3D printed concrete building technology used for Tyndall Rebuild

  • Published
  • AFIMSC Public Affairs
As Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., becomes the ‘Installation of the Future’, following the catastrophic damage from Hurricane Michael in late 2018, several advanced technologies are being used. Of those technologies, the ability to use ‘additive manufacturing’--also known as ‘3D printing’--to construct concrete buildings as part of the rebuild. 3D printing of concrete buildings consists of a computer, software, and a large printer resulting in the construction of a three-dimensional object. In the rebuild for Tyndall, the object will be a building— but from a computer aided design (CAD) or digital 3D model. Engineers at AFIMSC’s Air Force Civil Engineer Center are leading the way with the research and development on the possibility of implementing this futuristic concrete building construction technique in future military construction projects.