Silver Lake orders giant 3D printed sunglasses at Kamp C

Looking for an original eye-catcher, the management of Zilvermeer recreation park knocked at the door of Kamp C. The deal to print a large pair of sunglasses with a 3D concrete printer was quickly done. Students from the Bachelor of Construction course at the Thomas More campus in Geel worked out this assignment from A to Z.

"If you were to make such an object in the traditional way, a lot of time would go into making a customised wooden formwork. The material of that formwork would also have to be thrown away after the concrete pour. None of that in this case. With our concrete printer, we had printed the parts of the glasses in no time without any formwork material. The result also illustrates the great freedom of form in 3D printing," states Marijke Aerts, project manager at Kamp C.

This assignment was realised within the ERDF project KIEM (in full Knowledge Sharing, Inspiration, Elimination of Barriers and Market Introduction). "With that European project, we want to accelerate the introduction of 3D concrete printing in the construction sector. We will do this by introducing this technology to as many organisations, companies, schools and knowledge institutions as possible. Public signboards like these sunglasses are also helping. More such objects will soon pop up in various places: at Technopolis, in the Brabanthallen, at POM Limburg in Diepenbeek, ... from a reception desk to a bicycle shed." says Marijke Aerts of Kamp C.

The sunglasses on the Silver Lake beach are 1.8 metres high, 5 metres long and weigh about 4.5 tonnes. Thomas More University of Applied Sciences students worked on it for eight days. The sunglasses were printed at the print site of Kamp C and transported in 3 parts by a truck with a crane.

Zilvermeer is delighted with the beautiful eye catcher: "The province wants to offer quality, affordable and sustainable leisure time close to home with its recreational areas. During the hot summer days, Zilvermeer's beautiful beach and swimming pond offer refreshment and relaxation during a virtuous holiday. With the unique eye-catcher, a beach has an extra fun look, good for the best holiday photos."

The project could only be realised thanks to the support of our partners. The construction company ETIB/CONCRETE HOUSE was responsible for developing the design, implementing the separate parts of the glasses and all the logistics.

The C3PO and KIEM projects allowed the construction companies to further develop their 3D line. ETIB/CONCRETE HOUSE has started executions in 3D-printed concrete, this for both houses and other objects. All this will be done under the name 3D-CONCRETE. More info www.3dconcrete.be.