I want to see the test data from 5, 6, and 7 magnitude quakes....especially the longitudinal data. Love a good idea.....always very conservative on the possibility of hurting folks. I worked on production of earthquake-proofing apparatus in the early 90's.....the parameters for safety are astounding. Love the idea for certain applications.

Think how fast the FEMA camps could be built across the desert with a few of these machines running 24/7

once this machine is brought to the usa we will all be able to live in equal houses, ain't that great. then the guy in the oval office will be very happy that we are all equal.

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

A new Rearden metal.

These don't look like "houses" to me, more like storage sheds, workshops, garages. They're on a slab, evidently. Is there water? Electricity? Air circulation? Sewer or septic? Heating? Insulation? Kitchen? What about floor covering? Will the concrete degrade and leave gray dust everywhere? (I'm thinking about my garage floor and basement floor.) Or is painting/sealing everything another stage? I'd want more information before moving into one of these "printed" houses.

I think that the techniques and materials will be refined for stability and durability. What is noteworthy is that a Chinese company is premiering this, not a US company - we are now following, not leading. I like this tech because it counters the EPA desire to pack everyone into high density apartment buildings. This makes it easier for an individual to buy land and then have a building printed out to go on that land - less expensively than conventional building. 3D printing of single family homes and self-driving cars will let people live further away from cities and encourage an independent lifestyle.

Jan

Additive manufacturing applied to building construction? What will they think of next? Still: I wouldn't trust the structural integrity of such a laminated structure. But it might be just the thing to form a composite piece.

Um, I would not want to trust that to stand up under adverse conditions. I just picture what my husband has described to me if buildings in China. The emptiness of a vast number of them. Structural integrity...? Yes, it's a 3-D printer creating it.... Dubious...

Chinese company uses 3D printing to build 10 houses in a day

By Loz Blain

April 23, 2014
19 Comments
3 Pictures
Small home constructed from 3D-printed building blocks (Image: Winsun New Materials)

Small home constructed from 3D-printed building blocks (Image: Winsun New Materials)
Image Gallery (3 images)

This small home may look plain, but it represents a significant achievement in rapid construction. A Chinese company has demonstrated the capabilities of its giant 3D printer by rapidly constructing 10 houses in less than 24 hours. Built from predominantly recycled materials, these homes cost less than US$5,000 and could be rolled out en masse to ease housing crises in developing countries.

If you’ve been to a major city in China recently, you’ll have noticed a theme. Construction is absolutely rampant, with skyscraper after skyscraper going up as cities scramble to deal with a massive population that’s urbanizing at an unprecedented rate.

Outside the major urban centers, there’s still a vast need for quick, cheap housing, and Suzhou-based construction materials firm Winsun has stepped forward with a very impressive demonstration of rapid construction by using 3D printing techniques to build 10 small houses in 24 hours using predominantly recycled materials.

Rather than printing the homes in one go, Winsun’s 3D printer creates building blocks by layering up a cement/glass mix in structural patterns (watch the process here). The diagonally reinforced print pattern leaves plenty of air gaps to act as insulation. These blocks are printed in a central factory and rapidly assembled on site.
Small home constructed from 3D-printed building blocks (Image: Winsun New Materials)

The printer is 6.6 m (22 ft) tall, 10 m (33 ft) wide and 32 m (105 ft) long. Its print head looks somewhat like a baker’s piping gun as it lays out the building mix.

Each small house takes very little labor to assemble, and costs as little as US$4,800. Winsun hopes to make them available for low income housing projects.

Source: Winsun via Wall Street Journal

One of the things this type of stuff would be good for is after a tornado. Instead of doing the FEMA camp thing, just bring these guys in and let them rip. Of course, you need the raw material, but staging that across the country would be easy compared to other emergency shelters. Post earthquakes too. After seeing Biloxi Post Katrina, and Joplin Post F5, those people would have been thrilled if these guys showed up....

Ugly homes, but a great idea.

I had seen this about a week ago. Pretty cool, unless you live in an earthquake or hurricane zone.