What if you just sent in an application to a construction company to build you a house and Voila! Your dream house stands ready in just 10 days? Sounds too good to be true right?
3-D printed concrete homes are one of the hottest topics on social media right now.
YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are flooded with posts about 3-D printed homes. This construction technique has millions of adoring fans across the world.
Source:- https://blog.heidelbergcement.com/en/swedens-first-3d-printed-house
So what is 3-D printing and what is all the hype around it?
3-D printing or additive 3-D manufacturing is a construction of a three dimensional object from a digital 3-D model. It creates a three dimensional object layer by layer by using a computer created design.
Although the technology was developed before and had many variations by various people over the years, the father of 3-D printing is however considered to be Charles Hull as he was the first person who successfully obtained a patent on this technology. He developed the first stereolithography 3-D printer (a form of 3D printing technology used for creating models, prototypes, patterns, and production parts). It is a 30-yr old technology and was invented in the year 1984 that worked by solidifying liquid resin with light.
A new generation of startups and early stage ventures are striving to automate home building with the use of 3-D printers. They believe that the technology will result in a faster, cheaper and more sustainable way of building homes than the contemporary way.
Source:- https://www.dezeen.com/2022/03/04/icon-lake-flato-3d-printed-house-zero-austin/
These companies also believe that the materials will last longer and are stronger in building materials. In fact, the global construction robot market is projected to reach $164 million by 2030 according to market research firm Straits Research. So it is no wonder that 3-D printing construction is gaining momentum worldwide.
So first let's dive into some stats. Nearly 40% of the world’s population will need affordable homes by 2030. And for that to happen, 96,000 homes have to be constructed everyday. Secondly, the construction industry creates almost 30% of the world's overall waste, which includes packaging materials, wood, excess cement, bricks and the materials that are left behind.
Then, why don't we use 3-D printed houses and get the work done in the first place?
The answer to this is a bit complicated.
For starters, a proper software has to be used for designing the outlay of the building. Secondly you need a huge 3-D printer which is extortionately expensive. Then the special concrete mix which is thicker than regular concrete has to be used for building the walls faster and better. Along with all these, 3-D printing is an upcoming technology and requires a lot of research and development along with constant flow of investments to keep the project alive.
But looking at the positive side of things, through 3-D printing, builders will know what exactly they need to build and the resources they require. So comparatively, waste is
minimized. For instance in Malawi, Africa 3-D printing reduced construction waste by almost 10 times and cut down CO2 emissions by 70%.
To encourage more 3-D printing of concrete in the building industry, Dubai in 2019 opened the world's largest 3-D printed two storey building. Dubai is aiming to 3-D print 25% of all its buildings by 2030. Similarly in Nantes, a city in France is experimenting to make more affordable housing a reality.
Source:- https://archello.com/project/first-3d-printed-office-building
A French family became the first in the world to live in a 3-D printed house. Their home took 54 hours to print and cost £176,000, 20% cheaper than traditional construction. Some charities are also using 3-D printed shelters to rebuild communities hit by natural disasters. A startup in Mexico is 3-D printing an entire neighborhood and is building 50 homes for the area's poorest families.
So, 3D printing is faster, cheaper and more environmentally friendly, then what is stopping the world from embracing this change and dealing with the affordable housing crisis?
First things first, a 3-D printer is quite heavy on the pocket. The most expensive 3-D printer costs $2.5 million. And most importantly 3-D printers create walls not homes. There are dozens of other components that go into building a house like windows, doors, roofs, electrical wiring, plumbing, insulation ,interior walls and final finishes. Along with that, the time to ship the machine, offload it ,set it, calibrate it and dismantle it, takes some time. So the next time, if you hear any fluffy marketing campaign saying “It’ll cost $10,000 to build a house”,take it with a grain of salt. These hidden costs are conveniently ignored hiding away the truth.
Remember the French family who were the first to shift in a 3-D printed house? Although their home was printed in 54 hours, it took them another 4 months to install the door, windows ,roof , appliances and cabinetry. So the 3-D printer will simply create a structure for a home quickly as compared to the traditional way but the other side of building a home takes time.
Secondly, we have the problem of scale. In the US, there are 10 companies who are seriously dabbling with 3-D printers. But in India, the number looks way worse. The companies looking to enter this industry will have to make a massive one time investment and unless they get a mass construction order for 3-D printed houses, it is simply not a viable option for them.
First 3-D printed house in India by alumni of IIT Madras
Source:- https://housing.com/news/first-3d-printed-house-india/
Since the technology is new and complex, there will be a need for technical expertise on site. Not just programmers, but actual skilled engineers have to be present on site to change out the mechanical components. Aside from engineers, civil engineers and architects need to have an exhaustible knowledge about 3-D printing technology.
Lastly, and the most crucial factor is you need affordable land. Affordable housing needs more than just cost effective building methods. And we all know that land is in short supply, the only way we can make it work is to start printing multi storey homes. However, 3-D printers have not been yet equipped with building multi storeyed homes.
3-D printing is currently a $7 billion industry and is estimated to be worth over $32 billion in the next 5 years. Soon all planes will be composed of 3-D printed parts. Medical 3-D printing will revolutionize the medical industry and soon will be printing blood vessels, bones, skin, major organs and who knows, us humans too!
And soon even firearms such as guns will be printed. And since every solution to a problem, it seems, is a 3-D printer, global warming is also being dealt with by 3-D printers. There are now 3-D printed coral reefs in Maldives. Since 50% of the coral reefs have already died, 3-D printing has proven to be an effective way in creating artificial coral reefs.
Source:- https://www.3dprintingmedia.network/largest-3d-printed-coral-reef-maldives/
And just when you are thinking that 3-D printing cannot get more amazing than this, there is a new kid on the block *drumrolls* the amazing 4-D printer! Until then, hopefully we find a solution to affordable housing one way or another.
Article written by:- J Shree Nidhi and Sunanda Singh
Originally written for The Economic Transcript
Comments