First Concrete, Large-Scale, 3D-Printed Building Elements Using Generative Design

Acciona and Autodesk have been working together for more than a year to create the first concrete, large-scale, 3D-printed building element, which has been generated using Autodesk Generative Design by their Advanced Consulting Team. The manufacturing of the element was done by the Spanish company Acciona (one of the most advanced companies in concrete, large-scale, 3D-printing technology) in their 3D-printing facilities in Spain. 3D-printing technology used by Acciona is what it is called concrete, free-shape, large-scale 3D printing, which lets users create a physical element from a free-shape 3D model. Acciona was the first company to 3D print a bridge in 2016, to 3D print heritage elements in 2017, and (now, in 2018) to develop a 3D-printing method that enables the manufacture of large-scale, concrete, complex shapes defined by Autodesk Generative Design software. Acciona combined additive and subtractive manufacturing in order to obtain highly detailed, 3D-printed elements.