World premiere: Her Majesty Queen Máxima opens the first 3D printed steel bridge in the oldest neighborhood of Amsterdam

News overview

A futuristic multi award-winning bridge, designed by Joris Laarman Lab with Arup as lead engineer, is placed over one of the oldest canals in Amsterdam's Red light district. Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, Máxima, opens the first 3D printed steel bridge in the oldest neighbourhood of Amsterdam.

The installation of the bridge is the culmination of several years of work. MX3D kicked off this project in 2015 when it proposed printing a metal bridge with its innovative large-scale, robotic 3D printing technology, creating a playful, inspiring example of how digital tools can create a new form language for architectural objects.

“The Bridge is only the beginning for our technology, by now MX3D has introduced its metal printing tool on the industrial market, and with this tool already many companies have started printing like us. I am looking forward to all positive impact and new ideas our client will realize”, Says Gijs Van Der Velden, CEO MX3D

The bridge is a great example of the possibilities the technology of MX3D offers and the impact it can make on high-impact industries like oil & gas, maritime and tooling. With over 10.000 kg of metal 3D printed objects and over 40 man-years of experience since 2014, MX3D brought large-scale robotic wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) and its market to life and made enabling 3D metal printing more flexible, faster and cheaper. For example, by printing large metal objects, up to 80 percent of material can be saved.

As an investor, DOEN Participaties B.V. believes MX3D has the power to change polluting sectors. By conducting research, delivering challenging projects for a variety of industries and making their software easy to use, this pioneer is slowly but surely transforming the market. Creating a more circular economy with the click of a button.