Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurates India's first 3D-printed post office in Bengaluru

Inaugurating the brand new post office at the residential Cambridge Layout in the city, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the building demonstrated "the spirit of development, the spirit of developing our own technology, the spirit of doing something which was considered impossible in the earlier times." That is the defining feature of these times, the minister said.

The post office building was constructed by construction company Larsen & Toubro Limited while IIT Madras provided technical guidance. The entire construction activity was completed in a period of 45 days as compared to about six to eight months taken by the conventional method. "Having a 3D-printed concrete building constructed on site is a great initiative. This is a technology demonstrator. IIT Madras has done fabulous work on this. When this technology will become mainstream, we will see more such initiatives taking this technology forward," Vaishnaw told reporters.

As per the website of L&T, the building was constructed using a robotic printer. Using it, "3D printing technology deposits concrete layer-by-layer in accordance with the 3D model drawing input. The process requires a delicate balance of concrete properties, including flowability, quick hardening for load-bearing capacity, green concrete status for inter-layer bonding, and sufficient strength to ensure successful printing."

• ​Automation: Fully automated construction ensures excellent build quality and safe work environment.
• Design Freedom: Without a formwork system, innovative and non-geometrical building shapes can be constructed to enhance aesthetics and convenience and optimise overall cost.
• Sustainable Construction: Elimination of timber and aluminum formwork; use of supplementary materials to optimize CO2 emission; less material wastages; less electrical energy consumption.
• Digital Workflow: Digital workflow of drawings eliminates manual errors and costly rework.