On Tuesday 4 June 2019 Engineers Australia UK members where treated to a technical talk from Dr Craig Buchanan, Lecturer in Construction in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Imperial College London.

Craig gave us all a fabulous and detailed insight into the complex and cutting-edge work being undertaken for the testing, simulation and design of the MX3D Bridge, which will be the world’s first 3D printed metal bridge.

The MX3D Bridge is a stainless steel pedestrian bridge, with a width of 2.5 m and a span of 10.5 m, and was built using robotic welding arms, and with a sinuous organic form that was developed by Dutch architect Joris Laarman.

The work being undertaken encompasses observations, testing and analysis from the microstructure level to the full structural level, advanced computer modelling and the development of a long-term sensor network.

From late 2019 or early 2020, the MX3D Bridge will replace an existing pedestrian bridge in the centre of Amsterdam.

The project has been awarded an EU STARTS prize, the Public Award at the Dutch Design Awards 2018 and the Research Development: Creating the future prize at TechFest 2018.