THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION OF CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN KUNMING, THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Abstract

This reseach studies applying three-dimensional printing technology in the construction industry in Kunming. A questionnaire consisted of three sections with 53 questions: demographic, current situation, and technology adoption sections. Importantly, section 3 was invented with 30 questions that fall into nine groups following the technology adoption area: relative advantages, complexity, trialability, compatibility, absorptive capacity, external pressure, uncertainty, supply-sided benefits, and demand-side benefits.

The questionnaire was tested by item-objective congruence index by three experts. Two hundred sixty-eight questionnaires were collected and analyzed. The results show that there were few construction projects implementing 3D printing technology. The technology is acceptable in terms of investment, and construction performance improvement. On the other hand, the challenges of technology adoption are the lack of skilled workers who can work with 3D printers, and the initial investment is high.

Futhermore, the first three key factors of three-dimensional printing technology adoption are supply-sided benefits, external pressure, and relative advantages, with scores of 4.13, 4.05, and 3.98, respectively. It means adopting three-dimensional printing technology in Kunming’s construction industry; they need to explicitly present the technology's benefits to the demand side. Furthermore, they need to rigorously improve their knowledge and skilled workers for three-dimensional printing technology. Finally, other advantages, such as construction time, material usage, construction cost, and manpower, must be reduced significantly.

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