United Utilities and tech innovators ChangeMaker 3D are working with Manchester Metropolitan University and Scottish Water on a project to develop ‘Water Industry Printfrastructure’.
United Utilities is hosting a 3D concrete printing hub where assets for use in the sector are being printed in a matter of hours compared to the several days it would take using traditional methods.
The hub, at Wigan Wastewater Treatment Works, is also being used to demonstrate the benefits of the innovative process to other water companies, construction partners and other industries.
Products are produced using robotics and materials from CyBe robotics. Some of the items produced are being shared with Scottish Water for trialling on a project.
ChangeMaker 3D was selected to take part in United Utilities’ Innovation Lab in 2021. In 2022 the two companies produced a wastewater chamber for a United Utilities test facility in Cheshire. Since then, both the printing process and finished products have undergone rigorous testing to prove their suitability for use.
The hub is being used to print a range of equipment including combined sewer overflow (CSO) chambers.
A CSO chamber is printed in just over an hour and then left to dry for a minimum of three hours – this compares to two days needed using traditional methods. Some small items can be printed in 45 minutes.
United Utilities says the technique provides safety benefits by reducing the requirement to work at height or in confined spaces, and can halve costs and carbon emissions.
