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Structures printed with a construction 3D printer were adopted for the Toyama Prefecture-commissioned "Farmland Consolidation: Nagahikino West District Section 4 Farmland Consolidation Work" (client: Niikawa Agriculture and Forestry Promotion Center, Toyama Prefecture). Asano Industries Co., Ltd., the contractor on the project, hosted a site tour and invited the client and design consultants. Here's a look at how the day went!
Complex shapes and a shorter construction period: building the "bend section" of an agricultural waterway with a construction 3D printer
This site was an agricultural waterway improvement project. Components printed with a construction 3D printer were adopted for the "bend section" where the channel turns a corner. The components were printed by Milcon Co., Ltd., which has introduced Polyuse's Polyuse One.
Unlike straight components, bend sections require complex shapes, so with the conventional cast-in-place method, assembling and adjusting the formwork took a great deal of time and effort. Construction 3D printing technology was therefore introduced to reliably produce the special shapes and shorten the construction period.
With the conventional cast-in-place method, assembling wooden formwork to fit the complex shapes, along with pouring, curing and stripping the formwork for the side walls and base slab, was expected to take 14.5 days.
By contrast, with this method using a construction 3D printer, components printed in advance at a factory or similar facility are installed on site, eliminating the need to assemble and strip formwork on site. This is expected to shorten the process through backfilling to just 4 days, cutting the construction period by about 70%.
The contractor also noted health and safety benefits beyond construction itself: fewer on-site workdays and processes meant "improved work safety" by easing the burden on site workers, and "heatstroke prevention" by reducing time spent working outdoors.
The real thing and on-site construction up close: strong interest in "material performance and structural possibilities"
The tour was attended by the project's client and design consultants. Despite the rainy weather, many people took part, making for a very lively event.
After a classroom session covering the project overview and construction 3D printing technology, attendees toured the actual construction site and the exhibits. A Q&A session lively enough to blow away the bad weather showed just how interested the participants were.
During the site tour and Q&A in particular, the design consultants raised many specific questions and ideas, such as "We'd like to know more about the performance and strength of the layered material" and "Could the 3D printing method allow designs that use less volume (less material) than ordinary concrete structures?"
The discussion was very positive and concrete, focusing on new possibilities for construction DX, such as greater design freedom, labor savings and material reduction in the future.
A heartfelt thank-you to everyone at Asano Industries Co., Ltd. for hosting the tour, everyone at Milcon Co., Ltd. for handling the printing, and the client and design consultants who attended!
Polyuse will continue working with partner companies and local governments across Japan to build its track record of construction 3D printing projects and advance real-world deployment to solve on-site challenges.
[Inquiries and Brochure Requests for Construction 3D Printers]
Polyuse Inc. provides labor-saving, high-speed construction solutions using construction 3D printer technology to construction companies and local governments across Japan that are facing labor shortages and technically challenging sites. To request materials or discuss whether the technology is suitable for your site, please feel free to contact us below.
💬 Inquiries and consultations about adoption and technology
📄 Download the Polyuse One construction case study brochure
🎥 Watch the free webinar "Cut Construction Time by Over 50%! The Reality of Construction 3D Printers"
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