Using the latest 3D printing techniques, or more accurately, “additive manufacturing,” engineering and consulting firm Arup has produced a design method for critical structural steel elements for use in complex projects.
Arup created a redesign of a steel node for a lightweight structure using additive manufacturing and claims that by using this new technique, complex individually designed pieces can be created far more efficiently.
“This has tremendous implications for reducing costs and cutting waste,” said Salome Galjaard, a team leader with Arup. “But most importantly, this approach potentially enables a very sophisticated design, without the need to simplify the design in a later stage to lower costs.”
Arup funded the development work and collaborated with a number of partners to realize the designs, including WithinLab (an engineering design software and consulting company), CRDM/3D Systems (the additive manufacturing partner) and EOS, who worked on the early development of the technology.
To learn more, see Arup’s news release.
Image: David de Jong via Arup