West Japan Railway (JR West) on Wednesday built a station building that consists of parts made with 3D printer technology.
The station building in Wakayama Prefecture is the world's first to be built with 3D printer technology, the company said.
The building at Hatsushima Station in the city of Arida on the Kisei Line is some 2.6 meters high, with an area of about 10 square meters. The company aims to open it in July.
The building consists of four parts, including the roof and walls, which were produced by Japanese housing maker Serendix.
The formwork was formed using mortar with a 3D printer, and reinforcing steel was put in the hollow part and concrete was filled. The building has earthquake resistance similar to that of reinforced concrete houses, JR West said.
The company undertook the construction after the end of daily train services and completed the work in about two and half hours, a considerably shorter length of time than conventional methods.
The cost for constructing the building is estimated to be half that of using reinforced concrete, the company said.
JR West said that it is considering using 3D printer technology in rebuilding other station buildings.
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