The bicycle bridge printed by a 3D printer at the TU/e in Eindhoven has been put into use in Gemert. The next 3D printing project is already in the process of planning: houses in Eindhoven.
It is the first 3D-printed bridge in the world. During the last four years the bicycle bridge has been developed and printed. Tuesday morning the first cyclists in Gemert could cross it. “We managed this pretty well in our little Netherlands,” laughs Jeroen Nuijten of construction company BAM, which installed the bridge.
Now that the bridge of reinforced concrete is finished, a new project will be considered at the technical university. 3D-printed houses. They must be placed in Eindhoven. “We already have the idea. It is also feasible. Only the funding is left”, says Theo Dalet, professor at the university.
From abroad there is a lot of interest in the project. TU/e plans to continue printing reinforced concrete. Much has been learned about this way of working in four years. When this project was still in its infancy, the concrete broke down as a pudding. Now there is a ready-to-use, safe bridge in the public space in Noord-Brabant.
The development and construction of the bridge took four years. Together with the construction company BAM and the province of Nooord-Brabant, the bridge has now been realized.
Photo: Thijs van Litsenburg
Source: Studio040
