A team of students from苏黎世联邦理工学院and other universities has taken second place in a tunneling competition hosted by billionaire business magnate and entrepreneur Elon Musk.
The team, namedSwissloop Tunneling, also won the competition’s Innovation & Design Award for their 2.5-ton tunnel boring machine, which leverages a 3D printing mechanism to simultaneously fabricate a supportive tunnel lining while the tunnel is being dug.
马斯克的无聊比赛
Musk has long held an interest in 3D printing, with the technology at the core of his ambitious plan totransport more than a million people to Mars在接下来的几十年中。马斯克建立了他的私人太空探索计划，SpaceX, in 2002, which has sinceflown a 3D biofabrication facilityto the International Space Station (ISS) andlaunched a 3D printed high-throughput satelliteto orbit.
In the summer of 2020, Musk’s无聊的公司announced a tunneling competition focused on building small-scale tunneling machines capable of digging a 30-meter stable tunnel with a diameter of 50 cm. More than 400 teams applied to take part in the competition, with 12 finalists, including Swissloop Tunneling, invited out to Las Vegas to put their inventions to the test.
用3D打印加固隧道
The competition took part in the Nevada desert, and saw the 12 teams embark upon digging their tunnels before being interrupted by a heavy thunderstorm and sandstorm. After working through the night, Swissloop Tunneling was one of just two teams cleared to carry on the dig during the final round.
该小组为挖掘部署了其7米2.5吨的土拨鼠Alpha隧道无聊的机器，并设法挖了长达18米的隧道。球队只被竞争对手殴打TU Munich, although neither team were able to dig a full-length tunnel during the competition.
The Groundhog Alpha was also the only machine capable of fabricating a supportive tunnel lining in-situ, thanks to its 3D printing mechanism. Using the mechanism, the machine applied a specially-engineered polymer mix to the tunnel wall which hardened immediately. Meanwhile, two hydraulic grippers worked alternately to press against the newly created tunnel tube in order to propel the machine forward continuously.
The supporting material consists of tough fiber glass materials and a two-component polymer mix, which was 3D printed to create a 15 mm thick tunnel wall. The material ensured structural integrity along the whole length of the tunnel, and was awarded the competition’s Innovation and Design Award for its performance.
Going forward, the Swissloop Tunneling team hopes to further develop the technology to enable the Groundhog Alpha to dig tunnels with a four-meter diameter. This is the width of the tunnels required for Musk’s SpaceX Hyperloop competition, which is seeking to build high-speed capsules to travel through vacuum tubes.
苏黎世联邦理工学院’s innovation in construction 3D printing
除了为隧道竞赛做准备外，Eth Zurich的研究人员一直在使用3D打印技术进行多个建筑项目。
2020年7月，他们开发了一本小说“eggshell” concrete 3D printing processthat fuses robotic large-scaled FDM 3D printing with casting methods. The technology enables the construction of complex concrete structures in a more material-efficient way.
In the past, ETH Zurich has also leveraged 3D printing to create a five-ton3D printed curved shell concrete pavilion并将3D打印机和机器人武器结合在一雷电竞app下载起digitally fabricate a three-storey house.
In the last few months alone, the organization has announced plans to build a23-meter high tower made up of 3D printed columns对于瑞士的文化遗址，并成功创建了第一个3D printed self-supporting concrete footbridge旁边Zaha Hadid Architects, concrete 3D printing specialistIncremental3D, and building materials firmHolcim.
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Featured image showsSwissloop Tunneling的土拨鼠Alpha隧道机。通过Swissloop隧道摄影。
