Concrete Printer (Need Help)

[neuo]

hi

im trying to build a concrete 3D printer i have figured out the whole process only get stuck with extruder for concrete dispensing process could anyone help me with a someone that sells extruder that can be used for concrete ?

Thanks alot

[awerby]

Assuming that there's a concrete pump somewhere in your system, the "extruder" just has to be a piece of pipe sized for the amount of material you want to dispense at a time.

[neuo]

Assuming that there's a concrete pump somewhere in your system, the "extruder" just has to be a piece of pipe sized for the amount of material you want to dispense at a time.

thanks awerby for the reply

thats correct its a pipe thats connected to the pump the question is how to control the pump to dispense (X) amount of concrete on (XY) location and to stop in another location is it done by the controller that is connected to the pump or it should be controlled by the extruder that is connected to the controller ?

[awerby]

What exactly have you figured out about this process? A 3D printer for concrete isn't a very complex machine; you need a source of liquid concrete, a pump that can push it through some tubing through a nozzle, and a way to move the nozzle in 3 directions as programmed. If you've got a pump like that, all you need is to be able to turn it on or off. The amount of concrete it will dispense will depend on the pump and the tubing; it should come out at a reasonably constant rate. If you haven't calculated it, you can measure it after constructing your machine. Ideally, your printer would be programmed to turn off the pump when it comes to a stopping point as specified in the toolpath.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

I don't know of any pre-made "extruders" for concrete - I doubt they even exist, although I suppose you could invent one. Just be sure to clean it out thoroughly after using it.

[neuo]

What exactly have you figured out about this process? A 3D printer for concrete isn't a very complex machine; you need a source of liquid concrete, a pump that can push it through some tubing through a nozzle, and a way to move the nozzle in 3 directions as programmed. If you've got a pump like that, all you need is to be able to turn it on or off. The amount of concrete it will dispense will depend on the pump and the tubing; it should come out at a reasonably constant rate. If you haven't calculated it, you can measure it after constructing your machine. Ideally, your printer would be programmed to turn off the pump when it comes to a stopping point as specified in the toolpath.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

I don't know of any pre-made "extruders" for concrete - I doubt they even exist, although I suppose you could invent one. Just be sure to clean it out thoroughly after using it.

what do you think about this machine ?

https://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...519522937.html

its exactly what im trying to build

[awerby]

That doesn't look like a very effective design to me. For one thing, all the working parts are exposed, so it wouldn't take much splashed concrete to disable it totally. For a machine like this, full bellows protection would be essential. Another fatal flaw is that there's no continuously available source of concrete. The guy seems to be mixing it a gallon or so at a time in a bowl, and pouring it into the hopper, which requires gravity to dispense it. This would get old really fast.
The only good reason to want a concrete printer would be to make really large structures, the size of houses. But this thing is not nearly big enough for that - at most it could print a (really ugly) window frame. It's hard to tell much about it from the ad - the "specifiations" are ludicrously inaccurate. With the stated nozzle diameter of .4mm, it would choke on a large grain of sand. But if it really only uses 60 watts of power, it must be extraordinarily energy-efficient (not). Most of what they have to say about it seems to have been copied and pasted from the description of a totally different sort of printer. It's hard to believe they really expect someone to send them $40,000 USD for this, but I suppose hope springs eternal in China.
For a more practical design, look elsewhere - like here for instance: http://www.engineering.com/3DPrintin...g-Machine.aspx

[neuo]

That doesn't look like a very effective design to me. For one thing, all the working parts are exposed, so it wouldn't take much splashed concrete to disable it totally. For a machine like this, full bellows protection would be essential. Another fatal flaw is that there's no continuously available source of concrete. The guy seems to be mixing it a gallon or so at a time in a bowl, and pouring it into the hopper, which requires gravity to dispense it. This would get old really fast.
The only good reason to want a concrete printer would be to make really large structures, the size of houses. But this thing is not nearly big enough for that - at most it could print a (really ugly) window frame. It's hard to tell much about it from the ad - the "specifiations" are ludicrously inaccurate. With the stated nozzle diameter of .4mm, it would choke on a large grain of sand. But if it really only uses 60 watts of power, it must be extraordinarily energy-efficient (not). Most of what they have to say about it seems to have been copied and pasted from the description of a totally different sort of printer. It's hard to believe they really expect someone to send them $40,000 USD for this, but I suppose hope springs eternal in China.
For a more practical design, look elsewhere - like here for instance: http://www.engineering.com/3DPrintin...g-Machine.aspx

ive sent the an email the good thing that they reply fast https://youtu.be/3VuS8ppiEwc they have sent me this video and they say the could build on custom size as i order the only thing the extruder look too small for printing a building the only thing i couldnt figure it out is it continuous flow of cement or it stops in some place and if im building one how i can control the concrete pump to stop pumping on the specified areas if theres any one with experience in controlling the concorete pump through the controller that would be very helpful.

and for the BetAbram ive sent them an email like a week ago still no reply from them if you know how to contact them or if i can get a quote for the 3D printer and how to order it

Thanks alot for the reply

[Marm]

I really don't see the point in a printer of that size. If you are doing custom work, like statues, then maybe, but the resolution isn't there. If you are doing bulk work, then forms would be far faster. Tack together a plywood form, pump in the concrete, and move onto to the next form. For the cost of 1 of these machines, you could have 100's of forms made up. And the thing only does 1.5m or so cubed. I don't see a market for this other than a novelty.

What exactly are your specifications?

[Marm]

Looking at that thing even more, there is no pump on it. There's just a hopper that you have to manually scoop wet concrete into. And the hopper isn't even that big, you would have to be filling that thing continuously.

[ralphzoontjens]

These guys have built a good concrete printer, including a CNC mixing pump.
You can ask them for advice since I am sure they researched the market.

https://www.tue.nl/en/university/dep...ut/scientific/

https://3dprint.com/139988/tue-concr...nter-pavilion/