Shanghai installs world's first 3-D printed bus shelters

Shanghai has installed a set of 3-D printed bus shelters - believed to be the world's first - to serve a bus line in its suburban Jinshan district.

The 3-D printed bus shelters, built by a company based in Shanghai, feature a closed-loop design that looks like a rectangular frame measuring 5.1 meters long, 1.5 m wide and 2.7 m high. Placed along a country road in Fengjing town, the futuristic structures that come with original ink marks left on the surfaces, are believed to be the world's first produced by 3-D printers, according to 3ders.org, a global news organization dedicated to providing the latest news, trends and analysis in the 3-D printing industry.

"All the printing materials are from recycled and classified industrial waste or tailings," said Wang Aijuan, who is responsible for the 3-D bus stop project at WinSun Construction Technologies. "The printing process is environmentally friendly, because such new technology does not produce additional waste."