3D-Printed Houses

[lpetrich]

We Pioneer Solutions To End Global Homelessness | New Story - 3D-printed houses.
Home | ICON BUILD - a 3D printer for building houses

New Story's first 3D-printed houses are now complete - "A giant 3D printer is currently squeezing out new homes in rural Mexico. Each one takes 24 hours and lets local families upgrade from a shack to a two-bedroom house. Could this be part of the global housing solution? "

At Technology | ICON:

This is the future we were promised.

Introducing the ICON platforma tablet-operated robotic printer, integrated material delivery system, and groundbreaking cement-based material for building homes.

• Printer height: 11.5' 3.5m
• Printed-wall height: 8.5' 2.6m
• Nominal power consumption: 16 kW
• Peak power consumption: 35 kW
• Voltage: 230 / 240 V single phase
• Water use: 2 gallons/minute = 7.5 liters/minute
• Span: 33' 10 m
• Print width: 28' 8.5 m
• Print speed: 5-7" / s 13-18 cm/s
• Print layer: 1" tall, 2" wide - 2.5 cm tall, 5 cm wide
• Material: Lavacrete, a proprietary cement mix
• User interface: tablet
• Operating crew: 4 - 6 people

Worlds first 3D-printed neighborhood is being built in Mexico | TechRadar

The homes take about 24 hours to print ..., and two houses can be constructed simultaneously. This is something like twice as fast as it would normally take the non-profit to build a house using traditional means.

In terms of size, the houses are 500 square feet and consist of a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms. The families who will live in these homes were consulted when it came to their design, too.

The ... - albeit in a process spread over several days - (getting around a posting glitch)

 

[lpetrich]

This is the world’s largest 3D-printed house | TechRadar

SQ4D has just 3D-printed an impressively large home, and indeed is claiming that the 1,900 square foot abode is the ‘largest permitted 3D-printed home in the world’, no less.

SQ4D printed the house in 48 hours, albeit spread across eight days, and it was created right there on-site. That’s quick when you compare it to previous projects such as the 3D-printed houses in Mexico which were 500 square feet and took 24 hours to make.

Materials cost: $6000

Watch the largest 3D-printed building in the world being constructed | TechRadar

The largest 3D-printed building ever constructed has now been finished over in the United Arab Emirates.

More specifically, the building in the Al Warsan area of Dubai has been recorded in the Guinness World Records as the first ever two-storey 3D-printed building, and the largest one in the world by volume.

...
The building – which is 9.5 meters tall and has an area of 640 square meters – used half the normal number of workers, the report in The National states, and produced around 60% less waste than traditional construction. It’s estimated that it will cut construction costs by something like 60%, too.

The Dubai building was designed with curves to challenge the 3D-printing system that built it.

 

[lpetrich]

An alternative is bricklaying robots.

This Bricklaying Robot Is Changing the Future of Construction

Has a picture of some cinderblock walls that were laid by a bricklaying robot, FBR's Hadrian X.

SAM100 – Construction Robotics - video about it: Meet SAM, the bricklaying robot - YouTube

From the looks of it, SAM is best at tasks like lifting bricks into place. The more skilled tasks still have to be done by human construction workers.

Construction Robotics company - offers SAM and MULE: MULE is a robot arm for lifting bricks and cinderblocks into place.


Wooden frames aren't as far along in robotic construction of them, though I've found Watch robots build a timber frame in no time - Curbed