3D Printing Technology in Construction

It’s truly amazing how far technology has come in the last decade. There are so many companies in the construction industry currently that specialize in 3D printing. Construction itself can have a negative impact on the environment; with 3D printing technology in construction, the use of machinery can have a great impact on reducing pollution caused by construction. Many of these companies have built machines that can make concrete, and even create structures such as houses, buildings, skyscrapers, and bridges! Here are four different companies that specialize in creating 3D technology for construction, and why their technology can completely change the world of construction as we know it:

Contour Crafting

According to its website, the company Contour Crafting built a 3D printer with the same name as the company; The Contour Crafting printer is said to be able to reduce the cost of commercial and also eliminate the waste of construction materials. The website also lists that the 3D printer is able to make detached houses, multi-story buildings, and multi-unit large structures in as little as one day. This could eliminate months of manual labor for building large structures!

Imagine losing your home to a natural disaster. Instead of moving somewhere else, you decide to rebuild your home: your first thought is, “How long is the construction of my home going to take? Weeks? Maybe even months!” However, with the technology of the Contour Crafting 3D printer, your home could be re-built in just a day!

Image source.

BatiPrint3D

The BatiPrint 3D company built a 3D printer that specializes in home design. Their 3D printer is eco-friendly and can reduce painful working conditions, improve the quality of execution, and decrease the environmental costs. According to their website, the values of BatiPrint3D include “a more respectful world in which innovation associates worker well being and eco-friendly house building.”

I especially like this company because of its values to protect the environment from the many harmful environmental hazards that come with construction. We all dread that smell of burnt rubber on the road, but imagine having 3D printers that could completely eliminate the waste and smell of construction on the road!

BatiPrint3D also takes pride in its workers and keeping them safe. I believe a company like this could drastically change the views of other companies and their protections on the safety of their employees.

Image source.

ICON

ICON built the 3D printer the Vulcan II. They were the first company to ever build a 3D-printed home in America. The Vulcan II 3D printer is known for building and designing homes in a quicker way than regular construction. It is also known for reducing the waste that comes with construction and at half of the cost. The mission for ICON is to revolutionize homebuilding.

One of my favorite things about this company is, according to their website, they are currently building homes for families in Mexico experiencing extreme poverty and makeshift housing that is unsafe to live in. Companies that do generous deeds such as helping those in crises such as poverty is truly inspiring to me.

New Story

New Story is a charity organization that specializes in building 3D printed homes in countries that have extreme poverty. New Story is partnered with the company ICON and prides itself in bringing the world’s first 3D community in Tabasco, Mexico, where there is a large amount of poverty. According to their website, New Story has received generous donations that have enabled the building of more than 2,500 homes using traditional construction for families in need.

Imagine if we could get even more companies and organizations to build homes using the technology of 3D printing in areas that are known to have low income and poverty! There are so many benefits to the technology of 3D printing in construction. The cost of building homes using 3D printing is what can truly change the world of construction as we know it.

Image source.

A New World of Technology - 3D Printing In Construction

At the beginning of the decade, the thought of a robot building things like homes, skyscrapers, or even bridges was unheard of; now, there are a multitude companies that specialize in the use of 3D printing technology in construction. There are so many benefits in the use of 3D printing in construction. Some of these benefits include the significantly reduced cost, that it’s environmentally safer than regular construction, and the quicker time it takes to build things. I truly think that the use of 3D printing can drastically change the world of construction as we know it.