Strategies towards large-scale 3D printing without size constraints

Abstract

ABSTRACT Three-dimensional (3D) printing has been profoundly changing the production mode of traditional industries. However, this technique is usually limited to metre-scale fabrication, which prevents large-scale 3D printing (LS3DP) applications such as the manufacturing of buildings, aircraft, ships, and rockets. LS3DP faces great challenges, particularly, it not only requires confronting problems not yet solved by conventional 3D printing, such as the inability to print functional structures due to limitations by single-material manufacturing, but also needs to overcome the size effect limitation of large-scale printing. Here, we systematically review the state of the art in the integration of materials and technologies in LS3DP. We also demonstrate some disruptive engineering cases of LS3DP in the field of construction. The challenges and strategies for overcoming size constraints to achieve LS3DP of functional structures are discussed, including multifunctional 3D printing processes from nano- to large-scale and large-scale 4D printing processes, diverse printable materials and sustainable structures, horizontal and vertical size-independent printers, collaborative and intelligent control of the entire process, and extreme environment printing. These strategies can provide tremendous opportunities for the fully automated, intelligent, and unmanned production of these different material megastructures and internal multiscale multifunctional components such as buildings/structures, aerospace vehicles, and marine equipment.