3D printed house the first to receive certificate of occupancy in the United States

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Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
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Dec 11, 1999
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The tech is cool, the claims about cost are BS.
This is actually printed walls. Everything else is conventional construction. Wall framing isn't anywhere near 50% of the cost of a home.
A crew digs the foundation, forms it, installs the rebar and pours the slab and footings. Machine then sets up, prints the walls, and that's the end of the printing part. Everything else is done by carpenters, electricians, plumbers, roofers, drywallers, and HVAC installers.

It's a good idea, but has a very long way to go before it's going to have much impact on home construction.
It seems to me they should try different materials next. And find ways to mix and match them. I know 3D printing can be done with copper and with PVC. That likely doesn't wire the electrical directly, but could at least do conduit. And it should work for sewer lines and vents. I imagine it might also be possible to 3D print MDF?
 
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Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
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With current tech this is all true unfortunately .... I can however see nearly unlimited potential here.

20 years from now swarms of "mini-printer drones" programmed to effectively "grow" a building right before your eyes sounds like science-fiction but I could picture it! (nano-bots?)

Or maybe..... Replicators? :oops:

That isn't going to happen with current materials. All of the printing systems developed so far use a cement based material. It's cheap, easy to handle, readily available, and heavy. Very heavy. It also requires several operators, and a crew to place any required steel connectors and reinforcement.

The concept is a good starting point, and it may end up becoming a common method of standing walls, but it's nowhere near being a "printed house".
 
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Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
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That isn't going to happen with current materials. All of the printing systems developed so far use a cement based material. It's cheap, easy to handle, readily available, and heavy. Very heavy. It also requires several operators, and a crew to place any required steel connectors and reinforcement.

The concept is a good starting point, and it may end up becoming a common method of standing walls, but it's nowhere near being a "printed house".


I'm thinking some kind of plastic/concrete hybrid might be the answer here.... either that or a mini-transporter beam in every drone!

:p
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
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I'm thinking some kind of plastic/concrete hybrid might be the answer here.... either that or a mini-transporter beam in every drone!

:p
I prefer self replicating nanites. You toss a handful on the ground, come back in a week and you have a skyscraper or a starship, maybe a skyscraper that is a starship. The best thing about this approach is you only need to make one nanite.
 
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Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
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Dec 11, 1999
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I prefer self replicating nanites. You toss a handful on the ground, come back in a week and you have a skyscraper or a starship, maybe a skyscraper that is a starship. The best thing about this approach is you only need to make one nanite.
I think you really, really underestimate the difficulty of making "self replicating nanites". The first question is what chemicals to use.

We know of one self-replicating microscopic organism technology: bacteria. They need chemicals found in air (in various abundances), a little sulfur and phosphorus, and energy. The main problem with this chemistry is that natural bacteria are likely to find your "nanites" tasty, and are likely to rapidly evolve novel ways to eat them.

The other path is probably what you're thinking of, metal robots. Well, metal robots need metal, silicon chips, and energy. Note that "silicon chips" require dopants: usually one of boron, aluminum, gallium, or indium, plus one of phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, bismuth, or lithium. Then to make one new nanite, a bunch of nanites need to form a chip fabrication lab. We've seen how long humans take to do that. :p Even ignoring how many more chemicals they'd need.

I'm sure I've skipped over lots of problems with both approaches. Suffice it to say any nanites we use won't be self-replicating for a very long time. How to manufacture anything with nanites is also a very open question.
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
20,936
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It seems to me they should try different materials next. And find ways to mix and match them. I know 3D printing can be done with copper and with PVC. That likely doesn't wire the electrical directly, but could at least do conduit. And it should work for sewer lines and vents. I imagine it might also be possible to 3D print MDF?
Seems like the direction it has to go. Seems like it's a long way off though, and would need
I think you really, really underestimate the difficulty of making "self replicating nanites". The first question is what chemicals to use.

We know of one self-replicating microscopic organism technology: bacteria. They need chemicals found in air (in various abundances), a little sulfur and phosphorus, and energy. The main problem with this chemistry is that natural bacteria are likely to find your "nanites" tasty, and are likely to rapidly evolve novel ways to eat them.

The other path is probably what you're thinking of, metal robots. Well, metal robots need metal, silicon chips, and energy. Note that "silicon chips" require dopants: usually one of boron, aluminum, gallium, or indium, plus one of phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, bismuth, or lithium. Then to make one new nanite, a bunch of nanites need to form a chip fabrication lab. We've seen how long humans take to do that. :p Even ignoring how many more chemicals they'd need.

I'm sure I've skipped over lots of problems with both approaches. Suffice it to say any nanites we use won't be self-replicating for a very long time. How to manufacture anything with nanites is also a very open question.
I think we're on different spectrums. That entire post was tong in cheek. Nanites are the stuff of very poor science fiction, self replicating nanites are the mental farts of writers that shouldn't be allowed to pen "Open other end" stickers.
 
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gorobei

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2007
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ICON's 2nd demonstrator builds: low cost housing and then some higher end builds. still leaving most of the layers, but there was one slicked wall example room. no sign of 2nd floor printing or eta.

for those fixated on roofing.
as-more-homes-are-built-the-plans-can-be-adjusted-to-accommodate-the-needs-of-different-residents.jpg

italian company using radial arm printer to make domes.
Tecla-3D-printed-house-WASP-img1.jpg

02-03-202000003.jpg
 

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
13,634
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To what extent, though, is the cost of actually constructing a house the crucial factor? I had the impression, at least over here, that the bulk of the cost is the cost of the land the house stands on, not the cost of actually building it.

Just looked it up and for the UK the average house price is £300k, and the cost of the land it stands on makes up between £150k and £220k of that. So there's not a vast amount of scope for saving money on the construction part.

Presumably the economics of it would vary massively in different parts of the world.
 

Newbian

Lifer
Aug 24, 2008
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To what extent, though, is the cost of actually constructing a house the crucial factor? I had the impression, at least over here, that the bulk of the cost is the cost of the land the house stands on, not the cost of actually building it.

Just looked it up and for the UK the average house price is £300k, and the cost of the land it stands on makes up between £150k and £220k of that. So there's not a vast amount of scope for saving money on the construction part.

Presumably the economics of it would vary massively in different parts of the world.
Depends on many factors but if land is cheap then 50% of a new house can be in material cost alone in the states and labor shortages can be another huge factor.
 
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gorobei

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2007
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To what extent, though, is the cost of actually constructing a house the crucial factor? I had the impression, at least over here, that the bulk of the cost is the cost of the land the house stands on, not the cost of actually building it.

Just looked it up and for the UK the average house price is £300k, and the cost of the land it stands on makes up between £150k and £220k of that. So there's not a vast amount of scope for saving money on the construction part.

Presumably the economics of it would vary massively in different parts of the world.
the videos i posted suggest that labor costs (and presumably the increased costs from worker shortage) are the drivers for a good portion of the cost.

the reason 3d printing is so attractive on labor is the time factor.
2 to 3 days to setup equipment and print with a minimal crew, vs ~3 to 4 weeks of a team of stick framers and panelling (weekend breaks add to total time). you still have to pay for cement foundation pours and other trades like electrical and plumbing, but those dont take weeks like the initial framing which can get delayed due to weather. since the printer can build in the routing for the plumbing and outlet wiring into the print, those tradesmen dont need to spend the time altering/drilling into wooden framing.

i think the first vid i posted had a rough price breakdown.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
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Thing with 3D printing is you'd still need framers to build walls so you can put insulation, vapour barrier etc. I guess you could spray foam the entire inside though, then spray paint the foam. That could make for an interesting look and maybe even be more efficient than a standard home.
 

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
32,118
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Thing with 3D printing is you'd still need framers to build walls so you can put insulation, vapour barrier etc. I guess you could spray foam the entire inside though, then spray paint the foam. That could make for an interesting look and maybe even be more efficient than a standard home.
if i were to build a house i'd totally do ICF. best of both worlds?
 

gorobei

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2007
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Matt Risinger got a full look at an onsite build of a 100 home project.
they are putting the electrical (and possibly plumbing) routing and boxes into the print so no need for them to cut into the walls. interior and exterior walls are printed as well as things like the kitchen island.

big thing is they are at 4 man crews (printer operator, mixer op, qc, supervisor) they want to go down to 2, then 1, eventually sub 1 crew buy having 1 person running multiple printers at the same time to really lower the cost.

[didnt realize drywall was so hated by builders.]
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,407
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i view it more as a fancier version of cinder block houses that you see in 3rd world countries.

image-of-cinder-block-on-masonry-job-site.jpg



Why are homes in Mexico often made from concrete but not in the US? - Quora
Most of my garage was built with cinder blocks. I bought a few at Home Depot to repair one of the walls a few years ago.
 
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gorobei

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2007
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I would want a smooth slip over those interior walls. As is, they are dust magnets.
you can smooth the walls (int or ext) if you want, my post #34 has a video where the show inside a demonstrator home with a wall slicked. you can even have custom bas-relief textures molded into the slicked wall post#11
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
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That video was pretty good, I was skeptical at the idea but they did touch on lot of things I would have concerns about such as insulation and it looks like that's all been considered by doing double walls. The fact that they can make different shapes like rounded corners is pretty cool too. Provided they don't get sued by Apple lol.
 

skyking

Lifer
Nov 21, 2001
22,382
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it's heavy, dusty, messy work. Go help somebody some time. Come stay out at my house build in about, November?
The crews and guys that are good at it make it look easy, but it is far from it. Mostly younger crews as the old guys break down and learn how to do other things that beat on your body less.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
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What's even less fun to work with is cement board. :eek:

But yeah drywalling is not really that fun either. I decided to drywall my crawlspace, so doing it in a confined space is even less fun! I don't know why I do that to myself. :p
 

WilliamM2

Platinum Member
Jun 14, 2012
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What's even less fun to work with is cement board. :eek:

But yeah drywalling is not really that fun either. I decided to drywall my crawlspace, so doing it in a confined space is even less fun! I don't know why I do that to myself. :p

Why would you drywall a crawlspace?