The Blog of the LaRTIC

Avec le succès grandissant des techniques d’impression 3D dans l’industrie de la construction, la fabrication additive est considérée comme un sujet de plus en plus populaire dans le secteur. Dans ce contexte, l’impression 4D devient une thématique de recherche d’intérêt permettant d’étendre les possibilités offertes par l’impression 3D. Le terme d’impression 4D a été utilisé pour la première fois en 2013 par Skylar Tibbits, un chercheur de Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Malgré des travaux fondateurs très prometteurs, les techniques et approches d’impression 4D demeurent très peu connues et leur potentiel d’application dans l’industrie de la construction reste inexploré.

The construction industry is a fragmented and complex sector that requires the participation of many stakeholders, making the projects’ completion challenging. Thus, the success of construction projects relies in large part on effective collaboration, including communication and management of information.

The file developed during this study is based on the technique of visual programming. It uses a parametric algorithm to model the bridge elements in a design software (Rhinoceros 3D and its extension Grasshopper) and allows the generation and analysis of a 3D model in a structural analysis software (Tekla Structures).

The notion of digital twins is becoming more and more raised in the construction industry. Some even see it as the next step in digital transformation, after BIM. However, it is a very unformalized concept whose contours in the construction industry are still rather vague.

Du BIM à la Construction 4.0

While the Building Information Modeling (BIM) approach has been an important enabler for the digital transformation in construction, the concept of Construction 4.0 gradually begins to impose itself. It is still difficult today to give a precise definition, even if the experts are unanimous on the fact that it will be a major revolution for the industry.