The world’s largest construction 3D printer is ready to be sent to The Middle East
We told you back in March about how COBOD International had sold its BOD2 construction 3D printer to the Saudi Arabian company Elite for Construction & Development Co. This version of the BOD2 is the largest construction 3D printer in the world. It is able to print buildings of up to 12 x 27 x 9 meters, meaning that three storey buildings of more than 300 square meters per storey can be made with this machine. After selling the BOD2 to the Saudi Arabian construction company, COBOD successfully completed the dry and full testing of their 3D printer – it is now ready to be shipped to the Middle East.
The CEO of COBOD, Henrik Lund-Nielsen explained, “We are excited to have completed the manufacturing and testing of this enormous 3D construction printer. The Saudis wishes for such a size of the printer once again proved our choice of creating the BOD2 printer via a modular system. No other company would be able to deliver a printer with the same capabilities, and we are very proud to provide our Saudi partners with a printer capable of constructing buildings of a size not seen before in the market.”
The world’s biggest 3D construction printer to be delivered to Saudi Arabian construction company Elite Construction & Development Co | Credits: COBOD
The future of construction in Saudi Arabia
This is part of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 vision. The Kingdom is preparing to build, using 3D printing, more than 1.5 million private houses within the next 10 years. The BOD2 is part of this ambitious project to disrupt the construction sector by introducing a completely new technology. It all started with the construction of the small private house in Riyadh and since, multiple private and public organisations have shown interest in this segment of additive manufacturing. Jakob Jørgensen, Head of Technology at COBOD, adds “Developing a modular 3D construction printer as BOD2, we didn’t expect to produce a model as big as this one, so soon after releasing it to the industry. But we have been fortunate to have Elite for Construction & Development Co. believe in our system, and I’m looking forward to travel to Saudi Arabia, setup their BOD2 and start the training of their operators.”
Rendering of buildings possible to be constructed with the the BOD2 5-11-4 version, soon coming to Saudi Arabia | Credits: COBOD
In terms of technical specifications, the BOD2 could reach a printing speed of up to 1000 mm per second according to the Danish manufacturer. Even though in practise some limitations have hindered the full speed of the machine, there is tremendous potential. Michael Holm, Head of R&D at COBOD explains, “This is by far the most impressive printer we have produced, and as all the BOD2 printers delivered this year, it lives up to our high standards of speed and quality with its special designed steel structure, weather sealed electronics, high level of control and safety features. During our live print testing of this printer we reached a speed of 35 cm per second, which marks another record. Very small demo houses have been printed around the world the last 2 years, but with a 3D construction printer like this , the technology is now taking another major leap forward, as we are able to print 300 square meters in 3 storeys and we are able to do it very fast.”
You can find more information HERE.
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