World's First 3D-Printed Building
 

There is currently a heated race to see who will be the first company to produce a 3D printed building. A variety of exciting solutions are being explored - everything from printing different densities of concrete, to layering polymers all the way to robot swarms are on the table as viable options.

One of the more outlandish ones is the ProtoHouse (I call it Spider House!)

http://fineprintnyc.com/media/W1siZi...nted-house.jpg

You can see more images and a couple of videos at the source:

http://fineprintnyc.com/blog/making-...inted-building

That looks horrible.

It looks like a wasps nest. I hate wasps.

The materials industry will need to catch up for something like this to be viable. Structurally you could make it happen. But none of the materials are performance based that would guarantee good insulating value or resistance to environmental degradation.

Alot of what i'm seeing so far is just a more streamlined vision of what we can already do. You could automate concrete construction if you really wanted to.

Unless 3D printing catches up first. Up until now its just been plastics, polymers and cement, but this is changing http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/05/woo...f-3d-printing/

I bet dusting and cleaning that would be tons of fun.

BAH! Wasp nest is being too kind!

This whole "3D Printing" nonsense is getting a bit too much. People seem to have this idea that a 3D Printer is some sort of sci fi 'replicator' that it can make ANYTHING!

What it makes, is Plastic.

For making toys, statues, odds and ends, and now even guns. Sure, Plastic is fine...

But a building? Get back to me when it is putting down concrete and sculpting stone blocks on its own...

3D printing technology is capable of printing plastic, rubber, metal, concrete, stone, and food. The technology is quickly improving, and basically any material you can imagine will be able to be 3d printed if it isn't able to be already.

It's already doing that.

http://www.academia.edu/223347/Autom...ction_in_Japan

Robots and 3D printers are the cast iron molds of the 21st century.

it's not nonsense. it's the future. whether 5 years or 50, we'll see, but some form of automated fabrication is going to revolutionize construction. it's also going to be the force that brings individuality, customization, and idiosyncrasy back to architecture.

Not only can it print bricks and cement, it can print them at different densities for interesting acoustic/insulation effects. Also, thanks to titanium powder, you can actually 3D print metal now. In fact this is what is being used in medical 3D printing, such as the recent case of a woman who got a new titanium jaw from a 3D printer.

It's also worth noting that printing the whole building at once is not the most popular approach. They print the components and then assemble them, prefab style.

3D printing is definitely way hyped right now, but its for good reason. Beyond trinkets and art it's revolutionising several industries, from biotech to architecture, electronics etc

It is the Hype that gets under my skin.
I know the method has a great deal of potential, it is just every time I turn on the TV, it is made out as if it is already doing all these things.
Printing parts and bits of a building is something I expect, and will indeed be a boon to the industry.

The article posted just rubbed me the wrong way because it talked about 'Printing' a whole building all in one go. And lets be fair, that article WAS using just plastic and polymers in the construction process
And that right there is something to consider, I was not aware of that Vid, and I appricate the knowledge. ;)

Or just walking without ending on your face.