3D printer used to construct train station building in Japan
West Japan Railway (JR West) on Wednesday built a station building that consists of parts made with 3D printer technology.
The station building in Wakayama Prefecture is the world's first to be built with 3D printer technology, the company said.
The building at Hatsushima Station in the city of Arida on the Kisei Line is some 2.6 meters high, with an area of about 10 square meters. The company aims to open it in July.
The building consists of four parts, including the roof and walls, which were produced by Japanese housing maker Serendix.
The formwork was formed using mortar with a 3D printer, and reinforcing steel was put in the hollow part and concrete was filled. The building has earthquake resistance similar to that of reinforced concrete houses, JR West said.
The company undertook the construction after the end of daily train services and completed the work in about two and half hours, a considerably shorter length of time than conventional methods.
The cost for constructing the building is estimated to be half that of using reinforced concrete, the company said.
JR West said that it is considering using 3D printer technology in rebuilding other station buildings.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
38 minutes ago
- The Mainichi
G7 leaders may skip joint declaration, 1st since 2014: Japan source
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Group of Seven nations are likely to skip a joint statement at the end of an upcoming three-day summit in Canada, a Japanese government source said Tuesday, marking the first time since 2014 the meeting would conclude without a consensus document. The move is apparently aimed at preventing the G7, known for its unity in tacking global challenges, from exposing internal divisions as leaders gather for their first in-person meeting since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January. Canada holds this year's rotating presidency of the G7, which also includes Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union. Fears are growing that the framework is becoming fragile as Trump pursues his "America First" policy. Instead of releasing a comprehensive statement, the G7 leaders may still consider mapping out documents on specific issues, according to the source. The gathering comes as Trump, who has promoted protectionist trade policies to prop up domestic industries, has moved to impose higher tariffs -- even on U.S. allies -- sparking concerns about global commerce and the broader economy. The G7 leaders normally discuss a range of issues, such as security, the economy and climate change.
The Mainichi
an hour ago
- The Mainichi
Toyota, Daimler ink Japanese truck units merger deal for April 2026
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Toyota Motor Corp. and Daimler Truck Holding AG said Tuesday they concluded an agreement to merge their Japanese truck subsidiaries under a new holding company, aiming to boost competitiveness and better respond to challenges posed by energy transition and technological innovation. Hino Motors Ltd., a subsidiary of Toyota Motor, and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp., a unit of Daimler, will operate under the holding company to be set up in April 2026 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime Market, with the parent companies each holding a 25 percent stake in the new firm. The holding company yet to be named will have more than 40,000 employees and be led by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck CEO Karl Deppen, Toyota Motor and Daimler Truck said. In terms of voting rights, Daimler Truck will hold 26.7 percent and Toyota Motor will have 19.9 percent, they said. "With our combined expertise, passion and resources, this new company will provide new levels of quality, efficiency and technology to our customers," Deppen said at a press conference on the same day. Satoshi Ogiso, president of Hino Motors, said, "The industry for commercial vehicles has numerous issues that need to be addressed. We will require even more speed, flexibility and investment." The merger plan originally announced in May 2023, and initially slated to be finalized in March 2024, had stalled due to a fraudulent emissions data scandal by Hino Motors. Hino Motors has reported a record net loss of 217.7 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in the business year through this March due to settlement costs related to the data falsification. The issue came to light in 2022 as the company admitted to submitting fabricated emissions and fuel economy data to transport authorities. It has agreed to settle class action lawsuits in Australia, the United States and Canada.
![Podcast [English World] Episode 101: Stockpiled rice](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.kyodonews.net%2Fenglish%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fposts%2F8367a5e1916be92c4e60b9cb878b241b%2Fcropped_image_l.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
![Podcast [English World] Episode 101: Stockpiled rice](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fall-logos-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fkyodonews.net.png&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Kyodo News
an hour ago
- Kyodo News
Podcast [English World] Episode 101: Stockpiled rice
KYODO NEWS - 1 minutes ago - 10:13 | All, Podcast How has the surging price of rice affected you personally? Three Kyodo News reporters -- Toma Mochizuki, Eduardo Martinez and Peter Masheter -- talk about how the Japanese government's stockpiled rice was recently released in supermarkets and other retail stores. Listen as they discuss why the price of the staple crop has been surging, and the political backstory behind the government's move. Article mentioned in the podcast: Japan's cheaper stockpiled rice starts hitting store shelves Kyodo News presents a bilingual podcast for English learners about the ins and outs of news writing and how to translate tricky Japanese phrases into English. Have fun listening to journalists discuss recent articles as they occasionally go off on unrelated tangents. More podcast episodes: Podcast [English World] Episode 100: Atomic bomb trees Podcast [English World] Episode 99: Overtourism in Japan Podcast Episode 98: Japan mulls covering childbirth costs from 2026
