3dpbm Pulse Podcast, Ep 5: the real story on 3D construction printing

In this new episode of the 3dpbm Pulse Podcast series we met with Henrik Lund-Nielsen, founder and General Manager of COBOD International. COBOD is a globally leading company within the 3D construction printing segment. The company has been constantly – and deservedly – making headlines in both the construction and 3D printing press. Today COBOD is the only company that has been actively working to dramatically reduce the cost of materials, by introducing the D.fab Magic Mix which enables use of locally sourced real concrete. This can reduce the cost of a project by up to 90%, and it has already been proven by cases presented in the White Paper available to download below. In a market segment often characterized by exagerated claims, we spoke with Mr. Lund-Nielsen about the real state of the industry and its true potential.

3dpbm Research has been looking at the construction 3D printing market since it began to form almost a decade ago. Only a handful of startups were present then. Today our 3dpbm Index global directory lists nearly a hundred companies, including 52 construction hardware manufacturers and 77 construction service providers. However, as it happens in many young, high-potential market segments, sometimes operators make bigger claims than they can actually deliver and it can become confusing to know the difference between pure hype and real disruption.

COBOD printers, on the other hand, have already completed many of the most high-profile 3D construction projects around the world. They’ve been used to 3D print The BOD, the first 3D printed building in Europe, in 2017. They also completed Europe’s first two- and three-story buildings – when most people still thought it would be impossible to 3D print multi-story houses. In 2019 COBOD printers were used by GE Renewables to 3D print the world’s first base for a wind turbine tower.

As Mr. Lund-Nielsen explains, a key element that differentiates COBOD from many other 3D construction printing technology providers is that they only sell the printers including the software and related concrete equipment, such as pumps and mixers as a total turn-key solution. They do not execute commercial construction projects for a living. They only execute projects to demonstrate proof of concept of various application cases, such as the first building in Europe or the first-ever wind turbine tower. COBOD focuses exclusively on selling machines and thus partners with clients around the world instead of competing with them.

This global collaborative effort has enabled the company to achieve a global presence and a profitable business model. This is based on a very realistic approach, that helps customers – both large and small – understand the real challenges and potential of implementing 3D construction printing in their businesses (no, you cannot just press print and build a house in one 24 hours with no construction experience) while also reap the benefits of the COBOD network’s experience, from the ability to cost-effectively build using locally sourced real-concrete, to the company’s unique online configurator and growing library of successfully completed projects by its clients around the world.

If you found this Podcast interesting and you’d like to explore more, you can download the free White Paper at this link.