Amazing Science

Following four years of planning and research, the world's first 3D printed footbridge recently opened to the public in Europe.

The almost 40-foot bridge, unveiled last month, was built by Dutch company MX3D and will serve as a "living laboratory" in Amsterdam's city center.

Researchers and engineers at Imperial College London were able to 3D-print the bridge — which now serves pedestrians and cyclists crossing Amsterdam's Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal.

From Guns To Chocolate: The Possibilities Of 3-D Printing
"A 3D-printed metal structure large and strong enough to handle pedestrian traffic has never been constructed before," said Imperial College London professor Leroy Gardner in a news release.

A 12-meter 3D-printed pedestrian bridge designed by Joris Laarman and built by Dutch robotics company MX3D has been opened in Amsterdam six years after the project was launched.nAna Fernandez/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett Designers first created the concept for the bridge in 2015, with the goal of making an "exceptionally efficient structure," emphasizing both simplicity and safety, according to Popular Mechanics.

3-D printers can make airplanes and their parts, food and more — why not entire buildings? A professor at the University of Southern California aims to print out whole houses, using layers of concrete and adding plumbing, electrical wiring and other guts as it moves upward.

Behrokh Khoshnevis is a professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering and is the Director of Manufacturing Engineering Graduate Program at the University of Southern California (USC). He is active in CAD/CAM, robotics and mechatronics related related research projects that include the development of novel Solid Free Form, or Rapid Prototyping, processes (Contour Crafting and SIS), automated construction of civil structures, development of CAD/CAM systems for biomedical applications (e.g., restorative dentistry, rehabilitation engineering, haptics devices for medical applications), autonomous mobile and modular robots for assembly applications in space, and invention of technologies in the field of oil and gas. His research in simulation has aimed at creating intelligent simulation tools that can automatically perform many simulation functions that are conventionally performed by human analysts. His textbook, "Discrete Systems Simulation", and his simulation software EZSIM benefit from some aspects of his research in simulation. He routinely conducts lectures and seminars on invention and technology development.

It would use a movable gantry taller than the house you want to build. Concrete pours out and is set down layer by layer, like a typical 3-D printer would sinter plastic together. It could be ideal for emergency housing, commercial or low-income structures, but it could also be used to print out customized luxury homes, according to Khoshnevis. Or, he adds, it might be ideal for the moon or Mars. “Contour Crafting technology has the potential to build safe, reliable, and affordable lunar and Martian structures, habitats, laboratories, and other facilities before the arrival of human beings,” his website reads.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdbJP8Gxqog