THEUSEOF3DPRINTERS

INCIVILENGINEERING
INTRODUCTION
Thefieldofengineeringhasalwaysreliedontheuseofmodels
torepresentideas.Throughtheserepresentations,engineers
wereabletovisuallydemonstratetheirnewandinnovative
concepts.Foryears,engineerswouldhavetohandcraftthese
replicas,aprocesswhichisverytimeandlaborintensive.The
useof3Dprintingrevolutionizedhowmodelsandother
engineeringtoolsweremade.Withafewkeystrokesandcareful
clicks,multiplecopiesofexactmodelscouldnowbeproduced
inafractionofthetimeitwouldtakesomeonetohandcraftthe
samemodel.Engineersbegantorealizethat3Dprinterscanbe
utilizedformorethansimplycreatingprototypes;theysawthey
itwasthekeytounlockmanyotherproblemsanddifficultiesin
engineering.Recentdevelopmentsincivilengineeringhavealso
revolutionizedthefieldofaffordablehousing,astheuseof3D
printersgreatlydiminishesthecostandresourcesneededto
buildahouse.AChineseengineeringcompanyrecently
constructedanentirehomeinlessthan24hoursusingonlya3D
printerandrecycledmaterials[1].Asanaspiringfuturecivil
engineerwithafocusonstructuralengineering,3Dprinting
allowsforinnovativenewdesignsthatcanbemassproduced
andimplementedonalargescale.

3DPRINTINGINFORMATION
History

3Dprinting,alsoknownasadditivemanufacturing(AM),isa
processwherethreedimensionalobjectsarecreatedbylaying
downsuccessivelayersofmaterialarelaiddownthrough
computercontrols.ItwasfirstdevelopedbyChuckHullin1984
usingaprocessknownasstereolithography.Thistechniqueuses
ultraviolet(UV)laserstocutphotopolymers.Hullalsoinvented

thefileformatusedincomputerstocreate3Dprinting.
In1986Hullfounded3DSystemswiththemindsetofpushing
thisnewtechnologyintomorecommercialuse.Thebiggest
challengeforHullachievingthisgoalwasthefactthatthelasers
whichgavetheappropriateUVwavelengthrequiredsubstantial
powercentersandwatercoolingchambers[2].Thisgreatly
limitedtheprinter'smarketpotentialasittookupalargeamount
ofspace,time,andmostimportantly,money.Astimeand
technologyprogressed,theoptionofsolidstatelasersbecame
available;afterwavelengthcompatibilityissuesbecame
persistent,Hullmadeanothercalculatedriskandreformulated
materialstocreatethefirstSolidStateStereolithographySystem
in1996.Thistransitionwasagiantleaptowardmaking3D
printersahouseholditem.
EversinceHullproducedthefirst3Dprinterin1984,themarket
forprinting3dimensionalobjectshasgrownatanexponential
rate.Oncealuxuriouscommodity,3Dprinterscannowbe
foundinmanyofficesandbusiness.Notonlyhasthepriceof
theprinteritselfdecreased,butthecostofoperatingonehasalso
gonedownsignificantly,allowingthistechnologytobe
availabletomanybusinesseswhopreviouslywouldn'thave
beenabletoaffordthismachinery.Anotherreasonwhy3D
printingissopopularisthefactthatitleavesvirtuallynowasted
materialsandtakeawayacompany'sneedforinternational
outsourcing[3].Eachday,moreandmorecompaniesare
realizingthebenefitsof3Dprintingandareinvestinginthis
growingindustry.

How3Dprintersworks
Theprocessofmakingafinishedproducedfroma3Dprinteris
simplerthanmanywouldthink.Thewholeprocedureisjusta
fewsimplestepsputtogetherinalogicalformat.Thefirststep
istocreatea3Dblueprintoftheobjectyouwishtoproduce
usingcomputeraideddesignsoftware;usingacomputerto
createtheblueprintallowsforalevelofexactnessthatcannotbe
matchedbysomethingthatishandcrafted.Oncethedesignis

ready,theprintermustbepreparedwiththenecessarymaterials
neededtomaketheobject.
Therearedifferenttechnologiesthatcanbeusedtocreatethe
object.Stereolithography,fuseddepositionmodeling,laser
sinteringtechnology,selectivelasermodeling,andelectronic
beammeltingarejustsomeofthedifferenttechniquesthatcan
beusedtomakethefinishedproduct.Whiletheprocessof
creatinganobjectisdifferentforeachtechnology,theyallare
programmedtodothesamejobineffectiveways.
Materialextrusion,whichisaprocesswhichcombinesmany
differenttechnologiessuchasfuseddepositionmodeling,isthe
mostcommonprocessfordesktop3Dprinters.Itworksina
veryinterestingprocedure.Materialextrusionworkslikea
gluegun.Theprintingmaterialtypicallyaplasticfilament
isheateduntilitliquefiesandextrudedthroughtheprintnozzle.
Usinginformationfromthedigitalfilethedesignissplitinto
thintwodimensionalcrosssectionssotheprinterknowsexactly
wheretoputmaterialthenozzledepositsthepolymerinthin
layers,often0.1millimeterthick.Thepolymersolidifies
quickly,bondingtothelayerbelowbeforethebuildplatform
lowersandtheprintheadaddsanotherlayer.[4]

APPLICATIONOFTHE3DPRINTER
INCIVILENGINEERING
Creatingmodels
Amajorpartofengineeringiscreatingmodelstorepresentideas
andprojects.Previously,engineershadtorelyonhandcrafted
replicaswhichwouldtakecountlesshourstoconstructand
perfect.3Dprintershaveessentiallycausedthispracticeto
becomeobsolete,astheprinterscanproducemultiplecopiesof
thedesigninafractionofthetime.Inaddition,theprintersadd
adegreeofprecisionthatcannotbereplicatedbyahuman's
touch;withtheabilitytomoldanobjecttoaninfinitenumberof
decimalpoints,anypossibledesignspecificationscanbemet
perfectly.

Theuseof3Dprintersmakesforanoverallmoreefficient
engineeringprocess.3Dprintinginindustrialdesignsavesa
lotoftimeinthedesignprocess.Engineerscanproducethe
prototypesthemselves.Theavailabilityofprototypeson
demandvia3Dprintingcreatesatestingprocessthatwould
otherwisebedrawnout,difficult,andtimeconsuming.[5]
Anyengineercantellyoutheimportanceoftimemanagement
whenitcomestoadesignmanagement,sothevalueofa3D
printergoesfarbeyondasimplemonetaryvalue.

Structuralengineering
Recentdevelopmentsinthefieldof3Dprintershavecompletely
revolutionizedthewaycivilengineering.Centuriesago,man
reliedonclayandmudtobuildsimplesheltersthatwere
necessaryforsurvival.Today,cranesandsteelsupportbeams
areusedtoerecttoweringskyscraperswhichserveascentersfor
tradeandbusiness.Ifoneweretolookatthedevelopmentof
constructiontechniquesoverthecourseoftime,itwouldbe
hardnottobedumbfoundedattheratewhichthetechnology
developed.Eachdecadeseemedtobringarevolutionarynew
ideawhichtransformedthewaycivilengineeringwas
approached.
Thenewestrevolutionaryideaisusing3Dprinterstobuild
housesandincreasethemarketforaffordablehousing.A
companyinChinahassuccessfullycreatedanentirehousing
usingonlya3Dprinterandrecycledmaterials.
BasedoutofShanghai,WinSunDecorationDesignEngineering
Cousedamassive490footlong,33footwide,and20footdeep
3Dprintertoprintcheapconcretemadefromrecycledmaterials.
Themostamazingpartoftheprocessisthattheentirehouse
costlessthan$5,000;capableofprintingupto10housesina
singleday,thisengineeringmarvelcouldbethesolutiontothe
risingproblemofanincreaseinthenumberofimpoverished
peopleinChinesecities[6].
WinSunconstructsitshousesbyprintingoutpartsofthehouse
piecesatatimeandthenassemblingthemonsite.In

comparison,architectsinAmsterdamareattemptingtobuilda
housewhereeverydetailwillemergefullyformed.Thisproject
isprojectedtotakeatleastthreeyearstocompleteandwillcost
severalmilliondollarstofinance.Atacurrentglance,itappears
thatWinSun'sprocedureismoreefficient,butonlytimewilltell
whichtechniqueismoreeffective.

Relevancetomyfuture
Iamcurrentlyaspiringtobeacivilengineerwithafocuson
structuralengineering,sothistopicisincrediblyinterestingto
me.Iamlookingforwardtoseehowthisfieldprogressesasit
currentlyseemstobeanextremelyinnovativealternativeto
traditionalconstructionpractices.If3Dprintingtechnology
continuestoimproveandbecomemoremainstream,Iwill
certainlyexploredifferentwaysinwhichIcanutilizethis
amazingprocess.Theentire3Dprintingindustryisalreadya
promisingenterprise,andhasnosignsthatindicateitisslowing
downanytimesoon.

CONCLUSION

Theuseof3Dprintershascompletelyrevolutionizedtheway
engineersapproachproblemsandnewideas.Oncelimitedto
makingdraftsandcraftingobjectsbyhand,3Dprintingallows
engineerstoutilizetheirtimeandresourcesextremely
efficiently.Ithascreatedanewmarketforaffordablehousing
andisbecominganinstrumentalpartinnewconstruction
techniques.Asthefieldof3Dprintersbecomesmore
mainstreamandwidelyusedacrosstheengineeringcommunity,
thetechnologyusedtodesignmodelswillcontinuetoimprove
untilitisperfectforallengineeringfields.3Dprintingis
withoutatechnologyofthefuture,asbothengineersand
businessesarealreadyseeingtheimmediatebenefitsof
investinginthisfield.BythetimeIentertheworkforceasa
civilengineers,Iamconfidentthat3Dprinterswillbeutilized
byallengineeringcommunities.

REFERENCES

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3
4
5

Hobson,James.(2014,April16).3DPrintingHomesinLess
Than24HoursUsingRecycledMaterials.HackADay.
(onlinearticle).http://hackaday.com/2014/04/26/3dprinting
homesinlessthan24hoursusingrecycledmaterials/
N/A.(2013)30YearsofInnovation.3DSystems.(online
article).http://www.3dsystems.com/30yearsinnovation
FedericoO'Murchu,Linda.(2014,May11).How3D
printingwillradicallychangetheworld.CNBC.(online
article).http://www.cnbc.com/id/101638702#.
N/A.(2014,June19).How3DPrintersWork.Department
ofEnergy.(onlinearticle).http://energy.gov/articles/how3d
printerswork
Scaggs,Caitlyn.(2013,October30)5IndustriesUsing3D
PrintingToday.PolymerSolutions.(onlinearticle).
http://www.polymersolutions.com/blog/5industriesusing3d
printingtoday/
CampbellDollaghan,Kelsey.(2014,April3).HowaChinese
Company3DPrintedTenHousesInaSingleDay.Gizmodo.
(onlinearticle).http://gizmodo.com/howachinesecompany
3dprintedtenhousesinasingle1557613229

ADDITIONALSOURCES
Franco,Michael.(2014,March14)Giant3Dprinterstarts
spittingoutahouse.CNET.(onlinearticle).
http://www.cnet.com/news/giant3dprinterstartsspittingouta
house/
Wilcox,Kevin.(2012,August14).PrintingAddsaNew
DimensiontoDesign.ASCEsCivilEngineeringMagazine.
(onlinearticle).
http://www.asce.org/CEMagazine/Articlens.aspx?
id=25769810812#.VCo8YPldVbL

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

IwouldliketothankDr.RadisavVidicforprovidingmewith
theinspirationtochoosetheapplicationof3Dprintersincivil
engineeringasmytopicforthisresearchpaper.Iwouldalsolike

tothankJakeArai,ChazDonnely,JoshLopez,andCobySartin
forhelpingmerevise,edit,andformulatenewideasformy
paper.