Yet another ingenious 3DCP application has emerged: swimming pools.
I saw a LinkedIn post by Axtra3D’s Rajiv Kulkarni, and tracked down what had occurred.
The project involved designing a 3D printed concrete backyard swimming pool — to accompany a 3D printed home, no less. It was designed by Tristan Peirce Landscape Architects, and 3D printed in concrete by Contec Australia, based in Perth, Australia.
The project involved designing an unusual geometry for the outside of the pool, said to be very challenging to achieve using conventional building methods.
To execute the printing, the walls of the pool and an adjacent hot tub were 3D printed. Rebar was inserted in between the printed walls, and concrete was then poured into the gap to complete the structure. Then surface coatings were applied in the usual manner.
The project also 3D printed a set of planters and other non-pool features to add to the main design.
This is the first time I’ve heard of a swimming pool being 3D printed, and it makes a great deal of sense. Pools in some regions are made from concrete and typically follow only a few basic patterns. With 3DCP technology, it would be far easier to build complex pools.
If a 3DCP printer were set up at the site, it would take no real difference to print a complex pattern than a basic one, with the major difference being the amount of material used. Complex patterns could not easily be made with conventional pouring approaches because the geometry would have to be constructed in wood or other materials to make up the mold for the pour. That would take considerable manual effort, but it is done automatically with a 3DCP printer.
Now that this is a proven application, the next step would be to determine the range of possibilities. What kind of strange pool designs could be possible? Would buyers want them? Are there unusual features, like tunnels, swim lanes, or other structures that could be valuable? Where is the software to easily design these features?
One aspect that isn’t mentioned in the stories is the cost. Would this project cost more than a conventional pool? Did the owner really want an unusual geometry and find the cost to do it with 3DCP less expensive?
We don’t know the answers here, but the pool certainly looks very attractive.
Via Facebook, Contec Australia, and Tristan Peirce
