The ROBOCRETE project brings together the Digital Construction Research Team at the Institute of Structural Design (ITE, Germany), the construction robotics company Odico (Denmark), and the concrete pre-manufacturing specialist Beton und Naturstein Babelsberg GmbH (BNB, Germany) to develop, test, and validate a novel robotic manufacturing unit for sustainable concrete construction. The system autonomously produces reusable wax formworks for free-form and precast concrete elements, enabling fully automated, waste-free, and rapidly deployable fabrication. By replacing conventional EPS or timber molds with recyclable wax, the technology significantly reduces material waste, production time, and associated CO₂ emissions.
The project focuses on creating a robust and scalable manufacturing process for generating stress- and crack-free large-format wax blocks. ITE investigates optimized material compositions, including the integration of additives that improve cost efficiency and performance. Various cooling and forming strategies are tested to prevent internal stresses during block fabrication. One promising method involves assembling extruded, high-precision wax bars and filling the interstices with molten wax to achieve large, dimensionally stable units. In parallel, Odico advances the wire-cutting technology required to transform these wax blocks into high-accuracy concrete formworks, while BNB develops a complementary sustainable geopolymer concrete (GPC) mix.
The validated results will be integrated with Shotcrete 3D Printing (SC3DP) at the Digital Building Fabrication Laboratory (DBFL) to demonstrate a seamless, closed digital manufacturing chain. Ultimately, ROBOCRETE aims to deliver a scalable, eco-friendly, and economically viable solution for producing complex, free-form concrete components such as multi-curved façade elements at industrial scale.
Jonischkies, S., Mainka, J., Kloft, H., Kinzebach, W. and Hack, N. (2022), Non-Waste-Wachsschalung für den individualisierten Betonfertigteilbau – Praxisbeispiel des digitalen Fertigungsprozesses für eine Kleinserie großformatiger Poller. Beton- und Stahlbetonbau, 117: 531-538. https://doi.org/10.1002/best.202200036
