Development of a Desktop Additive Manufacturing Device for Cementitious Materials

Additive Manufacturing (AM) with concrete has traditionally been developed for large-scale construction, leaving a research gap in small-scale 3D printing for prototyping and material testing. This research addresses this gap by developing a reliable AM system for producing moderately sized components with concrete-like properties. By modifying a desktop 3D printer to extrude a specialized cementitious mortar, this research created a device with a 50 cc printing capacity and a formula that achieves a Young’s modulus of up to 933.63 kgf/cm 2 . Microstructural characterization of the printed components was performed to validate the system. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed a dense, consolidated microstructure with a well-formed network of Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H) gel, indicating successful hydration and robust interlayer bonding. Compositional analysis via Energy-Dispersive x-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and x-ray Diffraction (XRD) confirmed the material’s expected profile, identifying key hydration products like Portlandite (Ca(OH) 2 ), along with residual clinker and aggregate phases. These findings confirm that the system is a viable platform for small-scale cementitious AM, enabling rapid laboratory prototyping and low-material screening of cementitious formulations for printability, microstructure development, and mechanical performance. The miniaturized format reduces cost, material consumption, and setup complexity, supporting repeatable experimentation and iterative design before scale-up.