Keeping the Atmanirbhar Bharat spirit centerstage, India has recently unveiled the nation’s first-ever 3D -printed Post Office. This technological marvel is not only proof of the country’s continued technological development and advancement but also gives its citizens a glimpse into the near possible future. Have a look at the details of the building below.
3D Printed Post Office Launched In Bengaluru
India’s first 3D-printed Post Office was unveiled by the country’s Communications Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw on August 18 at the Cambridge Layout in Bengaluru, Karnataka. This was made possible by the construction company Larsen&Toubro Ltd. with technical guidance from IIT Madras using a technology called 3D Concrete Printing. The 1,021-square-foot marvel was brought to life in mere 45 days using a fully automated 3D printer and was constructed at the job site itself in an open-sky environment.
This “open sky” construction facility gave Postal officials as well as the Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC), the opportunity to monitor and admire the marvel in real time. To show his appreciation, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi took to X (formerly Twitter) to share some words of admiration and images of the newly constructed building. And the best part is, all of these were achieved at a mere cost of Rs 23 lakhs! This amount is around 40% less than what would have been taken if the construction was carried out the traditional way.
As I mentioned earlier, this feat was achieved by 3D Concrete Printing technology. Now, you must be wondering what exactly it is. To put it simply, 3D concrete printing is an emerging technology that primarily focuses on quickening the construction process of houses with enhanced build quality and reduced cost.
To achieve this, an automated robotic printer is fed the 3D model schematics of the building while keeping key factors like concrete properties, flowability, load-bearing capacity, inter-layer bonding, and build strength, intact. The robot then proceeds to deposit concrete layer-by-layer as per the data it has been fed. However, this process is not fully autonomous yet. To achieve the desired results, a skilled worker continually monitors and regulates the pace at which the concrete mixture is channeled by the robot.
Are 3D-printed Houses The Future?
One of the biggest USPs of this technology is that it facilitates individual customization as well as opportunities for incorporating weather-proofing utilities within the building construction, making affordable and quality housing facilities at reduced costs a reality for everyone! Speaking about the future prospect of this technology, Mr. Rajendra Kumar, the Chief Postmaster General of Karnataka Circle, said, “There are plans to construct post offices across 400 vacant sites across the state, where postal services are not accessible. But it will only take off after submitting a detailed report on the first 3D-printed post office.”
