Urumqi adopts 3D printing in railway station

By Wang Yifei ( chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2015-12-24

Urumqi is adopting 3D printing for construction of a high-speed railway station, marking the first application of 3D printing technology in engineering, uetd.org reported.

The Urumqi high-speed railway station under construction [Photo/ uetd.gov.cn]

The facility is difficult to build by traditional techniques because of its many hook surfaces. The construction company thus decided to bring in the emerging 3D printing technology.

Builders transport building materials at the high-speed railway station in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [Photo/ uetd.gov.cn]

The project is expected to be invested with 24.6 million yuan ($ 3.8million). So far, half of the work has been completed with 12 million yuan spent. Construction of the project is expected to be completed by June 30, 2016. By then there will be an entire “dragon eye” on view, consisting of the buildings above ground and a sunken plaza.

A design sketch of the new railway station at Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [Photo/ uetd.gov.cn]

So far, 3D printing has been widely used in aerospace applications, biological medicine, the automobile industry, and other fields such as jewelry and antiques protection.