World’s First 3-D-Printed Steel Bridge Debuts in Amsterdam

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2021-07-19 22:30:04

Last week, the first 3-D-printed steel bridge in the world—an innovative project headed by Dutch company MX3D—opened to the public in Amsterdam. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands presided over the unveiling, pressing a button that prompted a robot to cut a ribbon hanging across the bridge, reports Aleksandar Furtula for the Associated Press (AP). The novel landmark spans one of the city’s oldest canals and sits in the center of the red-light district.

In addition to marking a milestone in the capabilities of 3-D printing technology, the 40-foot-long bridge doubles as a “living laboratory” with hidden sensors that collect real-time data about the overpass’ performance. Researchers at Imperial College London will use this data to analyze how the bridge reacts over time as pedestrians interact with it.

“A 3-D-printed metal structure large and strong enough to handle pedestrian traffic has never been constructed before,” says Leroy Gardner, a structural engineer at Imperial, in a statement. “It’s fantastic to see it finally open to the public.”