Now Your Buildings May Come Out Of A Printer: IIT Madras Develops India’s First 3D Printing Construction Tech

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras’ faculty members and alumni have developed India’s first 3D printing construction technology, reported The Business Line. Furthermore, they have successfully built the first 3D printed structure.

3D printers enable the printing of shapes and structures, which previously were not possible or hard to build using the conventional technologies. The invention of 3D printers can result in the printing of partially hollow structures or structures of shapes that will result in a considerable amount of material saving.

The IIT Madras Printability Lab has been established by extension of the civil engineering department of IIT-Madras manufacturing start-up known as Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions. This lab will be taking the indigenously developed technology to the market.

Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions aspires to automate the construction completely. It will do so by re-envisioning the construction process. Furthermore, it aims to develop a platform to provide a specific method to complete a single-storey home of 320 square feet in three days.

The IIT Madras now features a prototype structure which serves as a base model for Accelerating Research and Development. IIT wants to make affordable housing and sanitation a reality in the country, a press release from the institute said.

The technology can also enable development of natural materials or geopolymers which can make the construction process sustainable and green, the release said.

The development comes at the same time when IIT-Madras researchers design first indigenous-developed microprocessor.