The subject of the invention is installation and method for producing buildings by three- dimensional printing, the essential part of which is an automatic crane structure, that moves a printing head in three dimensions, which is capable of building walls by placing horizontal layers on one another made of quickly setting concrete. The fields of application of the invention include all constructions, where the building can be made from concrete, and the height and allocation of walls allow the printing head of the installation to reach all parts of the building.

According to the state of art a number of inventions exist that can be used for building walls automatically by means of three dimensional printing. Solutions are known wherein the crane structure has a gantry arrangement, meaning that the desired movement of the head is realized by three components of the movement: two horizontal movements perpendicular to each other, and a vertical movement. Solutions based on such principle are made known for instance by the patent documents US 8 029 710 and US 20070181519.

According to the state of art also is known the solution prescribed in patent document US2016361834A1 entitled three dimensional printing controlled with polar coordinates, which describes an automatic three dimensions printer working in vertical position with tower crane structure and a boom extending from it.

In the professional literature and in the internet is known such a solution of a resembling tower cranes, which perform the following movements: rotating the crane body around vertical axis, vertical movement of boom, extension of boom, (address of web site: http://apis-cor.com/). The drawback of the solution is that it is not suitable for constructing on large floor area because of the limitations of the boom length, and that the position of the head becomes uncertain when large boom extension is used because of the swing of the structure. The disadvantage of these solutions is that they require big spaces, and can be deployed on sufficiently horizontal areas. A further disadvantage of the solution is that the overall dimensions of the structure are always over the external dimensions of the building, therefore, their application is restricted if the buildings are situated along the plot border.

The aim of the invention was to create an installation with a structure and associated procedure, which could be brought to operating condition within a short period of time after delivering it to the construction site, while allowing the construction up to the plot border, and the use of large working areas.

During the creation of the solution according to the invention we recognised that if we create an installation having a structure with a moving vertically boom with a rotating crane, which travels on horizontal rails, and it is provided at the end of its boom with a head suitable for making three dimensional printing, thus a longitudinal movement supplements the movement in central movement, then the planned aim can be achieved.

The invention is an installation for producing buildings by three-dimensional printing, which installation has a crane structure that can rotate in lateral direction, on the top part of which crane structure there is telescoping boom, which is balanced with a counterweight consisting of multiple parts, on the end of which boom a printing head is mounted, which is capable of delivering materials suitable for three dimensional printing. It is characterised by that, the crane structure is placed on a horizontal rail system which is capable of lateral movement, which rail system, together with crane structure mounted on it, is placed within the building to be produced by three dimensional printing, so that the crane structure can reach all parts of the building to be produced by extending its boom and by moving laterally on the rail system, wherein the crane structure consists of a crane base plate, a rotating gear placed on it, a crane body, and a vertical linear bench that can move at the height of the crane structure, on which vertical linear bench a telescopic boom and a counterweight boom is mounted, on which counterweight boom a counterweight is located, while the stator and the rotor of the three dimensional printing head are fixed to a correction drive unit at the end of the boom, and the crane structure contains detectors, one of which is the twist detector, which detects and measures the twist of the crane body of the crane structure, wherein the other detector is the deflection detector, which detects and measures the deflection of the boom, and furthermore, there is a mechanical intervention unit on the crane structure called the correction drive unit, which has a function of accurately moving and positioning the printing head depending on the position of the crane structure and the boom.

In a preferred embodiment according to the invention, the rail system, that allows the horizontal movement of the crane structure, is build from one or more elements, by which the movement range of the crane structure can be extended as required.

In another preferred embodiment according to the invention, the boom and in the given case the counterweight boom is lifted by means of chain hoist motors from above.

In a further preferred embodiment according to the invention, the crane structure can be divided into two parts along its height, i.e. a lower unit and an upper unit, thus making sure that the transporting vehicle carrying the crane structure does not belong to the oversized freight category.

In a further preferred embodiment according to the invention, the correction drive unit located immediately in front of the printing head can move the printing head horizontally and vertically for the purpose of correcting undesirable movements caused by the distortions of the crane structure.

In a further preferred embodiment according to the invention, the boom consists of sections that can be pushed into one another, so that the printing head and its movable rotor can be located at a radius less than the minimum length of the boom when the sections are pushed into one another.

The invention is furthermore a method for producing buildings by three dimensional printing, primarily with the use of installation according to the invention, during the application of which method a crane structure is used that can be rotated in lateral direction and its height can be varied, and the construction of the wall of the building takes place by placing layers on the top of one another by means of three dimensional printing, where the said layers get solidified after printing. It is characterised by that, the necessary construction material is placed in layers along routes and locations according to a program prepared on the basis of the structure and locations of the walls of the building by means of a printing head mounted on the crane structure, which rests on the rail system within the building, where the said construction material is composed of previously determined plastic material and various additives used for three dimensional printing, and the printing head deposits a layer all along this route during the construction of the building, and then continues with placing of the next layer above on the basis of the program corresponding to the structure of the building until the given building or building part is completed.

In a preferred application of the method according to the invention, no wall shell is printed along the vertical void of lines to be installed in the wall shell of the building, and the wall bracing behind the void is aligned to run directly next to the wall shell in the vicinity of the void.

In another preferred application of the method according to the invention, no wall shell is printed along the horizontal void of lines to be installed in the wall shells of the building, and C profile is installed instead at its bottom and top, where the open part of the said C profile is at the external side of the wall.

In a further preferred application of the method according to the invention, no wall shell is printed along the horizontal void of lines to be installed in the wall shells of the building, and horizontal perforated plate is installed below it, on which more layers are printed at the location of wall shell aligned directly inwards up to the height of the void, and another horizontal perforated plate is placed on it, and on which a layer is printed at the place of the wall shell aligned directly inwards. In a further preferred application of the method according to the invention, the material used as plastic base material is plastic concrete, in the given case traditional concrete or concrete with additives, while the material used as additive is fibre reinforcement or setting accelerator.

In a further preferred application of the method according to the invention, the deviation of position caused by torsion of the crane structure and the deviation of the boom is adjusted as well as is re-adjusted during the method for which the extension of the counterweight located at the end of the counterweight boom is calculated by the central control of the installation from the extension of the boom, wherein the correction is executed by the correction drive unit located at the end of the boom, which corrects the twist of the crane body and the deflection of the boom with horizontal correction and vertical correction movement, for which purpose the twist of the crane body is measured by a laser operated measuring system using twist detector fixed to the rotating gear of the crane, which directs the laser beam to the vertical linear bench, and the deflection of the boom is measured by a laser operated measuring system using a deflection detector fixed to the vertical linear bench, which directs the laser beam to the end of the boom, wherein the data provided by the two measuring systems are transmitted to the unit performing the central control of the installation, on the basis of which the unit calculates the values of vertical correction and the horizontal correction for the correction drive unit.

In a further preferred application of the method according to the invention, a transom element having a thickness equivalent to a layer is placed in the layer below and above the voids of doors and windows of the construction building, so that the it extends beyond the void in both direction by a distance corresponding to at least the printing width.

In a further preferred application of the method according to the invention, the wall shell of the constructed building is prepared higher than the wall bracing by one or more layers, on which a grid can be placed having a mesh, through which the printed plastic construction material cannot flow, on which grid one or more layers of construction material are placed until the full cross section of the walls becomes equal.

In a further preferred application of the method according to the invention, the a floor slab formwork is produced by printing the external wall shell of the of the constructed building up to the elevation of the planned floor slab.

In a further preferred application of the method according to the invention, the layers of the stairs in the building are prepared at the same height as the layers of the wall in parallel to them, so that a grid is placed below the new stair step before printing, which has a proper mesh not to allow the material printed on it to flow through.

In a further preferred application of the method according to the invention, temporary column is prepared from the material of the wall below the grid that has been placed beneath the stair steps in the building, which column can be removed after the full solidification of the stairs.

In a further preferred application of the method according to the invention, if the dimensions of the constructed building exceed the working range of the crane structure, then it can be relocated with the help of a crane for adding further walls, and the rest of the parts are constructed in a way the original wall section at the plot border is made from layers each of them being situated at a given distance inwards relative to the previous layer.

In a further preferred application of the method according to the invention, if the dimensions of the constructed building exceed the working range of the crane structure, then more than one crane structures can be deployed to the area of the building, which can be operated simultaneously with appropriate harmonisation of their operation for constructing the building, so that a new layer could be initiated only after all the machines completed the previous layer, and if two heads are bound to come closer to each other then the lower limit during printing, then one of the heads is retracted in radial direction to a specified distance, and then the movement of this head is suspended until the distance between the two heads reaches an upper limit, upon which the head returns to its original position and resumes its travel according to the program.

The solution according to the invention is furthermore set forth on the base of the enclosed figures as follows, wherein the

Fig. 1 shows the location of the installation according to the invention within the building in operating condition, the

Fig. 2 shows the components and movements of the installation according to the invention in operating position, the

Fig. 3 shows the installation according to the invention in transporting position when it is disassembled into constituent parts, the

Fig. 4 shows the boom system of the invention in extended and retracted positions, the Fig. 5 shows the block diagram of the structural units and operation of the invention, the Fig. 6 shows the wall structure belonging to the construction technology, as well as the solution of voids for doors and windows.

Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 show the structure of the voids serving for installing the lines 37, the Fig. 9 shows the solution belonging to the construction technology associated with the reception of floor slab 44, the

Fig. 10 shows the connection belonging to the construction technology of the subsequently constructed walls, the

Fig. 11 shows the architectural solution of the stairs belonging to the construction technology.

Fig. 1 shows the location of the installation according to the invention within the building in operating condition. The building 9 can be seen in the figure, at the middle of which the crane structure 10 is located together with the horizontal rail system 11.

Fig. 2 shows the components and movements of the installation according to the invention in operating position. The horizontal movement 1 is indicated in the figure, together with the vertical rotation 2, lifting 3, extension of boom 4, extension of counterweight 5, horizontal correction 6, vertical correction 7 and the rotation of head 8. The crane structure 10 is mounted on the horizontal rail system 11, and it consists of crane base plate 12, rotating gear 13, crane body 14, vertical linear bench 17, boom 18 and counterweight boom 19. The crane structure 10 also contains chain hoist motor 20, counterweight 21, correction drive unit 22 and a printing head 23, which consists of a stator and a printing head rotor 24 at the end of the head.

Fig. 3 shows the installation according to the invention in transporting position when it is disassembled into constituent parts. The horizontal rail system 11 can be seen in the figure, together with lower unit 15 and the upper unit 16 of the crane structure 10 in disassembled and folded condition.

Fig. 4 shows the boom system of the invention in extended and retracted positions. The figure shows the boom 18 and the counterweight boom 19, as well as the counterweight

21, the printing head stator 23, and the printing head rotor 24 located on the end of head.

Fig. 5 shows the block diagram of the structural units and operation of the invention. The building 9 can be seen in the figure, together with the horizontal rail system 1 1, crane base plate 12, rotating gear 13, crane body 14, vertical linear bench 17, boom 18, counterweight boom 19, chain hoist motor 20, counterweight 21, correction drive unit

22, printing head stator 23 and the printing head rotor 24 located on the end of the head. Furthermore, the figure shows the central control 25, deflection detector 26, twist detector 27, pump 28, pump 29, computer 30 for trajectory data. The plastic base material KA can be seen in the figure, together with the mode of delivering the additives Al, A2.

Fig. 6 shows the wall structure belonging to the construction technology, as well as the solution of voids for doors and windows. The shell 31 of the wall of the building 9 produced with 3D printing can be seen in the figure, together with the bracing 32 formed in it, and the void 33 of the window, and the transom element 34 paced below and over the window. Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 show the structure of the voids serving for installing the lines 37. The figure shows the wall shell 31 and its bracing 32, the lines 37, the perforated C profile of the void 45, the perforated plate 46 below the void and the perforated plate 47 above the void. This solution serves the purpose of simple installation of building services lines, such as electrical lines, water lines, etc.

Fig. 9 shows the solution belonging to the construction technology associated with the reception of floor slab 44. The figure shows the grid 35 placed below the floor slab 44, as well as the floor slab formwork 36 together with the floor slab 44.

Fig. 10 shows the connection belonging to the construction technology of the subsequently constructed walls. The original wall section 38 and the added wall section 39 can be seen in the figure. This make possible that the construction could be resumed from another location after completing a part of the building 9.

Fig. 11 shows the architectural solution of the stairs belonging to the construction technology. The printed stairs 40 inserted subsequently can be seen in the figure, which is supported by the temporary columns 41, and also the grid 42 and the stair step 43 can be seen.

When the installation according to the invention is used for 3D printing of a building 9, then the crane structure 10 makes linear horizontal movement 1 on the rail system 11 deployed at the bottom of the building 9 to be constructed, which rail system can be arranged according to the locations of the walls of the building 9. By assembling the elements of the rail system 11 , the length of travel can be increased as necessary. The crane base plate 12 travels on the rail system 1 1, which base plate supports the further components of the crane structure 10. The rotating gear 13 is built on the base plate, which rotating gear supports the crane body 14, and produces its vertical rotation 2. The crane body 14 consists of vertical linear guides, which can be divided into two parts along their length. The vertical linear bench 17 performs a linear lifting 3 on the crane body 14, the raising and lowering of which bench is made by chain hoist motors 20 installed at the top of the crane body 14. The boom 18 and the counterweight boom 19 are built on the vertical linear bench 17. Both booms have a telescopic structure, they consist of sections that can be pushed into one another, as a result of which the printing head 23, 24 can be positioned at a radius smaller than the minimum length of the boom 18, as shown in Fig. 4.

There is a counterweight 21 at the end of the counterweight boom 19, the extension of which is calculated by the central control 25 of the installation from the extension of the boom 18. At the end of the boom 18 a correction drive unit 22 is installed, which produces horizontal correction 6 and vertical correction 7 of the twist of the crane body 14 and the deflection of the boom 18. The twist of the crane body 14 is measured by the laser operated measuring system with the help of a twist detector 27 fixed to the rotating gear 13 of the crane, which directs the laser beam onto the vertical linear bench 17. The deflection of the boom 18 is measured by a laser operated measuring system with the help of a deflection detector 26 fixed to the vertical linear bench 17, which directs the laser beam to the end of the boom 18. The data provided by the two measuring systems 26, 27 are transmitted to the central control unit 25 of the structure, which uses the data for calculating the values of vertical correction 7 and horizontal correction 6 for the correction drive unit 22.

The printing head stator 23 is connected to the correction drive unit 22, in which the mixing and feeding of the components of the material to be printed take place. The rotor 24 of the printing head 23 is connected to the printing head stator 23, through which the material is discharged from the crane structure 10. The arrangement of the printing head 23 allows the mixing of additive in the material flow depending on its position, which reduces the rate of setting significantly, therefore, the material can be removed easily even after several hours.

The crane structure 10 can be divided into two parts for transporting as shown in Fig. 4, so the transporting vehicle is not in the category of oversized freight. The lower unit 15 contains the rail system 11 , vertical linear bench 17, the system consisting of boom 18 and counterweight boom 19, the printing head 23, 24, and the lower half of the crane body 14. The upper unit 16, containing the chain hoist motors 20 and the upper part of the crane body 14, may be placed on the top of the vertical guides of the lower unit 15 after it has been positioned horizontally for transporting. The lower unit 15 is connected to an element of the horizontal rail system 11 already in transporting position, so the length of the rail system 1 1 can be extended after deployment.

In case of a beneficial preferred application of the solution according to the invention, the crane structure 10 can be delivered to the construction site on a vehicle, which is provided with a crane. The erection of the crane structure 10 can be made by placing the component units shown in Fig. 4 on the previously prepared foundation of the building 9 to be constructed.

In the first step the lower unit 15 of the structure is placed by crane on the foundation, then the upper unit 16 can be placed on it. The two halves are fitted together by pushing the vertical guide rods into one another. In addition to that, bolts are to be used for fixing, and the vertical linear bench 17 is to be attached to the chain suspended from the chain hoist motors 20. Then the further elements of the rail system 1 1 may be assembled up to the necessary length, and the lines connected to the crane structure 10, such as electricity, concrete and control lines, can be connected to the associated components, such as the pumps 28, 29 and the controlling computer 30, which contains the trajectory data of the crane structure 10.

The printing of walls is made in layers, the printing head 23 is raised by a distance corresponding to the layer thickness after completing a full layer. The structure of the printed wall and the voids 33 for the door and windows are shown in Fig. 6. The wall structure consists of bordering shells 31 and the wall bracing 32 placed between them. No concrete is printed in the voids 33 in which doors and windows will be installed. Transom elements 34 having a height of a layer are to be placed in the layers just below and above the void 33, so that they extend beyond the void 33 in both directions by at least with the width of a layer.

The structure of voids belonging to the construction technology and planned for installing lines 37 are shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. No wall shell 31 is printed along the vertical voids of the lines 37 to be placed in the wall shell 31 of the building 9, while the wall bracing 32 behind the void has an alignment, that it runs right next to the wall shell 31 in the vicinity of the void. In case of a further preferred application of the method according to the invention, if the size of the building to be constructed exceeds the working range of the structure, then more than one structures can be deployed and operated simultaneously with appropriate harmonisation of their operation for constructing the building, so that a new layer could be initiated only after all the machines completed the previous layer, and if two heads are bound to come closer to each other then the lower limit during printing, then one of the heads is retracted in radial direction to a specified distance, and then the movement of this head is suspended until the distance between the two heads reaches an upper limit, upon which the head returns to its original position and resumes its travel according to the program.

Two solutions are possible for preparing the horizontal voids:

According to the solution shown in Fig. 7 no wall shell 31 is printed along the void, while a C shaped perforated profile 45 is placed at its bottom and its top in a way, that the open side of the profile is at the external side of the wall.

According to the solution shown in Fig. 8 no wall shell 31 is printed along the void, while a perforated plate 46 is placed below the void, on which a number of layers are printed at the place of the wall shell 31 positioned inwards from it up to the height of the void, on which yet another perforated plate 47 is placed, on which a layer is printed at the place of the wall shell 31 in a position directly inwards.

Fig. 9 shows the top of the ready walls. The shell 31 of the wall section is built with one or more layers higher relative to the wall bracing 32. A grid 35 is then placed on it through which the printed plastic construction material cannot flow. Then one or more layers of construction material are placed on the grid until the entire cross section of the wall has the same height. With the plane thus produced, the wall becomes suitable at the entire cross section to receive the floor slab 44. In addition to that, the formwork 36 of the floor slab can be produced by printing the external shell of the wall up to the height of the future floor slab 44.

Fig. 11 shows the construction mode of stairs that can be made with the invention. The stairs produced with the method can have one, two or more flights, restrained at on or two sides, arched, staggered or straight. The layers of the star steps are produced at the height of the wall layers in parallel direction, where a grid 42 is to be placed below the stair step 43 before printing, which has a mesh through which the printed material cannot flow. Temporary column 41 can prepared as necessary below the grid 42 situated beneath the stair step 43, which is made of the material of the wall and can be removed after the full solidification of the stairs.

The boom 18 and the counterweight boom 19 are retracted after completing the wall, and the crane structure 10 can be lifted out from the inside of the building by means of a crane. If additional levels are to be constructed for the building, then the crane structure 10 can be lifted by a crane onto the next level, from where the construction process can be resumed.

If the dimensions of the building 9 exceed the working range of the crane structure 10, then it can be relocated with the help of a crane, from where the rest of the walls can also be constructed. The new wall 39 can be constructed to the already completed one in the way shown in Fig. 10. The first original wall section 38 at the border of the work site is made in a way that each subsequent layer is placed at given distance further inwards. As a result of this arrangement the printing head 23 and its rotor 24 at the end of the head could not touch the already completed original wall section 38, when they approach with the added wall section 39.

The advantage of the solution according to the invention is that the crane structure 10 according to the invention has four degrees of freedom for the movement, which are as follows: horizontal movement of the crane structure 10, vertical rotation 2 of crane body 1, vertical movement of boom 18 and extension 4 of the boom 18. In addition to these movements, horizontal 6 and vertical 7 correction of position takes place directly before the printing head 23 and the rotor 24 at the end of the head as shown in Fig. 3. The advantage of the invention is that the installation can be put into operation within a short period of time after delivering it to the construction site, while the position of the printing head 23 and the rotor 24 at the end of the head is accurate, it allows the construction up to the border of the plot, and it also allows a large work site.

A further advantage relative to the solutions using gantry cranes, that buildings of any height and levels can be constructed, because the rail system can be relocated to the actual floor slab, so the further construction can be easily performed. It is also possible to continue the construction of existing building completed with any technology, for which purpose the installation can be placed on the top floor slab of the building to proceed with the construction.

List of references

1. Horizontal movement 27. Twist detector

2. Vertical rotation 28. Pump 1

3. Lifting 29. Pump 2

4. Boom extension 30. Computer, trajectory data

5. Counterweightboom extension 31. Wall shell

6. Correction (horizontal) 32. Wall bracing

7. Correction (vertical) 33. (Doors and window) void

8. Head rotation 34. Transom element (below and over the

9. Building doors and window)

10. Crane structure 35. Grid (below the floor slab)

11. (Horizontal) rail system 36. Floor slab formwork

12. Crane base plate 37. Line

13. Rotating gear 38. Original wall section

14. Crane body 39. Added wall section

15. Lower unit 40. Printed stairs

16. Upper unit 41. Temporary column

17. Vertical linear bench 42. Grid

18. Boom 43. New stair step

19. Counterweight boom 44. Floor slab

20. Chain hoist motor 45. C profile of void for line

21. Counterweight 46. Perforated plate below the void for line

22. Correction drive unit 47. Perforated plate over the void for line

23. Printing head (stator) KA - Plastic base material

24. Rotor (at the end of printing head) Al - Additive 1

25. Central control A2 - Additive 2

26. Deflection detector