PLASTIC FANTASTIC
Imagine all the repurposing…
Two 3D printing records have apparently been broken in China, at a park in an innovation centre in Shanghai called Taopu Smart City – a pedestrian bridge that at 15.6 m and 5.8 t is both the world’s largest 3D-printed footbridge and the world’s heaviest 3D-printed object. Made with an XXL 3D printer – though really, we should be adding a few Xs at this point – and using, thankfully, heat-, water- and harsh weather-resistant acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA), the bridge is expected to last at least 30 years.
 The world's largest 3D-printed bridge – pictured here without the four adults per square metre it can carry (Photo: Polymaker) |
The bridge’s designers took a look at the developments in large-scale 3D printing and saw a way to break the cycle of single-use plastics that end up littering the oceans (if not everyone is conscientious about recycling). Envisioning a future with three trash bins – regular, recycling, repurposing – the designers' fondest wish is to keep all plastics landlocked. Though to be fair, if you removed the upper layer, the nooks and crannies on the inside would make a great artificial reef…
05.04.2019 Plasteurope.com [241957-0]
Published on 05.04.2019