Dissolvable 3DP Formwork

Abstract

Additive manufacturing technology frees the designer and manufacturer from the constraints for creating formwork for castable materials. However, the removal of formwork remains a challenging task for specific geometric features such as undercuts and hollow parts. The entire formwork needs to be reachable by humans or machines to be broken, which poses a great risk of damaging the final concrete surface or destroying intricate details. This paper focuses on the development of a sustainable FDM 3D printed formwork system, enabling the casting of components at an architectural scale, without creating material waste. It does so by combining a minimal 3D printed shell with additional geometrical formwork features. Furthermore it proposes the usage of an alternative formwork material, Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA). PVA is water dissolvable, non-toxic, and biodegradable. Introducing water dissolvable 3D printed formwork allows designers to exploit in full the advantages of additive manufacturing technologies and the formability of castable materials. Concrete can be cast to fabricate one of a kind, full-scale, structural components without compromising the complexity of form, while at the same time, reducing the amount of material waste drastically.