According to the World Economic Forum, the housing gap will be 1.6 billion by 2025, and our existing operating model does not provide a solution. The global building and construction industry is facing significant problems. We are unable to keep up with demand, which inhibits global economic growth. COBOD’s mission is to build a better future by disrupting the global construction industry through world-class 3D construction robots. COBOD is the biggest 3D construction printing solution Company in the US with the most projects and activities across all states, they carry on these projects using locally sourced materials to reduce transportation, minimizing waste on-site and making buildings that last. COBOD follows an open-source approach, collaborating with consumers, academic institutions, and suppliers worldwide. COBOD is privately held, with important owners including General Electric, CEMEX, and PERI, and its partners include Dar Al Arkan (Saudi Arabia), L&T Construction (India), and JGC (Japan).
History of COBOD.
COBOD began as another company called HOUSE OF 3D PRINTING. The company carried out 3 years of research into the art of 3D printing in Denmark, after which they got a grant from the Danish Government. The Danish Government had concerns about 3D printing researches and knowledge the House of 3D printing was getting, as it was limited to only Denmark. The Grant given by the government was to travel around the world, carry out new researches, finding out new developments and bring the best Technology back into the Danish construction sector. Using this grant, The House of 3d Printing visited 38 different construction companies, projects and universities, at the end of this research they realized that the press has overstated the advantages of this technology and they were not so impressed. As 3D printing experts they knew they could do better and built their first 3D printer in just 6months, which is the first generation 3D construction printer. The house of 3d Printing demonstrated the potential of this technology by creating the first 3D printed building in Europe under 2 months, this was done with process transparency and total honesty, this single act created a global interest in the technology. The first printed house which was printed in 2017 is called BOD meaning Building on Demand, despite being smaller than 50 square meters (538 square feet), BOD is sufficiently big to show some of the architectural and financial advantages of using 3D printing technology in construction. The company at this point knew the company for this new innovation had to be separated, and COBOD was born, COBOD means Construction of Buildings on Demand. In 2019, COBOD 3D printed the building a second time in just 28 hours over 3 days. This was a productivity gain of 20x, which signifies the incredibly steep learning curve of the company and also the potential the technology has that is yet to be discovered. COBOD is headquartered in Denmark with regional offices and competence centers in Florida and Malaysia.
COBOD is currently leading in the construction of 3D printing as shown by global inventory. Research shows that by end of 2022, there were 129 3D printed buildings globally found on 105 building sites, Over 40 percent of projects, or 51 buildings, have been created using COBOD’s 3D construction printers worldwide and 40% of the construction sites where 3D-printed buildings have been constructed have also included these printers. In 2022 COBOD’s printers did almost 60% of all new 3D printed buildings. With more than 65 printers sold globally and major industrial players like GE Renewable Energy, Holcim, CEMEX, and PERI joining as strategic owners, COBOD has experienced fast growth in recent years. Further regional competence centers have been built in Miami and Kuala Lumpur to support this growth, and COBOD has even released an annual report.
Projects
Recently the COBOD printers have been taking over the industry and giving this 3D technology the attention it well deserves some of the projects are state of the art three floors smart home villa in Saudi, 10 houses 3d printed in 10 weeks using a COBOD printer.
State Of The Art Three Floors Smart Home Villa In Saudi
The state of art smart home is currently the world’s tallest 3D printed building, it is a 3-story, 9.9 m tall building compromises 345 m2 and was made by the leading Saudi Arabian real estate developer, Dar Al Arkan, using a COBOD 3D construction printer. The first floor has an area of 130 m2 which includes a spacious hall which has several living areas, a kitchen, and 2 toilets. The second floor is 140 m2 and has 3 bedrooms (one of which is a master bedroom) 2 bathrooms, a living room, and a balcony. The third floor is a roof annex which holds a maid’s room with a bathroom, a multipurpose hall and a laundry room. In Saudi Arabi such a building, although it consists of 3 floors is referred to as a two story + annex, due to the third floor being somewhat smaller than the two first floors. The project was executed using local materials and the D.fab solution developed by Cemex and COBOD. This solution allows COBOD customers to use 99% local and inexpensive materials, which all of the walls of the 345 m2 building was printed with, while only relying on 1% sourced from a central location, It is an excellent illustration of how innovation and technology can coexist with safety and regulation because it was 3D printed in just 26 days and complies with all construction codes. Regarding the completed villa that was 3D printed The 3-story villa from Dar Al Arakan, the founder and general manager of COBOD Henrik Lund-Nielsen said it, “truly represents state of the art of the 3D construction printing sector both in terms of scale and quality as well as in many other areas. The villa serves as an example of the technology’s capabilities in terms of scale, rapidity, the use of inexpensive local materials, and creative solutions. Our technique provides the world’s fastest construction process, and when this is combined with inexpensive locally produced concrete, a successful combination has been formed.”
HOUSES IN KENYA
The COBOD printer has been continually used to cover milestones in the 3D printing industry. 14Trees is a joint venture company formed by Holcim, the cement and concrete giant, and British International Investment to accelerate the provision of affordable housing in Africa. The joint venture built the first 3D printed homes in Africa as well as the world’s first 3D printed schools. 14Trees plans to 3D print up to 52 dwellings in Kilifi, Kenya, utilizing a single COBOD BOD2 printer which is made of high-quality materials and is carefully engineered to meet the high requirements of the construction industry both in terms of speed, stability, and durability. The joint venture finished the 3D printing of the walls of ten residences in January 2023 in just ten weeks from October 2022 to January 2023, using only one BOD2 printer. “With 3D printing, you can solve two problems at once,” said 14Trees managing director Francois Perrot. “You can build faster like we have shown here with our 10 houses in 10 weeks. At the same time, we can achieve better cost efficiency, which will help make affordable housing a reality for the majority. In addition, you can build with less materials, which preserves the resources of the planet for future generations.” The 10 houses printed comprises of 6 three-bedrooms (76 m2 / 836 SF) and 4 two-bedrooms (56 m2 / 616 SF) houses have been 3D, making Mvule Gardens in Kilifi the largest 3D printed project to date . The productivity level of 14Trees is also unmatched as no other construction company in the US has matched this level. The Head of COBOD America, Philip Lund-Nielsen, made a remark of the impressive work the 14Trees used COBOD printer to achieve, He stated, “Considering how difficult the conditions are in Africa, it is impressive, that 14Trees has printed more houses on a single site, than any other construction 3D printing company in the US or elsewhere. In addition, they have done it faster, using just a single COBOD 3D printer not by using 5 printers or more”.
REFERENCE
GLOBAL INVENTORY OVER 3D PRINTED BUILDINGS SHOWS COBOD’S LEADING POSITION | COBOD International A/S (mynewsdesk.com) Accessed on the 5th April 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07CfMdErO-8&t=782s Accessed on the 5th April 2023.
STUNNING, STATE OF THE ART THREE FLOORS SMART HOME VILLA IN SAUDI IS THE TALLEST ON SITE 3D PRINTED BUILDING IN THE WORLD | COBOD International A/S (mynewsdesk.com) Accessed on the 5th April 2023.