Inspection methods for 3D concrete printing

3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) is being used for off-site manufacture of many elements found in the built environment, ranging from furniture to bridges. The advantage of these methods is the value added through greater geometrical freedom because a mould is not needed to create the form. In recent years, research has focused on material properties both in the wet and hardened state, while less attention has been paid to verifying printed forms through geometry measurement. Checking conformity is a critical aspect of manufacturing quality control, particularly when assembling many components, or when integrating/interfacing parts into/with existing construction. This paper takes a case study approach to explore applications of digital measurement systems prior to, during, after manufacture using 3DCP and after the assembly of a set of 3DCP parts and discusses the future prospects for such technology as part of geometry quality control for the procurement of 3DCP elements for the built environment.