COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF 3D-BUILD PRINTER COMPETITIVENESS

Abstract

This article proposes a method for assessing the competitiveness of building 3D printers based on a comparison of their technical and technological characteristics and economic parameters. The methodology implements an integrated approach that takes into account a large number of comparison parameters of a different nature based on the use of relative indicators. The calculation takes into account the design characteristics of printers, the characteristics of the manufacturability of the printing process, the characteristics of printed building objects and the economic parameters of printers. So, for low-rise construction, the essential parameters are: printing speed, the ratio of the print area and the overall dimensions of the printer, the ability to work with low-flow mixtures and with various building mixtures without readjustment, reducing the defectiveness of the printed layer and energy consumption. The most competitive is the printer that provides more units of useful effect, determined by a set of technical and technological characteristics, per unit of costs associated with the purchase of a printer, its energy consumption, the laboriousness of maintenance and installation and dismantling at a construction site. As a result of assessing the competitiveness of various types of printers, it was revealed that the leader for low-rise construction is the portal printer BOD2 2-2-2 of the Danish company COBOD BOD2. For printing building products and structures in a production environment, the FIXED robotic arm from the Netherlands has a competitive advantage. CyBe Construction. The considered approach to assessing the competitiveness of building 3D printers is of practical interest to their manufacturers. The new knowledge about the significance of the design solutions of 3D printers, obtained as a result of the implementation of the proposed methodology, creates strategic guidelines for domestic manufacturers.