A ROBOT has built the world’s largest 3D printed neighborhood – with thick walls resistant to extreme weather conditions and even termites.
This means that the United States – and NASA – are one step closer to building landing strips and houses on the Moon.
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A high-tech robotic printer is currently completing the last 100 3D-printed homes in Wolf Ranch, a community in Georgetown, Texas, about 30 miles from Austin.
Single-story homes have three or four bedrooms and cost between $450,000 and around $600,000.
Each ranch-style home in Texas took about three weeks to finish printing, said Austin-based construction technology company ICON.
They range in size from about 1,850 square feet (172 m2) and have concrete walls designed to be resistant to water, mold, termites and extreme weather conditions.
“It doesn’t rot, there are no bugs that can eat it, it’s not affected by moisture – the walls are just stronger,” said Spencer Padgett, vice president of construction at ICON. Construction Briefing.
“We received an electricity bill from one of our customers last week, [and] for a 1,850 square foot home, [the energy bill was] $35 for the entire month.”
It looks like a fortress.
Lawrence Nourzad
The master-planned community was built using ICON’s Vulcan printer – a specialized machine that is definitely too big to fit on any desk.
The printer is over 13.7m wide and weighs an impressive 4.75 tonnes.
It is capable of printing structures up to 3,000 square feet, said ICON.
“Vulcan can produce resilient single-story homes faster than conventional methods and with less waste and more design freedom,” the company added.
ICON said that in November 2022, its robotic printer began printing the walls of what it described as the world’s largest 3D printed community.
It starts by mixing cement powder, water, sand and other additives.
That combination is then pumped into the printer and a nozzle squeezes out the concrete mix like toothpaste on a brush, he said. Reuters today.
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It is built layer by layer along a pre-programmed path that creates corduroy-effect walls.
Metal foundation and roofs are traditionally installed.
Building this way is more efficient, said Conner Jenkins, senior project manager at ICON.
“Where there were maybe five different teams to build a wall system, now we have one team and one robot.”
It doesn’t rot, it doesn’t have bugs that will eat it, it isn’t affected by moisture – the walls are just stronger.
Spencer Padgett,
“It feels like a fortress,” said resident Lawrence Nourzad, a 32-year-old director of business development.
He and his girlfriend, Angela Hontas, a 29-year-old creative strategist, bought a home in Wolf Ranch earlier this summer.
They said the walls work like magic in the intense summer heat, keeping the room cool even when the air conditioning isn’t on full blast.
However, one downside is that the 3D printed walls are so thick that they also block a solid wireless Internet connection.
What is a 3D house?
A 3D printed house is a residential building constructed using 3D printing technology.
Architects and engineers create a plan/design using computer-aided design software.
A special program helps the printer convert this detailed drawing into a printable file.
The second step includes installing a massive 3D printer at the site where the building will be completed, construction 3D printing experts said, COBOD.
The structure is then built layer by layer.
This is done with a specially constructed 3D printer – basically a large robotic arm with a nozzle at one end.
The nozzle pours an initial layer of cement – to build the walls.
Walls can be smooth or layered.
Once dry and solid, additional layers are gradually placed over it, to create an entire wall.
However, 3D printers are only capable of making the structure of the house.
Doors, windows, stairs, plumbing, electricity, foundations and roof must be installed in the traditional way.
“Obviously, these walls are very strong and thick,” Nourzad said.
“And that’s what adds a lot of value to us as homeowners and keeps this thing very well insulated in the Texas summer, but the signal doesn’t transfer very well through these walls.”
An ICON spokeswoman said most Wolf Ranch owners are using mesh internet routers to get around the problem.
They transmit a signal from multiple units placed in a home, compared to a traditional router that sends a signal from one device.
LUNAR HOME PLANS
NASA, as part of its Artemis Moon exploration program, ICON hired to develop technologies that can help build infrastructure such as landing pads, habitats and roads on the lunar surface.
The printer can build cave-like dome structures in just 48 hours.
The space agency has been a partner with the 3D printing company since 2022, as part of a US$57 million contract.
ICON has already printed a 1,700-square-foot simulated Martian habitat called Mars Dune Alpha.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
