Amsterdam Bridge Paves the way for 3D Printed Cities

In Amsterdam, the world’s first 3D-printed bridge has been inaugurated. Constructed of steel, it stretches 12 metres and weighs 4500 kilos. I was assembled using robotic arms with welding equipment to build up the framework.

From start to finish of the printing process, it took six months; then the 3D design was moved to its current site via the Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal in the heart of Amsterdam, where it is now accessible to bikes and walkers.

The innovation does not stop with the bridge’s construction process, with at least sensors added to the infrastructure. These will be used to track constantly changing variables such as stress, movement, shaking, and temperature during its everyday use. This information will then be fed into high tech machinery that can identify patterns which could highlight areas that may need to be changed or upkept.

The potential of this project extends beyond bridge design, with the creators optimistic that this is the first step to constructing entire buildings using the same 3D printing technology.

According to Mark Girolami of the University of Cambridge, problems that occur with bridges are so often attributed to undetected deterioration. Therefore continuous collection and analysis of statistics could give early indications of trouble with time to stop these problems becoming a danger.
“One of the things that we found is that the strength characteristics are dependent on the orientation of the printing. But what was in some sense surprising was that the baseline strength was what you would expect of just rolled steel, and it actually increased in some directions.”