Chennai, Dec 24 (IANS): L&T Construction, the construction arm of the $21 billion Larsen & Toubro, on Thursday announced it has successfully 3D-printed a 700 sq feet building (ground plus first floor) with reinforcement for the first time in India.

Using a fully automated 3D printer, L&T 3D printed the building at their Kanchipuram facility with a special, in-house developed concrete mix, using indigenously available regular construction materials.

The building was printed with both vertical reinforcement bar and horizontal distributors using welded mesh that satisfy provisions in the Indian Codes and optimise the cost of construction.

The company said that except for the horizontal slab members, the entire building structure was 3D printed 'Cast in Situ' at the job site in an 'open to sky' environment within 106 printing hours.

"3D concrete printing is one of the technology disruptors with the potential to radically redefine construction methodologies and I am extremely happy that by demonstrating our growing expertise in 3D printing, we are well positioned to push the boundaries of automated robotic construction," said M.V. Satish, Whole Time Director & Senior Executive Vice President (Buildings).

"3D printing will not only accelerate the pace of construction but also significantly improve build quality."

The feat is important as the country is aggressively pursuing the objective of creating 60 million houses under the 'Housing for All by 2022' programme, the company said.

3D printing is a process, in which the material is printed under computer control to build a 3-dimensional product, typically layer by layer.

It is predominantly used in manufacturing industries to print rapid prototypes, complex shapes and small batch production using special polymers and metal alloys etc.

In November 2019, the L&T team had 3D-printed a 240 sq feet 1 BHK.