6 December 2024

NZ’s first 3D-printed concrete demo in city next week

Hamilton is hosting New Zealand’s first demonstration of a robot 3D-printing of a commercial-scale concrete object next week.

Hamilton City Council is working with local technology company, QOROX on the creation of a park bench built using 3D-printed concrete, in what will be the first example of this construction technique in the country.

The 2.8m long bench is a bespoke waka design created by Boffa Miskell landscape architects. It will be printed by QOROX’s robot in just over 30 minutes on Wednesday, 18 November in Garden Place.

3D Printing Demo
3D produced concrete bench (Image for representation purposes only)

In addition to the park bench, QOROX will also build other pieces for the demonstration, which will start at 12pm and finish at 2pm. The bench will remain in Garden Place until early in the new year when it will be moved to Hayes Paddock as part of a playground upgrade.

“This is the first robot of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. It can print the walls of an average house in one week at speeds of up to 4.5m2 an hour,” says QOROX Director, Wafaey Swelim.

Boffa Miskell Landscape Architect, Frazer Baggaley said: “Working with 3D-printed concrete was an opportunity to push past the boundaries of the typical production process. The bench will emerge as a single, seamless object in less than an hour, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the design brought to life.”

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HCC’s Chief Executive Richard Briggs is proud Hamilton and Council are part of the ground-breaking engineering initiative.

“This is just further proof that Hamilton is a tech-savvy city, a hub for innovation and a leader on the world stage…This is an exciting project and it’s awesome that Hamiltonians will be able to come and see a small piece of history being made at the demonstration and enjoy the results at the Hayes Paddock playground for many, many years.”

The robot, imported by QOROX from CyBe Construction in the Netherlands, can build any concrete structure, including houses, commercial buildings, retaining walls, and landscape features such as planters, sculptures and picnic tables.

Click here to see the robot in action

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