3D Printing, also called additive manufacturing, is the new buzzword across the industry. Of late, construction industry has started leveraging the advantages of 3D Printing. R&Drone laboratory in Dubai, a lab that will conduct research on drones and 3D printing technologies, has become the world’s first building completely 3D printed onsite.

The lab is based at the Solar Park as a part of its Research and Development (R&D) Centre. Due to the size of the elements of the R&Drone laboratory, CyBe Construction, the company responsible for the engineering and onsite 3D concrete printing of the facility, has transported the CyBe RC 3Dp to the location in Dubai. CyBe RC 3Dp is the mobile 3D-printer which is able to move on caterpillar tracks.

Benefits of 3D printing the R&Drone Laboratory
The R&Drone laboratory resulted from a tender that was awarded by Dubai Electrictiy and Water Authority (DEWA). The onsite printing of the lab offers some important benefits in comparison with building this facility by using traditional construction methods.

Onsite 3D-printing
When printing on the right location it isn’t necessary to transport separate elements from another location, like a precast factory. The entire laboratory is fully printed onsite so no additional costs for transportation. Furthermore the absence of this portage reduces the time in which the R&Drone laboratory is built.

Thanks to the modular character of the CyBe RC 3Dp, this printer can be easily transported for projects. However, substantial savings are more apparent when a 3D-printer is owned to print likewise buildings onsite.

High-speed construction process
Traditional construction can take a lot of time. The construction of a building often causes inconveniences for the surroundings of the building site, like traffic, noise and waste-transportation. Due to the fast construction process that is able with 3D concrete printing technology those problems are reduced to a smaller time frame.

The R&Drone laboratory is printed within weeks. In comparison: the construction of a building like this with traditional methods can take up to a couple of months.

Sustainable construction method
3D concrete printing is much more eco-friendly than traditional ways of building. This is due to the reduction of CO2-emission and waste. Especially the onsite printing of the R&Drone laboratory reduces overall energy waste. On top of that, environmental costs of assembling, transportation, logistics and storing are completely absent when printing the laboratory on location.

The sustainability of the printing of the R&Drone laboratory is also thanks to the printable CyBe MORTAR material.

The Project Team
The R&Drone laboratory is a project of DEWA – Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. CyBe Construction is responsible for the engineering and onsite 3D concrete printing of the facility. The contractor was CONVRGNT, Dubai whereas Wanders & Wagner was responsible for the architectural while Witteveen + Bos acts as the contractual design engineer.