3D printer to carve out world's first full-size building

[M II A II R II K]

3D printer to carve out world's first full-size building


January 21, 2013

By Dara Kerr

Read More: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57...size-building/

Website: http://www.d-shape.com/index.htm

Sure, we've heard of 3D-printed iPhone cases, dinosaur bones, and even a human fetus -- but something massive, like a building? This is exactly what architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars has been working on. The Dutch native is planning to build what he calls a "Landscape House." This structure is two-stories and is laid out in a figure-eight shape. The idea is that this form can borrow from nature and also seamlessly fit into the outside world.

- The production of the building will be done on a 3D printer called the D-Shape, which was invented by Enrico Dini. The D-Shape uses a stereolithography printing process with sand and a binding agent -- letting builders create structures that are supposedly as strong as concrete. According to the Los Angeles Times, the printer will lay down thousands of layers of sand to create 20 by 30-foot sections. These blocks will then be used to compile the building. The "Landscape House" will be the first 3D-printed building and is estimated to cost between $5 million and $6 million, according to the BBC. Ruijssenaars plans to have it done sometime in 2014.

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[amor de cosmos]

Building a Lunar Base With 3D Printing
31 January 2013

Setting up a lunar base could be made much simpler by using a 3D printer to build it from local materials. Industrial partners including renowned architects Foster + Partners have joined with ESA to test the feasibility of 3D printing using lunar soil.

“Terrestrial 3D printing technology has produced entire structures,” said Laurent Pambaguian, heading the project for ESA.

“Our industrial team investigated if it could similarly be employed to build a lunar habitat.”

Foster + Partners devised a weight-bearing ‘catenary’ dome design with a cellular structured wall to shield against micrometeoroids and space radiation, incorporating a pressurised inflatable to shelter astronauts.

A hollow closed-cell structure – reminiscent of bird bones – provides a good combination of strength and weight.

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Te...th_3D_printing

• Video Link

20-Hour House: How to 3D-Print 2,500 Square Feet in 1 Day
Article by Urbanist, filed under Conceptual & Futuristic in the Technology category.

Combining ancient earthen-architecture approaches and cutting-edge robotic technologies, this contour crafting process promises a revolution in how we address one of our most basic and universal human needs: shelter.

Inventor and teacher Dr. Behrokh Khoshevis of University of Southern California points out that residential construction is labor-intensive, inefficient and hazardous. In short: it is overdue for a paradigm shift, one that not only automates and speeds up processes but also allows for mass customization and individualization.

His Counter Crafting system “is a fabrication process by which large-scale parts can be fabricated quickly in a layer-by-layer fashion. The chief advantages of the Contour Crafting process over existing technologies are the superior surface finish that is realized and the greatly enhanced speed of fabrication” in part through the use of additives for faster hardening times.

Steel reinforcement, plumbing and electrical can all be installed by robotic attachments as the concrete walls are poured. In turn, conventional shape and style limitations need not apply – curves are as simple to program as right angles. Part of the beauty of this system is that it cuts out the middle man – designs can go straight from the digital drawing board (CAD software) to the on-board computer.

http://weburbanist.com/2014/01/11/20...feet-in-1-day/

edit: I just thought of what this could do for the cost of housing, since it wouldn't cost very much to have someone run a 3d printer, especially if it were big enough to print more than one house at a time. That is, without having to dismantle & move it to the next site to print another one. I guess the labour cost would be a fraction of what it is for the usual wood-frame house. & the design possibilities must be endless too, without even considering translucent or conductive concrete. Could we see a 200-storey skyscraper completed in 5-6 months with this technology?

[amor de cosmos]

more

• Video Link

http://www.dvice.com/2014-1-16/massi...house-24-hours

http://inhabitat.com/large-3d-printe...n-under-a-day/

http://www.contourcrafting.org/

[amor de cosmos]

The Future of Buildings Will Be Printed in 3D
Noah Goldstein — March 11, 2014

There is something mesmerizing about watching a 3D printer work. Whether it’s printing in plastic, sand, metal, sugar, or chocolate, it is captivating to see layer after layer be laid down to create simple or sublime forms. 3D-printed (also known as additive) materials have been recognized as having novel material, physical, and even electric properties. Impossible shapes have been created that could enable an expansion in how materials can be conceived and used. But what does additive manufacturing mean for buildings? The ultimate application is easy to conceive: printing buildings, molecule by molecule, creating homes with landing pads for flying cars, and a HAL-9000 built into the walls. But that is the Future (with a capital F). In the near future, 3D printing will change the ways buildings are maintained and built.

The first application of 3D printing will address a very old-school problem: replacing parts in aging equipment. Buildings are incredible for their durability. This is also true for the equipment inside buildings. At the Hotel Boulderado in Boulder, Colorado, the city where Navigant Research is headquartered, the original elevator is still running after 100 years. With good maintenance, some systems will last for decades beyond their intended service life. Keeping legacy systems in place lowers capital expenses for building owners. But it’s not always easy to replace old parts. In some cases, the replacement parts are no longer available, either because the manufacturer has gone out of business or has simply stopped making them. In other cases, the transport costs for replacing parts can be prohibitive. 3D printing can solve that by creating custom parts made with extreme precision. With the portability of 3D printing, it could even be possible to send the design specs for the part to the location where they are needed and print the part onsite.

Print Me a House

http://www.navigantresearch.com/blog...-printed-in-3d

[amor de cosmos]

10 completely 3D printed houses appear in Shanghai, built under a day
April 1, 2014

Back in 2011, University of Southern California Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis said new technology will soon allow massive 3D printers to build entire multi-level houses in under a day.

A group of 3D printed houses, 200 m2 each, recently appears in Shanghai, China. These building were created entirely out of concrete using a gigantic 3D printer, and each costs only 30,000 RMB ($4,800).

The company behind these 3D printed building, Shanghai WinSun Decoration Design Engineering Co, said it has for years been working on developing the system and its materials. The company owns 77 national patents of construction materials, such as glass fiber reinforced gypsum and special glass fiber reinforced cement.

http://www.3ders.org/articles/201404...-in-a-day.html
http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/04/ten...ldings-in.html

[amor de cosmos]

3D printed house constructed by UCLA + HUD

an interdisciplinary student team headed by professor and architect peter ebner has developed a 3D printed house that offers mobile and comfortable accommodation for its inhabitants. working with 3M futureLAB and voxeljet, the highly detailed 2.2×2.2 meter unit was printed in bavaria, germany.

comprising students from the university of california (UCLA) and the university of huddersfield (HUD) the experimental micro-apartment can easily be transported and integrated within a range of different environments. inside, the unit offers essential components such as a bathroom, a kitchen, a bed and a table to work and prepare on. additionally, the design features many luxury elements such as a multi-media system with a rear projection screen that occupies the majority of the main wall.

http://www.designboom.com/architectu...ud-04-06-2014/

[amor de cosmos]

more about the project in china

4:58 pm ET Apr 15, 2014
China
Rapid Construction, China Style: 10 Houses in 24 Hours
By Esther Fung

Chinese companies have been known to build major real-estate projects very quickly. Now, one company is taking it to a new extreme.

Suzhou-based construction-materials firm Winsun New Materials says it has built 10 200-square-meter homes using a gigantic 3-D printer that it spent 20 million yuan ($3.2 million) and 12 years developing.

Such 3-D printers have been around for several years and are commonly used to make models, prototypes, plane parts and even such small items as jewelry. The printing involves an additive process, where successive layers of material are stacked on top of one another to create a finished product.

Winsun’s 3-D printer is 6.6 meters (22 feet) tall, 10 meters wide and 150 meters long, the firm said, and the “ink” it uses is created from a combination of cement and glass fibers. In a nod to China’s green agenda, Winsun said in the future it plans to use scrap material left over from construction and mining sites to make its 3-D buildings.

Winsun says it estimates the cost of printing these homes is about half that of building them the traditional way. And although the technology seems efficient, it’s unlikely to be widely used to build homes any time soon because of regulatory hurdles, Mr. Chen said.

http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intel...s-in-24-hours/
http://www.archdaily.com/497836/chin...s-in-24-hours/

slideshow
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...03173989747900

& in the netherlands they are printing with shreddable & bio-based materials rather than concrete

Video Link

Video Link

[amor de cosmos]

Shanghai firm reveals it has 3D printed ten buildings in the space of 24 hours

A short film released by China View has been making headlines in trade publications and blogs this week. The two and a half minute video claims to show ten properties which were all constructed using an innovative method of 3D printing within the space of 24 hours.

The film includes an interview with President of Yingchuang New Materials, Ma Yihe, the inventor behind the cutting-edge 3D printing technology. The mammoth printing machines were used to 'construct' Yihe's 10,000 sq m office over a period of one month and were also used to print the 10 additional properties in 24 hours.

Yihe explains that it takes four printers operating simultaneously to create one property and that the limitations of the technology mean that the roof cannot be printed. The printed material is a mixture of construction waste and cement, therefore offering a sustainable alternative to traditional construction methods.

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com...pload_id=24224

• Video Link

[mrnyc]

^ i saw that. unbelieveable. i cant even imagine what is coming. i heard using this process on long space flights for one thing - just like star trek!

[amor de cosmos]

Teams of 3D-printing robots can build large objects
Megan Treacy
Technology / Gadgets
June 23, 2014



We love 3D printing for the customization it allows. Printers can be used to make very specific objects that can't be found through mass production and they produce objects right where they will be used, no lengthy transportation necessary.

Researchers have developed 3D printers for metal, sand and even for using recycled plastic filament, but so far if you want to print anything large, you either need a large machine or you have to print out lots of smaller pieces and then assemble them into something larger. Researchers from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) in Barcelona have solved that issue by creating a team of 3D printer robots that can print large structures on-site, free from the confines of a machine.

The IAAC technology can make buildings in one continuous, layer-by-layer process by utilizing a few 3D printer robots working as a team.

The robots are called Minibuilders and are 16.5 inches wide or less. Using their own sensors and local positioning systems, each Minibuilder performs its individual role in order using instructions provided by a central computer. A Supplier robot provides liquid building material to each of the Minibuilders as it's needed.

http://www.treehugger.com/gadgets/sw...e-objects.html

Video Link

[amor de cosmos]

Earth Home Builder Machine "3D Prints" Entire Homes from Bags of Earth
by Lidija Grozdanic, 06/24/14



The low-tech practice of building homes using earth bags seems to be keeping pace with the most up-to-date 3D printing technologies. The Earth Home Builder is a skid-operated machine that can “3D print” entire homes by filling earth bag tubes at a rate of 400 feet per hour.

United Earth Builders, a collective of earthbag and natural builders that are dedicated to building affordable and accessible housing, has developed a method of 3D printing houses with earth bags. The Earth Home Builder is outfitted with specialized earth home building technology and can fill earth bag tubes of many sizes at a rate of up to 400 feet per hour. A crew by hand can manage to fill about 30 feet per hour, depending on bag width, which makes the new technology far superior.

http://inhabitat.com/united-earth-bu...rth-bag-homes/

• Video Link

[mrnyc]

^ simple, fascinating and mesmerizing, with the added benefit that if you are having trouble sleeping this video is highly recommended!