The world’s first 3D-printed steel footbridge has been produced.

According to an article on phys.org, the bridge, which is 12 meters long and situated over the Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal in Amsterdam’s city centre, contains sensors collecting data that will be studied by researchers from Imperial College London. 

This is a project that underwent an extensive research programme in the lead-up to the completion of the bridge’s final version that involved computer simulation and physical testing to certify its safety.

“For over four years we have been working from the micrometer scale, studying the printed microstructure up to the meter scale, with load testing on the completed bridge,” said Craig Buchanan of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London.

“This challenging work has been carried out in our testing laboratories at Imperial, and during the construction process on site in Amsterdam and Enschede, the Netherlands, on the actual printed bridge.”

The data will show how the 3D-printed infrastructure is coping under the pressure of pedestrian traffic, with the data being measured in real time via a digital twin copy of the bridge. 

This gathering of data will hope to reveal the potential for 3D-printed steel in future projects, whilst also obtaining answers about its durability over time.

“A 3D-printed metal structure large and strong enough to handle pedestrian traffic has never been constructed before. We have tested and simulated the structure and its components throughout the printing process and upon its completion, and it’s fantastic to see it finally open to the public,” said Professor Leroy Gardner, who is also of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London.