India's first 3D-printed post office in Bengaluru: How the technology will impact construction and affordability

At the event, she suggested using the technology to boost affordable housing in India, especially under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

Experts say concrete 3D printing can indeed reduce construction time by as much as 30 percent, but the cost will remain a challenge the technology becomes scalable.

In conventional construction processes, a 1,100-1500 sq ft of construction would take about 3-4 months, according to experts. And though the cost would vary depending on several parameters, they said, for traditional construction processes, it will be marginally higher due to added labour costs. ​

Workers stand at the construction site as 3D printing continues. (Credit: Souptik Datta)

What is 3D concrete printing?

Contrary to traditional construction methods, 3D printing uses a robotic arm to create layers using a special concrete mixture fed into the system. The mixture has special adhesives for quick drying and other uses.

There are mainly two kinds of systems: a gantry-based one in which giant cranes allow movement of the printer horizontally; and robotic arms where the mixture is funneled out of the arm in line with the design plans fed into the system.

The post office is being 3D-printed by a robotic arm, while one of the workers controls the speed at which the concrete mixture is being funneled out.

3D printer in action (Credit: Souptik Datta)

Is it a game changer?

Standard construction has limitations when it comes to speed in building individual houses, and also from the point of geometric flexibility, explains Manu Santhanam, a professor in the department of civil engineering at IIT-Madras.

3D concrete printing allows customization, including complete digital control.

"Another major opportunity with 3D printing would be customized mass housing, since a cluster of houses can be built with one printer, with individually customized designs," Santhanam said.

The construction sector is confronting a huge scarcity of manual labour, and the new technology can help counter the shortages, said Jatin Shah, Chief Technical Officer & Managing Director of Technical Due Diligence at housing consultant Colliers India.

For example, to build the entire post office, MV Satish, Senior Executive Vice President (buildings), at Larsen and Toubro said about 30 workers were needed.

Tushar Joshi, the founder of Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions, added that the technology will introduce standardization.

"The construction sector is largely unorganized, and prices vary from vendor to vendor. The 3D printing technology will boost construction quality as opposed to cheaper materials used in standard processes,” Joshi said.

"The projects can be executed quickly, avoiding delays in project timelines that we see today across the country," he added.

Cost can be still be a challenge, possibly limiting the use of the technology in affordable housing.

Designs of the interior.

Application 3D printing in PMAY

In terms of the actual material that is used in concrete mixtures, the-3D printed material would be more expensive compared to conventional ones, Santhanam said. Even so, savings can be achieved in the way that the structure is designed, he added.

Amit Ghulay, founder of Simpliforge Creations, who is also working with IIT-Hyderabad in 3D printing, said in traditional processes, the design is made using moulds and the cost of each mould can be recovered when multiple designs made from each mould.

"With 3D printing, you eliminate the need for moulds and formwork, thereby saving operational time as well as the need for a minimum viable quantity of structures," he added.

A December 2022 report by Colliers says the cost of key construction materials has jumped 32 percent in three years, affecting the margins and operational schedule of construction companies.

Santhanam said material inflation will also affect 3D printing technology.

Satish said for individual projects, the cost of printing a building will be the same as that incurred by traditional methods.

"Until we can scale the operations to a larger volume of constructions, it will remain a challenge," he added.

Shah added that civil construction makes up 40 percent of the overall construction cost. "Even though we do not have major data points to study, I do not believe we will see much impact cost-wise," he added.

"The technology is still in a nascent stage because we have not progressed beyond G+2 buildings. The PMAY buildings are majorly mid-rises. Also, till today the reinforcements (like columns and steel) are being done manually. The roof is also precast (constructed offsite)," Shah said.

Scalability and highrises remain a challenge because 3D printing technology is capital-intensives.

The robotic printer that Larsen and Toubrs is using for the post office project is made in Denmark. Satish said two such machines have already been built in India.

Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions has about 10 machines manufactured in-house, including gantry-based and robotic arms.

Joshi added, "If we consider the construction of lakhs of houses and scale operations, we will have to focus on machines made in India."

Sources said most of these machines are leased from abroad. And they entail import duty of about 30-35 percent.

A worker operating the 3D Printer (Credits: Souptik Datta)

Way forward

Shah said adaptability is one of the most important factors. "Only a few people in India are working on this technology. If more contractors start adopting 3D printing, the machinery cost will be distributed at a larger scale, then we will see the costs coming down."

Today, several developers have already started adopting this technology in different parts of their projects.

Bengaluru-based Brigade Group recently 3D-printed a common amenity, a spiral walking platform, in Bengaluru in collaboration with Simpliforge.

"At the moment, we are not planning to use the technology in building construction. But certainly, we are open to going for 3D printing for architectural elements which are otherwise difficult to construct. There are not enough players in the market who can take up work on a large scale," Roshin Mathew, Executive Director and Head-Engineering at Brigade Group ,said.

Joint venture, innovations

Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions plans a joint venture with Godrej Properties for several residential and commercial developments in Mumbai using 3D concrete printing technology, the company said. It is likely to be launched in two months.

Godrej Properties did not respond to queries sent by Moneycontrol.

Simpliforge Creations and IIT Hyderabad recently developed India's first pedestrian bridge prototype using 3D printing.

Additionally, a committee is already working on building standardized building codes for the adoption of this technology, sources said.

India has a national building code revised by the Bureau of Indian Standards in 2016 that considers administrative regulations, development control rules and general building requirements.

"In 2019, we saw another revision of the national building code. The framework is already available, and we need to amend it by adding a new section related to 3D printing technology. The entire process, including public consultation, will take 6-9 months," Shah said.