They promise to revolutionise the construction sector with HTRANS, a translucent concrete, a pioneer in the world, which allows 3D printed designs to be incorporated inside it and to create façades or pavements to order. Its designers are José Ramón Albiol Ibáñez and Miguel Sánchez López, two researchers at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV).
The first of them explains that translucent concrete already exists, "but its manufacture is very artisanal, manual". For this reason, he says, "we were thinking about how to manufacture and process it very quickly, and this is achieved with 3D printing".
He stresses that they are "the first in the world to be able to make this concrete by inserting 3D printed parts inside it".
A saving of 80% over conventional translucent concrete
With HTRANS, as the UPV Radiotelevisió show, it is possible to create structures with ground-breaking images and multiple shapes, at a cheaper price than with conventional translucent concrete.
Professor Albiol says the savings can be as much as 80%, as "we use 3D printed resins that are very economical".
The fibre optics traditionally used, continues the researcher from the University of Valencia, is very expensive.
With this pioneering product that they have patented, "we make the process cheaper because it is 3D printing, a machine that does the work for us".
Patented by the UPV
The process to obtain the final product, they stress, is very simple. Miguel Sánchez López explains: "We have a transparent resin structure, which is placed inside a mould. Then a liquid concrete is poured and the structure is trapped inside the concrete. Afterwards, the two sides are polished and the final result is achieved".
The translucent concrete HTRANS is patented by the Polytechnic University of Valencia and, although it is mainly indicated for construction, they point out that it can also have other uses, such as the manufacture of furniture, countertops or flooring, among many other applications.
