MIT engineers have managed to 3D print LEGO-like glass bricks that can be reused multiple times. This reconfigurable masonry uses a custom 3D glass printing technology that results in strong, multilayered glass bricks, each in the shape of a figure eight, designed to interlock, similar to LEGO bricks.
They discovered that a single glass brick was able to withstand the pressures similar to that of a concrete block. To further prove this claim, the researchers constructed a wall of interlocking glass bricks. In the future, this 3D-printable glass masonry could be reused many times over as recyclable bricks for building facades and internal walls.
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Glass is a highly recyclable material. We’re taking glass and turning it into masonry that, at the end of a structure’s life, can be disassembled and reassembled into a new structure, or can be stuck back into the printer and turned into a completely different shape. All this builds into our idea of a sustainable, circular building material,” said Kaitlyn Becker, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at MIT.
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