3BUILD

Scope

The scope of 3BUILD was to design, develop, and validate a novel large-scale 3D printing system for constructing concrete buildings and structures.

More specifically, the project covered:

• The engineering design of an innovative 3D printer capable of building full-scale structures.
• The development of specialized cementitious materials, mortars suitable for 3D printing.
• The integration of automation technologies, such as CAD/CAM and CNC-like systems, for fully automated construction.
• The construction and testing of prototypes, both small-scale and full-scale.
• The experimental validation of structural performance, including seismic behavior.
• The demonstration of real building construction through an approximately 80 m2 house.

Impact

The main goal of the 3BUILD project was to bring 3D printing in construction, for the first time in Greece, beyond laboratory and small-scale applications and into real, full-scale building production. Its expected impact is substantial: faster and more automated construction, reduced labor costs, less material waste, safer building sites, and greater freedom to create complex architectural forms that are difficult or costly to achieve with conventional methods.

By developing a portable, deployable 3D printer in combination with tailored printable mortars, 3BUILD aims to enable advanced construction even in remote or challenging locations, such as islands and mountainous areas, while meeting structural and seismic safety requirements. Ultimately, this technology seeks to deliver a competitive technology capable of modernizing the construction sector and creating new opportunities for sustainable, efficient, and flexible building production.

MD-Lab’s Contribution

MD-Lab played a central and critical role in the 3BUILD project, being responsible for the detailed engineering design, analysis, and optimization of the full-scale 3D printing system.

The lab undertook the complete mechanical design of the full-scale 3D printer, defining its architecture, subsystems, and operational principles. It developed a gantry-type system consisting of four support pillars and an X-Y motion stage, which enables precise positioning of the printing head over large construction areas. A key innovation introduced by MD-Lab was the use of completely modular structures, allowing the system to be easily transported, assembled, and adapted to different construction sites, with an estimated setup time of only a few hours.

The first prototypes were built at NTUA using a half-scale 3D printer developed within the project. This was a critical step for 3BUILD, as it enabled the team to optimize printing parameters, validate the printing process, and evaluate the mechanical performance of the printed material under realistic conditions. The half-scale printer remains part of our research infrastructure, providing the capability to build structures of approximately 2 m x 2 m in plan and up to 3 m in height.

Following these tests, the full-scale 3D printer was constructed and installed at TITAN’s plant in Elefsina, where the first 3D-printed house in Greece was successfully built. The structure demonstrates both the capabilities and the future potential of 3D printing in construction. It reached a height of 2.6 m and the total printing time was 22 hours, completed over three consecutive days. The printer is designed to build a house of approximately 80 m2, while its modular architecture allows it to be adapted easily for smaller or larger structures.