Vertico Installs Its Largest 3D Concrete Printing System in Portugal

Vertico has installed its biggest 3D concrete printing system to date at ITeCons, an applied research institute in Portugal. The setup, built around the company's Robot on Track configuration, spans a 10-meter linear track with a 3.1-meter robot reach. To mark the occasion, the ITeCons team printed a concrete column 3 meters tall, which Vertico says is the tallest column it has produced so far.

What Robot on Track Actually Is

The Robot on Track pairs an ABB robotic arm with a linear carriage that runs along a 10-meter rail. The robot itself has a 3.2-meter reach, and the track lets it cover a much larger build area than a fixed-base setup. The entire system sits on a concrete slab, and Vertico integrates an automated silo for continuous material feed.

That matters for large-scale construction printing. A stationary robot can cover maybe a single wall section before it has to be repositioned. A robot on a track can print along an entire building facade without manual intervention. For research institutes testing new concrete mixes, geometries, and reinforcement strategies, that extra reach translates directly into more ambitious test specimens.

Why ITeCons Chose This Setup

ITeCons works across construction, energy, and environmental sustainability. The institute needed a system that could produce large concrete elements for structural testing, not just small architectural prototypes. The Vertico installation gives researchers, students, and industry partners access to industrial-scale additive manufacturing without leaving the lab.

The institute operates as a bridge between academia and industry, which means it tests materials and methods that eventually show up in real buildings. Having a 10-meter track and a 3-meter vertical reach means ITeCons can print wall panels, columns, and beam segments closer to full scale than most university facilities can manage.

The 3-Meter Column Milestone

Vertico used the ITeCons installation to print a 3-meter concrete column, beating the company's previous height record. The column was printed as a single piece with no visible layer lines at that distance, according to the company. Printing tall, slender elements is one of the harder problems in concrete 3D printing. Each layer needs time to gain enough strength before the next layer goes on, and the nozzle path has to account for curing shrinkage and concrete slump.

Hitting 3 meters without intermediate supports or post-processing suggests the mix design and print parameters are mature enough for structural applications. It is not a load-tested building column yet, but it is a proof of concept that the process can produce vertically continuous elements.

Broader Context for Concrete 3D Printing

Concrete 3D printing has been stuck in a pattern of small pavilions, demo homes, and one-off sculptures for years. The technology works, but scaling it to actual construction sites requires machines that can print faster, taller, and wider than the desktop-sized robots shown at most trade shows. Vertico's Robot on Track is aimed squarely at that scaling problem.

The company has sold 41 of its printers globally, according to earlier reports. The ITeCons installation is the largest single system it has delivered. If the institute starts producing peer-reviewed data on large-printed concrete elements, that could help push the technology into building codes. Right now, the absence of standardized testing data is one of the biggest barriers to widespread adoption.

What to Watch Next

ITeCons will likely publish test results from the printed column and subsequent builds. Those results could include compressive strength, bond behavior between printed layers, and durability under environmental exposure. If those numbers hold up, they will give architects and engineers the data they need to specify printed concrete in real projects instead of treating it as an experimental curiosity.

Vertico also offers design, engineering, and slicing software that integrates with Rhino and Grasshopper. That is a reminder that the hardware is only part of the equation. The companies that win in construction 3D printing will be the ones that make the entire workflow, from digital model to cured concrete, predictable enough for contractors to price and schedule reliably.