In my limited engineering and concrete work experience, I’ve a few thoughts on the idea. For rails, steel I-beams would likely be the most stable and cost effective. And 2.5" beams would be small enough to print attachments for on most printers. For the z gantry, I think something similar to a smaller-scale car lift type setup would be mountable with a cement nozzle
It would need a feed system similar to a gunnite/shotcrete machine. I can’t imagine a simple auger system would provide near enough flow for anything large scale unless the auger were massive.
For the concrete itself, I suspect a fiber reinforced concrete would be the most dimensionally stable way to print since verticals rebar would be impossible. I’ve used basalt fiber in parts of the ferrocement dome cabin I build on my property, and with the right additives like fly ash, it can be made to a slump consistency that could be pushable through a MPCNCrete machine.
I wouldn’t have the cash to fund the project, but I can offer a spot on my property in northwest Texas.
Stating the obvious, the future of 3d printed structures is going to go hand in hand with the development of suitable materials. The speed, efficiency, and cost reduction achieved by 3d printing structures already make this a building process that can’t be ignored.
I helped out with one of the first concrete 3D printers, the one that printed the castle. If I recall the frame was 2x2 steel square tube with sprocket and chain drive and I think NEMA34s
this technology could help me build medical clinics in underserved areas with more flexibility and decreased cost compared to stick-built options… I get out of medical school in 12 months, then another 5 years or so of residency, I’ll be ready around then.
in the interim, I have some property we could print on… a shed or maybe geodesic observatory for a telescope.
The machine and electronics seems pretty easy on the surface. The difficult part is material and structural design of the building. I have watched a bunch of videos on this, a few seem like they know what they are doing. Hollow walls very slight infill, some rebar reinforcing, maybe fill the hollow walls with something, built in 2x4 notches to jump the overhangs on doors and windows.
I am not really sure the advantages over like a hollow brick construction though, maybe easier to transport dry bags of material and add water later?
save on skilled labor costs… I saw a video a while back of a large scale picker puller machine that laid as much brick in one half day as 20 men could do in a whole day (I might be exaggerating the productivity but it was significant enough that all bricklayers should be scared).
I think it’s the logical evolution.
I have been working on a blueprint for self sustainability bringing in leaders from every sector to help change to way we live.
One key part of that is cnc and 3D printing.
I have been thinking of 1 of either two designs a geodesic dome gantry or an a8 gantry on wheels.
I have been researching for some time know.
Concrete isn’t the solution it’s the problem we need to look at some of the early construction methods with lime hemp clay.
I think it was even possible the pyramids were 3D printing in some way.