Walmart expands 3D printing construction program with new Huntsville facility that demonstrates significant time and material savings.
New 5,000-square-foot facility constructed in record time, set to open this week
Retail behemoth Walmart is plunging its toes into the world of advanced construction with the unveiling of its second ever 3D printed building on Friday in Huntsville, Ala. The new 5,000-square-foot addition to Walmart Supercenter #5197 will serve as a specialized area to accommodate online grocery pickup and delivery services.
This development comes on the heels of Walmart’s initial venture into 3D printed construction last year, when the company debuted an 8,000-square-foot online pickup center at one of its Tennessee locations. Both projects represent significant steps in commercial applications of construction 3D printing technology.
Huntsville delivered an incredible speed of build, with the building’s walls going up in 75 hours over one week. This was made possible by a partnership between Alquist 3D LLC and general contractor FMGI, Inc. which utilized custom 3D printing robots to place the 16-foot-high walls with a proprietary concrete mix.
“What we’re demonstrating with these Walmart projects is the real-world viability of 3D printing for mainstream commercial construction,” said Patrick Callahan, who leads Alquist 3D. “The speed and efficiency gains are transformative for large-scale retail environments where time equals money.”
The team behind its construction said that was only one of several benefits of halving the time to completion. This robotic construction process worked all through weathers which previously would shut down the conventional construction. Material utilisation was very efficient, with the team using about three-quarters of the concrete supplied, and cutting waste by more than half versus a conventional approach.
Worker safety also improved, as the automated construction eliminated the need for scaffolding and other potentially hazardous temporary structures typically required for wall construction of this height.
“As we continue to find new ways to improve how we build, we also keep sustainability at the forefront of our decisions,” says LB Johnson, vice president of legislative and regulatory construction for Walmart. These 3D printing tests are further steps in driving innovative design in a more sustainable way, and also enabling the store development time to be faster.
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With Walmart’s interest in 3D printed construction, it joins an exclusive list of large commercial brand that are willing to work with 3D printed technology. Coffeeshop chain Starbucks is taking a page from that activation, building its first commercially operated 3D printed outpost in Brownsville, Texas sometime soon.
