3D Printing Technology

[Joe Binkowski]

Happy Friday Everyone!

I'm curious to hear what people think about the rise of 3D print technology. There are only a few players out here in the US, but most claim this process is 3x faster than traditional home building and 40% reduction in construction costs. If so, this is arguably some game-changing and disruptive innovation. 

Does anyone work in this space or has thought to bring it to the midwest? I'd love to connect.

Feel free to share what you think about 3D printing homes and the pros/cons.

Take care

-Joe

[Nick Richards]

I do a lot of 3D printing in plastic, and when talking about using it for home construction, I have doubts if it will ever go mainstream for the fact that when dealing with 3D printed concrete, you are talking about an incredibly rough surface finish, that then must be finished.

Once the concrete cures, if you leave it as printed, over time it will endlessly shed dust, so the space will always be dirty.

If 3D printing is to become viable for home construction, a far superior finishing method is going to have to be found.

3D printing architectural steel structures is something that I consider will become common place.

[Dwayne Poster]

Far too early in my opinion. I had looked at a couple of systems but went with a precast wall system. That was a few years back, and since then, the plant has expanded into structural beams. Very happy with their performance. 

[Chris Seveney]

@Joseph Binkowski

I have done a lot of research on it. It’s still in the infancy stages as the issue is more in the mixes than the equipment. You will see a lot of videos of homes printed indoors or in stable climates but the moment you have to print in a climate with varying temperature, humidity etc things get a little wonky.

Definitely something I am monitoring. Also check a company called boxabl. Watching their product and curious about how it will hold up AAMA 502.

[Karen Margrave]

We actually have 3D printed structures starting here in Redding, CA. The first will be for housing the host of a local park. There's another entity (Access Home) that will be doing affordable home options; and I just met with them yesterday to get more information, as I'm very interested in concepts that will help bring more affordable housing to our high demand area. 

Though in its infancy, I think it's the wave of the future, along with the flat packed homes built in factories and shipped, such as Boxabl. I think the biggest hindrance is the ability for companies to ramp up production fast enough to produce high enough quantities. 

[Rob C.]

 @Karen Margrave - I’m also interested in how this technology might be leveraged for the sake of affordable housing. Are you / your company printing homes to rent out as affordable housing? I would be glad to connect with you to see if there might be an opportunity for us to team up

[Nick Richards]

I do a lot of 3D printing in plastic, and when talking about using it for home construction, I have doubts if it will ever go mainstream for the fact that when dealing with 3D printed concrete, you are talking about an incredibly rough surface finish, that then must be finished.

Once the concrete cures, if you leave it as printed, over time it will endlessly shed dust, so the space will always be dirty.

If 3D printing is to become viable for home construction, a far superior finishing method is going to have to be found.

3D printing architectural steel structures is something that I consider will become common place.

[Karen Margrave]

@Rob C. I want to find out what the actual costs will be, and if it actually makes sense. Right now I'm just gathering information, there's a lot to take into consideration. 

[Martin LaBelle]

@Joe Binkowski I think the industry is will not ultimately be known as "3D Printed housing" but as "Robotic Construction". The ability to print concrete into about any foundation shape you need, will simply be one of many robotic technologies that evolve into modern construction.

Concrete also has critical limitations that in traditional construction requires adding systems to introduce tension into the structure of the curing concrete (usually used in multi-level concrete structures). Obviously this could be adapted to robotics, but the process will be more complex that simply building a taller printer.

The robotic revolution will touch every aspect of our world, and spawn as yet undreamed wonders. That said,  I think we can continue to invest without the fear that our appreciation will vanish into a bottomless pit of cheap printable B+ housing. 

[Trevor Schmitt]

Hey Joseph, 

I have been thinking about the same thing today after listing to On The Market! 

I am wondering if the extreme cold temperatures, and temperature difference in general would make this more difficult to bring to the midwest. It sounds like right now they are printing with concrete. Is there another option to use with 3D printed houses instead of concrete?

The most interesting part of this whole concept to me is the idea of having the ability to produce every piece of material and/or equipment that you need to build a home, right on site. You never have to leave the site to pickup materials, nor are they delivered. If a tool and piece of equipment breaks, you simply create a new one right then and there. 

This is something I plan to keep my eye on for sure! 


Quote from @Joe Binkowski:

Happy Friday Everyone!

I'm curious to hear what people think about the rise of 3D print technology. There are only a few players out here in the US, but most claim this process is 3x faster than traditional home building and 40% reduction in construction costs. If so, this is arguably some game-changing and disruptive innovation. 

Does anyone work in this space or has thought to bring it to the midwest? I'd love to connect.

Feel free to share what you think about 3D printing homes and the pros/cons.

Take care

-Joe

[Alexandra Rolon]

What would you like to know specifically? I'm a mechanical engineer and I have been utilizing 3D printing for over 15yrs. For housing, sounds great but we aren't there yet for mass production. It is good that companies are exploring the technology but there are too many red flags currently for me to say let's build some houses. Would it help with the labor issue, absolutely, but that is true for every industry. Would it create new jobs, yes it will is up to the people in those fields to get educated so they can keep up with technology 

[Michael K Gallagher]

@Alexandra Rolon Any change of opinion in the last 11 moths?  I'm convinced this is what we need in my market of central OH.  We have the empty lots, and sub divisions to have it make sense at scale, and the demand for the housing is huge here. I think its exactly what my market needs. 

[Chris Seveney]

@Michael K Gallagher

I believe boxabl may be producing some homes but it’s limited

The issue with 3d printing is going to be the material science behind it. Printing a concrete home in a lab is “easy” printing when one day it’s hot humid and raining and next day is cool and dry wills create significant problems.

I still think 2030 would be a better timeframe to see some movement in 3d printed homes