Is 3D printer the future of construction and architecture?

This technological process was invented by the American engineer Chuck Hull, who patented his invention in 1986. The invented method involves combining molecules using a laser in order to transform polymers into various solid forms. First, 3D printing was used in the automotive industry to create “rapid prototypes”. Then the scope of application has expanded significantly and spread, including the creation of architectural objects. Now 3D printing is by no means the prerogative of beautiful stretch ceilings and wall panels..

The photo shows a 3D printer on which a house was printed for the first time in Russia. The building area is only 38 square meters, the house is located in the capital region, in the city of Stupino, on the territory of a local plant for the production of aerated concrete. The self-supporting walls, enclosing structures and partitions took less than a day to print, and the building had a net printing time of 24 hours. The printer had to be removed from the already built, or rather, the printed building using a crane. Concrete mix used.

This is a ready-made house created by 3D printing in the Moscow region. Since the work was carried out in the winter, it was necessary to cover the printer and the entire construction site with a canopy to ensure a higher temperature for the used concrete mixture. However, manufacturers promise to solve this problem by using new materials that can be used even in cold weather. By the way, the Apis Cor 3D printer itself was designed to operate at temperatures up to minus 35 degrees..

Note that on a 3D printer, all objects are printed in layers. This is somewhat similar to the process of conventional printing on paper. But instead of the usual ink, a solid material is used, and the process has to be repeated several times. By the way, you can use various materials, most often plastic is used in 3D printing, but you can take synthetic resins, concrete, and steel..

More recently, there was news that 3D Printhuset (Denmark) decided to use a three-dimensional printer made by the Russian company Spetsavia (Yaroslavl) to print an office building in Copenhagen. The building will be the first of its kind in Europe. The 3D printer of the Yaroslavl company prints houses in 2 centimeters thick layers, going around the building in a circle.

Concrete is used. The price of a three-dimensional printing device, depending on the configuration, is up to 960 thousand to 5 million rubles.

China remains the leader in the construction of houses using 3D printing. It was here that the largest building was printed and built – a whole five-story building, the total area of ​​which was 1.1 thousand square meters. Of course, for such a large structure, all parts had to be printed separately, and assembled on site, after transportation..

Dubai (UAE) also set a record by printing a 250 square meter office building. The 3D printer used was 37 meters long, 12 meters wide and 6 meters high. The building cost only $ 140,000, saving 50%, and only 19 people had to be employed..

Experts note that so far, the development of 3D printing of buildings is constrained precisely by the scale. To build a large house, at least two or three stories high, you need a really gigantic printer. And it will cost accordingly. Or you should “teach” a three-dimensional printer to move along special scaffolding, erecting walls according to a given program. That is why while all printed buildings are either very small, or consist of separate modules, or assembled from ready-made parts.

According to experts, the mass construction of apartment buildings using 3D printing in Russia will also be constrained by the requirements of norms and state standards. Russian legislation is simply not yet ready for this method of constructing buildings. However, in low-rise construction, 3D printing has more prospects..

3D printing, in order to gain popularity, must prove that it is a more economical and faster way of building buildings than the usual frame technologies, houses from foam blocks, aerated concrete and other materials.

Experts differ on the future of 3D printing of buildings. Many are convinced that the entire buildings will never be built in this way, it is unprofitable. It is possible to print individual parts and units of houses, but completely – hardly, experts say. They propose to focus on metal 3D printing, which turns out to be less time consuming and costly than conventional casting..

So far, printing houses on 3D printers is more like a race for records than the beginning of really massive and cheap construction of buildings. However, we are sure that this technology can really become a new word in architecture, because already existing three-dimensional printers, including Russian-made ones, can create parts up to 12.3 meters long. Let it not be a whole building, but a wall or just a drain, but technologies do not stand still, so in the future we will definitely have new products from the field of 3D printing of buildings..