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Research & Development

System Software Ensures Stability & Accuracy

Our systems are based on rigorous scientific work to guarantee a high level of control over the printing process.

Software to support the design for additive construction includes algorithms to predict structural performance and compensate for material deformation during printing, guaranteeing shape stability and accuracy.

We compensate for material deformation during printing, guaranteeing shape, stability, and accuracy.

research_and_dev infographic

Lower-Carbon Materials

 

Concrete, after water, is the most widely used material on the planet. Manufacturing concrete currently results in 4.5% of annual global carbon dioxide emissions. Most of these emissions are due to the use of Portland Cement as the binder because of the chemical reactions and energy required to produce it. Replacing even a small amount of this material with low-carbon alternatives could help reduce the industry’s global carbon footprint.

X-Hab 3D is developing new concrete composite materials, in collaboration with Penn State, that combine locally sourced aggregate with advanced composites that minimize emissions of CO2 or even sequester it.

r-and-d materials

Stronger, Lighter, More Durable Materials

 

We are also focused on the prospect of incorporating plastics, glass, fly ash, slag, and other waste materials as additives, binders or aggregates that have greater strength (compression, tensile, and flexural) and durability and that are lighter than traditional concrete mixtures, and that can be recycled at end of life to reduce the amount of these materials ending up in landfills, lakes, rivers, and oceans.

 

Concrete Printed Materials

 

Materials Testing

 

X-Hab 3D’s collaboration with Penn State’s Material Research Institute and Additive Construction Lab Researchers provides opportunities to unite research and practice, raising awareness and promoting the advantages of sustainable practices.

We engineer new composite materials incorporating locally sourced aggregates to minimize embodied energy and lower CO2 emissions. We test them for compressive and flexural strength and for shape accuracy.

We evaluate and test our engineered materials for their strength according to ASTM standards.