I was sent a link to a company in the United States that is making homes with an industrial sized 3D printer which uses a concrete mix instead of plastic used with desk top printers.
The first step is creating a blueprint of the house design using existing modelling software. The next step known as the “preparation” process of the 3D printer designs the building platform and lists of raw materials needed for the project.
A steel framework which can support the printer head is set up around the building site. A set of rails located on two sides allows the printer head to run on the rails and roam over the construction site.
A paste-like build mixture–(concrete is the most popular material used in 3D construction today) is heated and extruded through a nozzle layer by layer to build up the walls. A concrete dryer helps the building material to solidify quickly, before another layer is added.
After the walls have hardened additional construction is done by human labour.
The roof is usually made using traditional wood truss and metal cladding, next comes the doors windows and wood cabinets as well as wiring and plumbing along with wood trim and painting depending on owners’ preferences.
If you Google 3D printing of homes you will get a wide variety of information, some nine years old starting in China along with a Fibonacci home constructed in Procter, B.C. in 2021.
To get a good perspective on the variety of 3D homes being built around the world start with the Automate Construction Podcast which describes the authors’ 10 best examples. As would be expected the quality of construction has improved considerably and the variety in size and styles is improving daily.
The obvious advantages are in the improved speed of constriction as well as the ability to customize depending on the location and desires of the home owner. A double wall allows for ease of wiring and plumbing as well as wall width to provide more insulation for heat and cold applications.
The concrete walls are often left uncovered which means no outside cladding or inner drywall is needed.
This not only reduces costs and labour, but also provides a fireproof and waterproof structure. Steel is also used in critical areas which will make the structures more resistant to climatic events like hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires and flooding.
As with any new technology, time is needed to see how the structures weather and live up to the expectations of withstanding some of the forces of nature that they will be subjected to.
The 3D printed homes will no doubt be evolving and providing some options to help with the housing crisis, but so far is concentrating on traditional single family dwellings which means we will still see traditional multiple levels and steel concrete construction for larger projects. The podcast shows some promising small dwellings that should be much safer and practical for the people in the developing countries that have recently suffered from a wide variety of natural disasters.
READ MORE: FOREST INK: Not just another diet book
READ MORE: FOREST INK: Beavers are more than felt hats – Part 1
Want to read more local stories like this? Sign up for the Williams Lake Tribune’s newsletter right to your email. Consider purchasing a subscription to the Tribune to support local journalism for just .99 cents per week!
