Hardware

This page lists pages about the hardware that we work with, or that we think is interesting for the field of 3D concrete printing.

• Robot

• Pump

We start with making the dry concrete mix and prepping the robot code (RAPID). The programme for the day is to print De Huizenprinters logo and to test different types of nozzles. Lars sets up a schedule for the day and the order in which the prints will be executed. The next step is uploading the RAPID code to the Robot.

Next up is prepping the pump for the concrete mix. The pump first pumps some water through the hose to ensure the concrete will not stick to the pump or hose. Otherwise, the concrete will not flow through the hose well. The pump then pumps concrete and the nozzle is levelled with the buildplate to ensure an even print. This process takes a fair amount of time, so it might be fruitful to look into ways of automating this process. First we do a test run with the concrete to check the print dimensions, extrusion, and line width. When everything is set up correctly, we prepare to print the first object for real.

After the first object has been printed successfully, we start going through our nozzle tests. Today we have 6 nozzles we want to test: square, square with ‘wings’, 4 types of angled nozzles. Each time, we use the same object (a circle with a 50cm diameter) but adjust the layer height, pump speed and print speed to match the nozzle specifications.

Finally, all that’s left is cleaning the equipment and writing down the information carefully.