US Contractor Wants To Construct Entire Building With 3D Printer

[EZRecovery]

3D printing houses is not a brand new idea, but I don?t think that anyone has constructed a house like the one a contractor in Minnesota wants to build. Andrey Rudenko wants to construct a home by using a specially designed 3D printer, which uses cement as a filament.  The design and quality of the build will not be compromised, according to a report by 3DPrint.  The contractor?s aim is not to build a finished house in as little time s possible, but rather to 3D print it resourcefully and securely.

 

Andrey Rudenko said, ?A cheap house built in 24 hours is not my goal?My current focus is building well-insulated small or medium-sized homes of a contemporary design, definitely onsite. As an experienced builder, I know that to avoid problems in the future, it is more important to produce homes of a good quality, which may take longer to build than cheaper homes made quickly. It would be more beneficial to print a complete home, including the foundation for the staircase, fireplace, certain furniture (kitchen island etc), columns, interior walls, and any wiring or plumbing that would fit inside the printed walls.?

 

There are some challenges that Rudenko faces, including legal issues, like obtaining permits for constructing a building by using 3D printing technology.  There are also issues relating to the 3D printing process itself.

 

 

The 3D printer uses a cement/sand mix filament, so Rudenko must find a way to cope with the high viscosity of cement when it comes to pushing it out efficiently through the pump.  This is an issue because, when the printing process is being used in actual outdoor conditions, Rudenko also has to ensure each 20mm layer of cement that is ?printed? by the machine then becomes hard enough to enable the machine to move to the next layer of the process.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX8JG1tqEM4#t=91

 

The project is in its early stages and it moves forward, Rudenko is ideally wanting to 3D print a 2-story home and then he will move onto a ?contemporarily-designed energy-saving house.? The contractor will begin with a smaller project however; building a small children?s castle to test out the process.

 

[images via fabbaloo & inhabitat]

 

SOURCE: http://bgr.com/2014/05/28/3d-printing-a-house/

[DocM]

Why not? They can print rocket engines and are working on printed lunar bases. Additive manufacturing is going to do for most factory work what robots will soon do to fast food workers.

[McKay]

Is cement and sand a strong enough mix to support itself? Isn't it usually reinforced by metal when used in livable structures? Won't it require support beams made of something else?

[Anibal P]

So he wants to take this idea: 

 

http://mashable.com/2014/04/28/3d-printing-houses-china/

 

And make "expensive" houses with it just because it's slower? 

[DocM]

Is cement and sand a strong enough mix to support itself? Isn't it usually reinforced by metal when used in livable structures? Won't it require support beams made of something else?

Such walls usually have the utility runs, beams and rebar placed between the printed layers. Roofing beams etc. are a separate step and usually prefabricated.