Archinect - News2024-06-02T04:06:04-04:00https://archinect.com/news/article/150404346/eth-zurich-researcher-develops-3d-printed-insulation-foam-using-recycled-materials
ETH Zurich researcher develops 3D printed insulation foam using recycled materials Niall Patrick Walsh2023-12-01T11:48:00-05:00>2024-03-15T01:45:58-04:00
<img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/09/091c448c76e527d7bcfcdc5e0d3a9311.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p><a href="https://archinect.com/ethz" target="_blank">ETH Zurich</a> has published details of <a href="https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2023/11/lightweight-insulating-building-elements-from-a-3d-printer.html" target="_blank">new research</a> into lightweight building components produced using <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/475/3d-printing" target="_blank">3D printing</a>. Led by doctoral architecture researcher Patrick Bedarf, the Airlements project centers on cement-free mineral foams derived from recycled industrial waste.</p>
<p>Working within the institution’s Digital Building Technologies group led by Professor Benjamin Dillenburger, Bedarf’s project emerged from a doctoral thesis on lightweight insulating construction elements, and how complex shapes could be manufactured with fewer material inputs. Bedarf ultimately deployed a sustainable insulation material produced by the ETH spin-off FenX using <a href="https://archinect.com/news/tag/13445/recycled-materials" target="_blank">recycled</a> industrial waste.</p>
<p>FenX’s mineral foam material is mostly made from fly ash, a waste product from industrial blast furnaces. Bedarf’s process then deploys 3D printing to shape the material into bespoke building parts without the need for formwork, which is traditionally only partly reusable and more time-consuming.</p>
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