3D Printer That Can Build A House In 24 Hours

[timebandit]

Can be built quicker than nimbys making the protest placards.

The University of Southern California is testing a giant 3D printer that could be used to build a whole house in under 24 hours.

Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis has designed the giant robot that replaces construction workers with a nozzle on a gantry, this squirts out concrete and can quickly build a home according to a computer pattern. It is “basically scaling up 3D printing to the scale of building,” says Khoshnevis. The technology, known as Contour Crafting, could revolutionise the construction industry.

Interesting videos on the link below.

Contour crafting

The 3D printer that can build a house in 24 hours

Edited December 12, 2013 by timebandit

[long time lurking]

Its just a big one of these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/151042800686?lpid=83&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=83

[MartinE]

Extruded plastic house*- now that would be progress. Patch the roof with a shopping bag and a hair dryer.

Melt in extra windows in summer and block up in winter.

*not recommended for sunny days.

[okaycuckoo]

The "lose your job to a computer" thread mentions pre-fab construction. Interesting research.

[Executive Sadman]

Dont have to use HP 3D ink do you, or else it will probably add a few zillion % HPI.

[okaycuckoo]

Dont have to use HP 3D ink do you, or else it will probably add a few zillion % HPI.

Source a few tons of laser jet toner. The owner will die of cancer - but not in debt, which is the most important thing.

The printers spray concrete, apparently.

[SleepyHead]

This is BRILLIANT! thanks for posting TimeBandit.

Makes the UK government's 30 year + time scale horizon for building homes look glacial.

[long time lurking]

This is BRILLIANT! thanks for posting TimeBandit.

Makes the UK government's 30 year + time scale horizon for building homes look glacial.

I think you could build the same thing just as quick if not quicker using prefabricated shuttering and a standard concrete pump

The only advantage would be the ease at which you could change the design of what`s built

Edited December 12, 2013 by long time lurking

[lebouche]

I think you could build the same thing just as quick if not quicker using prefabricated shuttering and a standard concrete pump

I watched a vid about this a while back. The walls are built with cavities and are v strong, light and provide great insulation. Also you can build any shape including curved buildings, copy old style buildings. The limit is practically your imagination.

[Gigantic Purple Slug]

The only thing the machine needs is two machine gun turrets on top to take down the nimby hordes.

[long time lurking]

I watched a vid about this a while back. The walls are built with cavities and are v strong, light and provide great insulation. Also you can build any shape including curved buildings, copy old style buildings. The limit is practically your imagination.

The advantage as far as I can see is the ability to change the design of what`s built at the touch of a button

I would be very interested to know what sort of concrete /cement it uses as it can`t be standard if its capable of building a two story house in 24 hours due to the cure time need to support the weights involved

[FreeTrader]

I think you could build the same thing just as quick if not quicker using prefabricated shuttering and a standard concrete pump

The only advantage would be the ease at which you could change the design of what`s built

I don't know anything about the process to which you're referring, but with the concept that's being described here, it's not only the shell structure that can be built. Ultimately plumbing, electrical wiring, and even certain internal fittings and wall colour can be fabricated during the 'printing' process.

There was a discussion of this on the forum last year: http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=182784

DementedTuna (the OP) gave a memorable quote: "To hell with printing money, it's time to start printing houses!"

[scrappycocco]

We haven't got room to piss in a pot here and we talking about 3d printing houses.

[long time lurking]

I don't know anything about the process to which you're referring, but with the concept that's being described here, it's not only the shell structure that can be built. Ultimately plumbing, electrical wiring, and even certain internal fittings and wall colour can be fabricated during the 'printing' process.

There was a discussion of this on the forum last year: http://www.housepric...howtopic=182784

DementedTuna (the OP) gave a memorable quote: "To hell with printing money, it's time to start printing houses!"

Shuttering = prefabricated moulds (would have to be bolted together) pour concrete then remove when it`s set

I think it would take no longer to set up the shuttering than it would take to lay and level the rack and pinion track which the 3d printers gantry runs on

How dose it PRINT the electrics/pluming ? all I have ever seen is the finished walls with ressese`s in them ready for the elc/plum to be installed into to manualy that could easly be applyed to shuttering

As for a two story house I can`t see how that would be posible in 24 hours with standard concrete

Edited December 13, 2013 by long time lurking

[okaycuckoo]

How dose it PRINT the electrics/pluming ? all I have ever seen is the finished walls with ressese`s in them ready for the elc/plum to be installed into to manualy that could easly be applyed to shuttering.

No idea.

If possible, awesome. But central gubmint will make it non-possible, unless at a huge price.

[FreeTrader]

Shuttering = prefabricated moulds (would have to be bolted together) pour concrete then remove when it`s set

I think it would take no longer to set up the shuttering than it would take to lay and level the rack and pinion track which the 3d printers gantry runs on

How dose it PRINT the electrics/pluming ? all I have ever seen is the finished walls with ressese`s in them ready for the elc/plum to be installed into to manualy that could easly be applyed to shuttering

As for a two story house I can`t see how that would be posible in 24 hours with standard concrete

I assume it would be a scaled up extension of the multi-material printers that are currently in development now.

To me it's fascinating to see this technology coming to the fore now. In the 1990s I wrote several investment notes covering Virtual Reality systems and consulted to a couple of companies in that market. Fortunately I was on the right side – I predicted that the likes of Virtuality, Division and Superscape would fail (although that was largely because their management was so poor – I had great belief in the ultimate penetration of the technology, and that view hasn't changed).

At that time I also became aware of the emergent 3D printing industry and when I told my friends and colleagues about it I was just laughed at.

It's a sobering lesson that it's taken close to 20 years for both of these technologies to reach mainstream consciousness. In fact I'm not sure that VR is really there yet, but the recent developments with the Oculus Rift (and especially John Carmack moving from id Software to become Chief Technology Officer) suggest that Joe Public will be aware of it in the not-so-distant future.

[Andy T]

Nice idea but concrete (as I know it) isn't very strong in tension/twist without steel reinforcement, especially in thin wall sections with changes of direction and floors etc.

Start adding steel rebar in there and you've got a load of labour involved in setting it out. Think you'd end up having additional insulation to the walls as well.

[Bloo Loo]

we already make houses in this way. we just dont use a machine to do it.

we stack bricks on a concrete base and build the entire frame first..then we stack the timbers in and floors from the ground up.

Question...wouldnt these concrete shells be similar to the unmortgageable "unconventionally built half concrete buildings we have dotted around?

[Eddie_George]

This is BRILLIANT! thanks for posting TimeBandit.

Makes the UK government's 30 year + time scale horizon for building homes look glacial.

We don't have enough laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand!

[Bloo Loo]

We don't have enough laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand!

I detect your irony.

we have tons of land....they pay farmers millions to leave bits for wildlife, so clearly we have plenty spare...

what we also have, are a good supply of nimbys.

[long time lurking]

I assume it would be a scaled up extension of the multi-material printers that are currently in development now.

To me it's fascinating to see this technology coming to the fore now. In the 1990s I wrote several investment notes covering Virtual Reality systems and consulted to a couple of companies in that market. Fortunately I was on the right side – I predicted that the likes of Virtuality, Division and Superscape would fail (although that was largely because their management was so poor – I had great belief in the ultimate penetration of the technology, and that view hasn't changed).

At that time I also became aware of the emergent 3D printing industry and when I told my friends and colleagues about it I was just laughed at.

It's a sobering lesson that it's taken close to 20 years for both of these technologies to reach mainstream consciousness. In fact I'm not sure that VR is really there yet, but the recent developments with the Oculus Rift (and especially John Carmack moving from id Software to become Chief Technology Officer) suggest that Joe Public will be aware of it in the not-so-distant future.

What you see in the video is nothing more than a scaled up CNC router /engraver/plasma cutter with a hose/concrete pump attached in place of a cutting tool

This technology has been about for the best part of two decades and is a world apart from multi media 3d printers

[billybong]

It might well be able to build the shell skins "in 24 hours" (the shell skins to include the internal walls as well as the external cavity walls).

That's not much of an improvement on current methods as just building the shell skins can be done quite quickly already. Maybe not so much in the UK but overseas there have been demonstrations of extremely rapid construction by manual or by prefabrication methods.

Is it much cheaper than current methods seeing as so much cheap labour is available and likely more on its way to the UK in January.

So it doesn't seem much quicker or much cheaper - in fact at the moment it's likely to be more expensive due to it being new construction technology.

It's interesting news of course as it adds another potential method of construction to the existing methods but like so many of these construction revelations about to revolutionise house building there's a way to go even if the idea gains momentum.

It have little or no impact on the current UK house price bubble but if it's worked on it might well start to have some impact at some time to come. In the fullness of time (and that's potentially a very long time) the idea (3 D printing of housing/construction) will likely have a major impact - maybe not in the UK though seeing how hidebound UK housing is by other factors.

Edited December 14, 2013 by billybong

[swissy_fit]

Looks rubbish in comparison to a high-quality German prefab.

A concrete shell is pretty useless.

Silly headline.

[Patfig]

I wonder when there will be a medical version that could print you a new arm or leg or a bigger todger , or a new burd

[koala_bear]

I think you could build the same thing just as quick if not quicker using prefabricated shuttering and a standard concrete pump

The only advantage would be the ease at which you could change the design of what`s built

It effectively uses the spraycrete technology used for lots of the station caverns on the current crossrail construction.

The UK are very good at it and increasingly skilled up thanks to the Tunnelling Academy.