The future is here: how are houses built with 3D printers

A new generation of startups aim to revolutionize the real estate market by automating the construction of houses with industrial 3D printers. 3D printers, or the additive manufacturing process, use machines that remove thin layers of plastic, metal, cement, and other materials, and place them on top of each other, producing three-dimensional objects from the bottom up. .

In recent years, 3D printers have primarily been used to produce small quantities of specialized items, such as auto parts and prostheses, which allow the consumer or business to produce only the amount needed using machines at home or at work.

A small number of startups around the world are now applying 3D printers to building homes, claiming it is a faster, cheaper and more durable process than traditional methods. They say the technology could help tackle the housing shortage, which drives up prices, generates overcrowding and causes evictions, leaving people on the streets.

However, building with this method is just taking its first steps. Most stratups in the sector are developing new technologies, without actually building housing.

Companies need to increase their production capacity and convince people and regulators that homes made with 3D printers are safe, durable and beautiful to look at. In addition, they must train the personnel who will operate the machines and install the houses.

“While 3D printers can make it easier to build a house faster and at a lower cost, they can help solve part of the problem,” said Michelle Boyd, who heads the Housing Lab at the Ternere Center for Housing Innovations. University of California To really tackle the huge housing shortage with this technology, however, many restrictions would have to be lifted on building multi-story apartments, Boyd said.

Proponents of the technology say it saves large amounts of wood, metal, and other building materials that end up being thrown away and landfilled. They add that this reduces the need for construction workers at a time when such labor is scarce.

Jason Ballard, CEO and co-founder of startup ICON, said the 3D printer system can do the job of 10-20 workers in five or six different trades. Unlike humans, machines can run around the clock, saving businesses time and money.

“Con las impresoras 3D, podemos imprimir exactamente lo que necesitamos”, dijo Sam Ruben, cofundador of the firma y director of sustentabilidad of Mighty Buildings. El proceso puede eliminar casi todo desecho de la construcción y ahorrar de dos a tres toneladas de carbono per unit.

In a Mighty Buildings workshop in Oakland, Calif., A 3D printer deposits thin layers of a stone-like material that hardens quickly under ultraviolet rays and is water and fire resistant. Wall panels are fired one layer at a time and filled with insulating foam. Automatic devices incorporate designs into surfaces.

The printer can produce the entire exterior shell of a small house or interior walls that can be easily assembled, depending on the company. Mighty Buildings produces small 32 square meter patio units, which can be used as bedrooms, offices, playrooms or gymnasiums. The company has already delivered six units and has 30 orders. Units cost $ 115,000 and up, installation not included. Two units can be combined to generate a space of approximately 65 square meters.

Ruben says the cost of building these homes is 40% less than traditional homes in California. Most modules are factory assembled and trucked to properties, where they are installed with cranes. The size of the units depends on considerations such as the transport truck to be used and the height of the tunnels and crossings along the way.

Mighty Buildings plans to build more factories and 1,000 units next year. In addition, it generates software that allows the construction of houses to the taste of the buyer. The long-term goal is to produce multi-story houses and apartment complexes, according to Ruben.

ICON, based in Austin, Texas, uses 3D printers to produce low cost homes. He has already built homes for the homeless in Austin and for poor families in Nacajuca, Mexico. Instead of producing the units in a factory, you bring your Vulcan printer to the job site.

“We bring the factory to your home and produce it where the house is,” said Jason Ballard, CEO and co-founder of ICON.

“The benefits of automation and digitization exploited by so many other industries have not been realized in the construction industry,” said Ballard, who noted that “3D printers are the automation system the most powerful there is ”.