GE Renewable Energy opened a new R&D facility in Bergen, N.Y., where it will research how 3D printing can play a role in boosting the energy efficiency of wind turbines.
Supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, researchers will explore 3D printing the concrete base of wind turbine towers on-site at wind farms, thereby avoiding the logistical challenge of transporting components. The first field applications are expected in the next five years.
There’s currently a boom in renewable energy interest to reduce dependence on foreign energy sources and curb climate change. However, wind energy depends on massive turbines that are hundreds of feet tall and aren’t easy to build. GE is hoping to simplify the turbine construction process by deploying a 3D printer from COBOD International. It is reportedly the world’s largest 3D concrete printer, rising to about three stories in height. Currently, the printer is housed at GE’s new facility alongside a concrete batch mixing plant and pump.
In addition to being the largest of its kind, the 3D concrete printer from COBOD International can produce over 10 tons of printed concrete products per hour due to its giant printhead. Furthermore, it is equipped with two X-axes, with one dedicated to concrete printing and the other to automated reinforcement of the printed concrete structures. According to COBOD, this feature makes the printer the first multifunctional construction robot in the world that is capable of fully automating the construction of reinforced concrete structures and achieving an unprecedented level of large-scale industrial volume printing.
Concrete 3D printing is a growing subsector that’s building homes faster for less cost. Apart from the printer’s large size and the different materials used, concrete 3D printing is similar to other types of additive manufacturing as it entails using digital modeling software to provide printing instructions, followed by layer-to-layer production.
There are two types of concrete 3D printers. One is the gantry type, which involves a hanging printer head attached from multiple axis points. The second type is the robotic arm printer, which is more crane-like with a robotic arm that can move the printer head flexibly.
The new COBOD printer is the company’s latest iteration of the BOD2 printer system used to print single-story residential buildings, schools, offices, three-story apartment buildings, and concrete structures for the oil and gas industry as well as wind turbine bases. The system is an example of a gantry concrete 3D printer.
Like the BOD2 printer, the newest COBOD system is a modular gantry-type printer. It is double the size of the BOD2 in all dimensions, enabling it to handle output volumes needed for applications such as wind turbine bases. Yet, it reportedly still has the same stability and precision as the BOD2.
COBOD International used its previous generation large-scale printers to create Europe’s first 3D-printed building in 2017. The company also produced the first 3D-printed two- and three-story buildings in Belgium and Germany, as well as the first villa in Dubai and the first 3D-printed buildings in Africa.
In addition to printing wind turbines, concrete 3D printers have other sustainability advantages. 3D printing can utilize concrete made with different materials, which is promising given that supplies of sand typically used for such applications are dwindling. Researchers at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University are exploring reusing glass as a component of concrete 3D-printed structures to prevent it from otherwise ending up in landfills.