A quarter of Dubai’s buildings will be 3D printed by 2030 as a part the ‘Dubai 3D Printing Strategy’; a new strategy that aims to exploit 3D technology for the service of humanity and promote the status of the UAE and Dubai as a leading hub of 3D printing technology by 2030.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai has launched the strategy.
“The UAE is presenting to the world today the first integrated and comprehensive strategy to exploit 3D technology to serve humanity. We have also framed practical plans and precise goals to turn the strategy into reality, the reality that will contribute to the progress and prosperity of the world and help preserve our human heritage”, he said.
He continued: “The future will depend on 3D printing technologies in all aspects of our life, starting from houses we live in, the streets we use, the cars we drive, the clothes we wear and the food we eat,” He said, adding, “This technology will create added economic value and benefits worth billions of dollars during the coming period. We should have a share in this growing global market. This technology will restructure economies and labor markets as the use of unskilled labor will come down compared to the current situation, especially in the construction sector. It will also redefine productivity because the time needed for 3D printing of buildings and products will be 10% of the time taken in traditional techniques.”
He mentioned the goals of the new strategy: “Our key goal is to ensure that 25 per cent of buildings in Dubai are based on 3D printing technology by 2030, and we will raise this percentage with the development of global technology as well as growth of market demand. We believe that this technology is capable of transforming the construction sector by lowering costs and reducing the time it takes to implement projects.
“It will also help reduce manpower requirements as well as waste generated from construction which can be harmful to the environment. We will also focus on utilizing this technology in other vital sectors such as medicine and consumer products to offer goods and services at competitive prices.”
The Dubai 3D Printing Strategy will be carried out by several partners, including Dubai Municipality, Dubai Health Authority and Dubai Holding, and it will focus on three major sectors – Construction, Medical Products and Consumer Products.
The construction sector will focus on lighting products, bases and foundations, construction joints, facilities and parks, buildings for humanitarian causes and mobile homes, as well as galleries, stores and residential villas. The use of the 3D printing technology is Dubai’s construction sector is expected to increase by 2% in 2019 –raising the expected value of the 3D printing to be about Dh3 billion by year 2025.
While the focus in the medical product sector will be on developing 3D printed teeth, bones, artificial organs and medical and surgical devices and hearing aids with an expected value of Dh1.7 billion by 2025, the consumer products sector will focus on household items, optics, fashion jewelry, children’s games and fast food with an expected volume of 3D printed consumer products in Dubai of about Dh2.8 billion in 2025.
According to reports, 3D printing will cut construction costs by 50%-70%, labor costs by 50%-80% as well as cutting down the waste produced during construction operations by 60%, which will have positive economic returns and contribute to sustainable development.
Driven by research and continuous product development, the global market for 3D printing is expected to reach US$120 billion by 2020 and about US$300 billion by 2025 encouraging developed countries like North America, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and others to allocate huge budgets in the development of 3D printing techniques in various fields such as medicine, industry, automotive and aviation.