French 3D printing reseller Machines-3D recently hosted the second edition of Machinarium in Valenciennes.
3D Printing Industry attended the Machinarium to learn more about how the company is developing and about an interesting project using a 3D printer to make buildings.
The Machinarium brought together a range of attendees, from manufacturers and professionals to curious newcomers just beginning their experience with 3D printing. The tone of the 2-day event set by Machines-3D can be summed up as “inspiring innovation”.
A number of 3D printing presentations were given. Christophe Raillon, Licensing director of Maker Faire France, explained how a brand such as Leroy Merlin, a home improvement and gardening retailer, is adjusting to the new settings of the industry.
François Xavier Loucheur, a creative workshop coordinator at RUBIKA added “invest in reality”. Both speakers explored both version of creation, from makers to designers. They inspired their audience to create a discussion between generations, art and science, virtual and reality.
Now in it’s second year, the Machinarium was attended by manufacturers including Zortrax Mass Portal and Zmorph – the later who official launched their Zmorph 2.0 SX in the French market. Vaquform, the makers of a desktop vacuum forming machine, also used the event as their official launch in France.
3D printing a building
Machinarium 2 was also the the official launch for Construction 3D printer. Axel Théry, Construction 3D’s co-manager, presented the progress on the project to 3D print a building.
Examples of the capability of the Construction 3D printer were also on display, including a 3D printed bench. The 3D printer is an adapted industrial crane and operated in-house developed software.
Construction 3D has also developed a mortar adapted for 3D printing, unique in the industry, used by their printer. For €400,000, the 3D printer is available for pre-order with a package that includes the machine plus its extrusion material and software.
The challenge that Construction 3D tackle is more than printing a house, it is to make housing accessible for everyone.
The model presented at this year’s event is the physical portrayal of their idea. The foldable 2.4 ton machine fits through a single door thus can be transported at low cost by container.
Today a 100 square meter 3D print would take the printer 48 hours. The team aims to reduce this time by two by the end of the year.
As for the overall cost, we look at divided to cost by ten. Two people only are necessary to operate the machine on the construction site. As Axel Théry explained that the 3D printed bench took only 50 minutes to produce and used €300 materials. There are no comparison possible with traditional method given the bench’s curvy shape.
Construction 3D team will tackle a new project in the following month. A bus shelter 3 meters tall designed by Gaël Collaro. With the completion of this next project and their printer in full speed, we should hear more of this young team by the end of 2017.
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