3D Printed Buildings – Principles of the 3D Future
Three-D printing is big with many engineers printing whole action figures and even armor suits – but what about buildings?
A Chinese firm proudly presents a marvel in engineering – the first 3D printed building measuring five stories in size. Completely livable and quite possibly the answer to the modern housing crisis, making this possible was no mean feat, despite the fact that the technology was already there.
The Building Process
3D printing small items typically means creating the program and just allowing the printer to create the product, one layer at a time. With larger projects, however, the process takes on a per-piece approach. Think of it as creating individual puzzle pieces and simply putting them together when the printing is done.
This translates to a more complicated process of programming each piece. The goal is to make sure that each piece fits perfectly together, in accordance with the overall design of the building.
CityLab, the one responsible for the building reveals that they utilized a patented ink for the project. This makes sense considering how none of the 3D printer inks available today are durable enough to print out housing pieces. Said ink is made from construction waste that has gone through a recycling process, ensuring industrial-grade durability that makes the end-building completely livable. To create each piece, the ink was run through a printer measuring 150 meters long – a record by any standard.
The parts were put together on site and adhering to the building standards of the city. This means that steel reinforcements and even insulation are put in place to meet every typical requirement. With the 3D printing technology, production time of a same-size building is reduced by 50% at a relatively cheaper cost.
Considerations and Benefits
Obviously, the most vital question here is: will this 3D printed building be fit for modern living? Although the building itself is not currently used, there is a very positive answer for this question. With CityLab taking that first vital step towards the possibility, further developing the technology for commercial use might well be possible within the next decade or so.
Perhaps the best thing about this 3D printed building is the fact that it used recycled materials for ink. Definitely a useful way of dealing with waste, the system may well be the answer to two of the biggest problems today: pollution and housing.
More for the Future
The building is currently placed in Suzhou Industrial Park and is right next to a neo classical mansion which is also 3D printed. Note though that the buck does not stop there – the first five-story building is just the first step towards a grander plan.
According to reports, the Chinese company intends to create a fully self-sufficient city through 3D printing. Luca Curci, an Italian architect reveals that the end-plan is the creation of a desert-based city that is fully sufficient with buildings that share power and water with each other. The said sources of energy and water are supposedly environment-friendly as well with the electricity coming from a renewable source and water being a recycled product.