Hm. A whole house, except the flooring, walls, wiring, plumbing, windows, roofing, lighting, heck anything but the bare frame and walls. You can already do that, prefab, in a few hours. This is custom, but so is prefab.
The problem is the usual: a single material isn't enough to make anything but the simple constructs. Almost everything is complex these days. Materials Science hasn't been a science for a century for nothing.
You did not watch the accompanying YouTube video where these things are mentioned as being needed and could be accomplished using auxiliary automation techniques.
EDIT: They also show visual demonstrations of techniques as to HOW this would be accomplished.
In the video, he proposes that the printer would have a second pick and place type arm that would be able to install plumbing and electrical systems. He claims that it could be used to do finishing work too, but there are no animations to suggest how that might work.
Prefab needs a factory to make the prefab sections.
Also, you can lay down multiple materials by making the head swappable. I would also say plumbing and electrics are nowhere near as complex as they used to be. Everything is available as clip-on fittings these days, which is perfect for automation.
Sigh, if this guy had an actual 3D printer he would realize those doors and windows are a no-go :-) More seriously, there are unsolved issues in printing unsupported structures, the current best solution is a second 'support' material that can be dissolved/blown away once the part is completed but that rules out voids which are part of what you hope to make with this sort of thing.
Also as others point out this is just the frame (and if you do the robotic crane thing you can add a roof. You might also be able to use your robotic crane to do joists for overhangs but the finish suffers as your joist material is exposed on the underside.
No doubt solvable problems but they take away from some of the 'magicalness' of fused deposition printing. Stereo lithography where the part is neutrally bouyant in the construction fluid doesn't have those issues but it has other issues associated with strength and material choices that can be laser activated.
For now doing a concrete lay-up would be pretty killer but building the forms on site isn't that hard and in both cases you need to transport the concrete at the last minute.
Bottom line I think the stuff that BluHomes [1] is doing is much more creative than trying to do this with 3D printing.
> Sigh, if this guy had an actual 3D printer he would realize those doors and windows are a no-go :-)
If you notice guy obviously competent and expeirienced in the field presenting something stupid it's more likely than not that you are missing piece of knowlege that is required for understaning why it actually isn't stupid.
Just watch the movie. It shows how to deal with doors and windows.
Just read the info on the "Why Blu" page as the photos look intriguing, but as soon as the page mentioned "pre-fab", it became a non-start for me in the SoCal market.
The problem is that pre-fabricated or pre-manufactured homes are a very specific category of homes and require specific disclosures when selling and financing. It's basically a derogatory term used to describe cheaply built structures that are a step above mobile homes.
Home being one of the most valuable assets a typical family holds. In SoCal and many other places, land makes up the bulk of the value. Place a structure on that land that then detracts from the value doesn't seem very prudent. Not to mention difficult to finance, as banks do not look favorably on that class of building.
So, unfortunately, innovation has to deal with current market and regulatory frameworks. 3D printing as proposed (though my not be valuable), would probably fall under the "custom house" label, which is the most valuable classification. Even if it's just a tract home, it's still a lot better than being considered pre-fab/pre-manufactured.
If you pay attention to the video, the door and window lentil's are prefab picked up and placed where they need to be and then printed over with additional cement.
(Disclaimer: I'm just an amateur 3d printer and just hack with my printer and what I can get my hands on)
The thing that intrigues me about fiberous ceramics for deposition printing is that no printers currently take advantage of the (albeit tiny) tensile strength of the deposited filament.
For plastic printing, this isn't very useful, but potentially for this new construction compound you could effectively (or nearly so) bridge gaps with little droop or sag.
I do think from an engineering perspective that placing blanks underneath is the best bet, but on the order of a 20-hr print, I don't think its unreasonable to have someone walking around with the machine placing single layer "blanks" at each opening at each level.
Interesting, but this still has the classic issue where the "printer has to be larger than the object printed." A few weeks back I got a tour of MIT's media lab, where they have a robot arm they're strapping to a bucket truck, in which case they have a mobile, 3D printer with a 100 foot wingspan.
This arm has an attachment for a polyurethane foam sprayer, a milling device, and a paint sprayer. In which case they can spray out a concrete form, mill it to get more precise (urethane foam is a bit imprecise), and paint it.
Then they want to get a series of these trucks to work together in a "hive" format... crazy kids.
Wonder how building's made like this can withstand the cold. In Canada or northern US we do not construct houses and building the same way that southern countries do. For example, exterior walls are 1' wide with an R value of close to 30, most houses have a basement that is below the freezing line, etc.
Foundation work won't change. You'll have to have digging equipment and lay concrete/masonry blocks for the base so this equipment can be used to print the rest of the house. The fun part of course will be how easy it is to position one of these house printers where you have a 7+% grade.
Another thing too. How does one recover if the printer screws up or worse yet the program loaded is the wrong one or somehow corrupted? That could generate a whole house's worth of concrete waste.
As the owner of a physibles domain name, and hopefully
one day a company; fanciful stories like this are a bit
too soon. Actually, I hope we never have to resort to
living in manufactured houses. The overly strict building
codes and approval processes in the U.S. might bring this
kind of building a reality though. Right now, I think
we need to work on ending homelessness. Yes, build pyramids
in the middle of the country where land is still cheap.
Nothing fancy, but livable. Kinda like kibbutzes, but on
a much larger scale.
now if there were a printer that could print a 5000 sq feet lot for the house, with all the building permits approved, kickbacks/bribes/political donations paid and utilities connected...
The 3D printed houses will be a life-saver on Moon and Mars though.
I wrote a bit about this and it's implications some years back - http://www.ciocookbook.com/philosophy/thecodeisthedesign.htm..., and the Times has reported on a group working on concrete printing - but as is pointed out here, it's very hard - but on e the basics are in, well software eats another industry
So, I realize that the return on investment for VCs in something like this is probably pretty low--the AEC industry is terrible (though real estate is alright).
That said, can we at least be honest that having that much capital locked up in stupid consumer and enterprise gambles is actually a pretty obviously sub-optimal use of that money for the common good?
Its interesting to see the world of "just like plastic filament printing but with concrete" collide with the world of highly automated manufactured housing. Bring the jobsite to the printer or the printer to the jobsite, sorta.
Obviously this technology isn't ready for prime-time yet. But there is no compelling reason why it shouldn't be able to compete with prefabbed housing. In any way, this 3D-printer collaborates with prefabbed parts, so you can combine custom or tricky bits with prefabbed parts for the easier portions.
Where I see additional advantages is complicated buildings, for example pig stables where you want hundreds of bays, and maybe special channels for herding pigs etc.
Also for larger settlements once the robot is on-site it can just keep on going while the logistics train is a lot simpler than if they had to coordinate all the different types of parts.
You'll notice a whole lot of hand waving around auxiliary issues like wiring and painting. Solvable yes, but projects in their own right.
Biggest point he makes is around the danger. It's also why autonomous cars might take off incredibly quick. Once the lawsuits start rolling in by people hurt/killed by people driving cars large companies will have to go autonomous pretty quick.
Is there really a shortage of single family homes anywhere? Maybe in some sort of disaster area or 3rd world, but I imagine there are better/easier/cheaper alternatives for those situations.
[+] [-] JoeAltmaier|12 years ago|reply
The problem is the usual: a single material isn't enough to make anything but the simple constructs. Almost everything is complex these days. Materials Science hasn't been a science for a century for nothing.
[+] [-] StandardFuture|12 years ago|reply
EDIT: They also show visual demonstrations of techniques as to HOW this would be accomplished.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdbJP8Gxqog
[+] [-] chaostheory|12 years ago|reply
http://www.ideabox.us/models/aktiv/
[+] [-] oilytheotter|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] moocowduckquack|12 years ago|reply
Also, you can lay down multiple materials by making the head swappable. I would also say plumbing and electrics are nowhere near as complex as they used to be. Everything is available as clip-on fittings these days, which is perfect for automation.
[+] [-] ChuckMcM|12 years ago|reply
Also as others point out this is just the frame (and if you do the robotic crane thing you can add a roof. You might also be able to use your robotic crane to do joists for overhangs but the finish suffers as your joist material is exposed on the underside.
No doubt solvable problems but they take away from some of the 'magicalness' of fused deposition printing. Stereo lithography where the part is neutrally bouyant in the construction fluid doesn't have those issues but it has other issues associated with strength and material choices that can be laser activated.
For now doing a concrete lay-up would be pretty killer but building the forms on site isn't that hard and in both cases you need to transport the concrete at the last minute.
Bottom line I think the stuff that BluHomes [1] is doing is much more creative than trying to do this with 3D printing.
[1] http://www.bluhomes.com/
[+] [-] scotty79|12 years ago|reply
If you notice guy obviously competent and expeirienced in the field presenting something stupid it's more likely than not that you are missing piece of knowlege that is required for understaning why it actually isn't stupid.
Just watch the movie. It shows how to deal with doors and windows.
[+] [-] sologoub|12 years ago|reply
The problem is that pre-fabricated or pre-manufactured homes are a very specific category of homes and require specific disclosures when selling and financing. It's basically a derogatory term used to describe cheaply built structures that are a step above mobile homes.
Home being one of the most valuable assets a typical family holds. In SoCal and many other places, land makes up the bulk of the value. Place a structure on that land that then detracts from the value doesn't seem very prudent. Not to mention difficult to finance, as banks do not look favorably on that class of building.
So, unfortunately, innovation has to deal with current market and regulatory frameworks. 3D printing as proposed (though my not be valuable), would probably fall under the "custom house" label, which is the most valuable classification. Even if it's just a tract home, it's still a lot better than being considered pre-fab/pre-manufactured.
[+] [-] venomsnake|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kenrikm|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aray|12 years ago|reply
The thing that intrigues me about fiberous ceramics for deposition printing is that no printers currently take advantage of the (albeit tiny) tensile strength of the deposited filament.
For plastic printing, this isn't very useful, but potentially for this new construction compound you could effectively (or nearly so) bridge gaps with little droop or sag.
I do think from an engineering perspective that placing blanks underneath is the best bet, but on the order of a 20-hr print, I don't think its unreasonable to have someone walking around with the machine placing single layer "blanks" at each opening at each level.
[+] [-] moocowduckquack|12 years ago|reply
Is easily solvable though by having the robot drop a plank across the gap before printing the lintel, so I don't think that is a showstopper.
[+] [-] MikeTLive|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] brokentone|12 years ago|reply
This arm has an attachment for a polyurethane foam sprayer, a milling device, and a paint sprayer. In which case they can spray out a concrete form, mill it to get more precise (urethane foam is a bit imprecise), and paint it.
Then they want to get a series of these trucks to work together in a "hive" format... crazy kids.
[+] [-] DanBC|12 years ago|reply
The crazy bit is sending that hive to Mars to build accommodation units for settlers.
[+] [-] ohwp|12 years ago|reply
Concrete printing is not new so I wonder what is keeping them from building the printer over a year later.
[+] [-] moocowduckquack|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] oilytheotter|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jguimont|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bnolsen|12 years ago|reply
Another thing too. How does one recover if the printer screws up or worse yet the program loaded is the wrong one or somehow corrupted? That could generate a whole house's worth of concrete waste.
[+] [-] unknown|12 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] JonSkeptic|12 years ago|reply
Interesting if true. I had no idea.
[+] [-] angersock|12 years ago|reply
Even for just houses: consider framing, or doing roof work--walking around on joists is not really safe.
[+] [-] marincounty|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] VladRussian2|12 years ago|reply
The 3D printed houses will be a life-saver on Moon and Mars though.
[+] [-] prawn|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lifeisstillgood|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] angersock|12 years ago|reply
That said, can we at least be honest that having that much capital locked up in stupid consumer and enterprise gambles is actually a pretty obviously sub-optimal use of that money for the common good?
[+] [-] locusm|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] VLM|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bayesianhorse|12 years ago|reply
Where I see additional advantages is complicated buildings, for example pig stables where you want hundreds of bays, and maybe special channels for herding pigs etc.
Also for larger settlements once the robot is on-site it can just keep on going while the logistics train is a lot simpler than if they had to coordinate all the different types of parts.
[+] [-] aaron695|12 years ago|reply
Biggest point he makes is around the danger. It's also why autonomous cars might take off incredibly quick. Once the lawsuits start rolling in by people hurt/killed by people driving cars large companies will have to go autonomous pretty quick.
[+] [-] 650REDHAIR|12 years ago|reply
Is there really a shortage of single family homes anywhere? Maybe in some sort of disaster area or 3rd world, but I imagine there are better/easier/cheaper alternatives for those situations.
[+] [-] yetanotherphd|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mattsfrey|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Fundlab|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ffrryuu|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tehwalrus|12 years ago|reply