Efficient production of reinforced precast concrete elements using additive manufactured, integrated formwork

The paper presents the development of a resource-efficient automation solution for the production of prefabricated staircases using additive manufactured, component-integrated formwork systems. The staircase formwork is produced in an automated process by concrete extrusion with a special 3D printing concrete and then reinforced with steel and filled with casting concrete. In addition to the development and implementation of the formwork concept and the associated automated production process, the development of a parametric staircase model is presented, which significantly advances digitalization in the manufacturing of precast stairs. The model considerably simplifies the creation of CAD geometries and the generation of production programs, enables the visualization of the production process and provides a process simulation to evaluate the feasibility of production-critical designs. Particularly in light of the increasing shortage of skilled workers, the new manufacturing strategy in conjunction with strong digitalization offers the opportunity to relieve the burden on skilled workers, increase productivity and make an important contribution to increasing efficiency and cost-effectiveness in production. The paper provides an overview of the entire development process from the conception phase to the final realization of the precast staircase. The focus is on material development and characterization, the development of a parametric staircase model for generating the production programs, the manufacturing and investigation of large-scale test specimens to verify the production strategies and the production-related implementation of the component-integrated staircase formwork including reinforcement and casting process.