Construction Dive: 3D-Printed Precast Concrete Molds for Redeveloped NYC Landmark a First

Amy Howell Hirt – Construction Dive

For this project, additive manufacturing delivered savings of both time and money. The panels CookFox designed feature varying profiles that “conceptually relate back to sugar crystals and the site’s history while providing self-shading throughout the day,” according to Arno Adkins, project architect for the New York-based firm. Those variations required more than 100 different molds, and each mold would have taken master carpenters — who are in short supply in the industry — 40 to 50 hours to produce in wood.

“We would’ve tied up carpenters in multiple plants for months,” Mo Wright, marketing director for Gate Precast, told Construction Dive.

3D printing and machining the molds, however, took just 14 to 16 hours each.

Read more in the full article, 3D-Printed Precast Concrete Molds for Redeveloped NYC Landmark a First, here.