

3D Printed Molds

http://additivemanufacturing.com/2014/10/30/stratasys-and-worrell-accelerate-medical-device-development-with-3d-printed-injection-molds/ www.freefab.com

Process-Structure-Property (PSP)

Safety & Reliability

Standardized testing, reporting, & databases of large-scale AM parts are critical!

(Example from Sandia National Labs)

Property Uncertainty

Boyce et al. (2017)Load EffectResistance

Structural Design

Thank you!