Where is this 3D-printed post office?
On 18th August 2023, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Railways, Communications, and Electronics and Information Technology, inaugurated India's first three-dimensional (3D) printed post office. This post office is located in Bengaluru. It was the first time a 3D concrete printing technology was used to make a commercial building in India.
The company Larsen and Toubro (L&T) built this post office in only 43 days! They got help from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras for the building’s structural design.
How was 3D printing used to make this building?
The way they built this post office is really high-tech. A robotic printer was used to deposit the concrete layer by layer as per the design. This concrete dried up quickly. Normally, making a post office like this takes a long time. Thanks to this technology, the building was made quickly.
3D printing the post office also cost less money. So, using 3D printing technology to build the post office saved both time and money.
What is 3D printing?
3D printing is a cool way to make stuff. To do it, one needs a 3D printer. First, one must create a design of the object they want to print (such as toys, jewellery, etc.). The person can also use an existing design.
Next, the design is sent to the 3D printer. The printer reads the design and starts making the thing, one layer at a time. It uses a kind of material known as filament. It is a type of plastic that the printer softens by heating. This plastic is laid down layer by layer to build the object.
