China's First 3D Printed Bridge To Be Ready In Shanghai By Year's End

　　From Chinaplus · 170 words · 3 mins

　　By the end of the year, a 3D-printed bridge will be put to use in China for the first time.

　　我国首座3D打印桥梁将于今年年底投入使用。

　　Different from traditional bridges, its novel design doesn't use reinforced concrete. It is made of resin designed to weather rain and sun for an extended period, and that's durable enough to meet national construction industry standards. If parts of the bridge become damaged, they can be repaired separately.

　　与以往使用钢筋混凝土制成的普通桥梁不同，3D打印桥梁另辟蹊径，桥身由树脂材料制成，能够长期承受日晒雨淋，坚固耐用程度足以达到国家建筑业标准。如果桥梁的某些部分损坏了，可以对其单独进行修理。

　　The 15-meter-long footbridge in Shanghai will take 35 days to build, and will have service life of up to 30 years, according to its chief architect. The complex curved surfaces of the bridge can only be achieved using 3D printing technology. Based on laboratory testing, it can bear a load of 250 kilograms per square meter.

　　据总建筑师介绍，上海这座15米长的人行桥将耗费35天建造而成，使用寿命长达30年。只有3D打印技术才能实现这所桥梁复杂曲面的制造。经实验室测试，每平米荷载250公斤。

　　This isn't the first time that a 3D-printed bridge had been made in China. In July last year, Tongji University in Shanghai made the world's first two 3D-printed pedestrian bridges. But that pair of bridges was only build as a demonstration, and not for actual use.

　　用3D打印技术制造桥梁，这在中国并非首例。去年7月，上海同济大学就制造出了世界上第一组3D打印人行天桥。但当时那两座桥仅仅用于展示，并未真正投入使用。