Embedding a polymer grid during printing has transformed 3D-printed concrete into a material that carries 41% greater loads and bends 552% further before failure.
That change shifts the technology from brittle demonstration pieces toward structural elements that can absorb stress without breaking apart.
Strength during printing
Under fresh concrete, the flexible mesh sat between neighboring layers rather than resting on top after printing.
Inside a modified printer at the University of South Australia (UniSA) the team made reinforcement part of the print path.
By feeding the mesh through a second nozzle just behind the concrete nozzle, the machine pressed it into place under the layer’s weight.
Printing the reinforcement in place also raised a harder tradeoff,…