“A new Italian company is demonstrating a super-tall, portable machine that will bring 3D-printed dwellings to impoverished regions.
The project comes from the 3D printer company WASP, which demonstrated the technology at Maker Faire Rome. Their building-making printer, a gargantuan 20′ tall, three-armed delta machine, can be assembled on site in two hours, according to WASP CEO Massimo Moretti, then filled with native mud and fiber, and used to cheaply construct dwellings. He explains that this gives the ability to work more closely with natural forms rather than the square-shaped block homes that common brick dwellings are made from.”
Read more at Makezine
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Thanks to Leslie for this tip.
They are fabulous clay structures. But far cheaper to pay a potter to help the teach the locals to build them by hand from the local materials surely. I have watched African women build a clay stucture very similar in size, just the other way up, a pot in fact, in less than 4 hours at an international potters convention in Aberystwyth. When the machine goes away or breaks down and no one can afford parts, the potters, materials and know how will still be there.
wow! “Hey Ma, grab the printer, let’s build a new house!” I like the natural arcs and curves, the air pockets. But mainly I like the marrying of high tech and low tech–it gives me emotional chill bumps that humanity can use cyber and Mother Earth … the concept just seems Harmonious.
Watching this video, I’m reminded of the way that wasps (surely, the choice of the company name was not coincidental) or what we call mud-daubers build their nests out of mud and saliva. These structures are amazingly tough. A couple of people using trowels would make the walls smooth while the material is being laid down.
I notice during the initial demonstration that triangular air gaps are built into the structure. This would give some insulating qualities.
This particular machine would appear to be just a scale model, a working unit would have a much wider hose and consequently a thicker wall cross-section.
This is a technology that bears some watching, as it holds some promise. They may have to change or add different materials to the wet mix to create larger structures, which would add to the cost.
This is the first 3D printing project that looks interesting to me. It has potential.
I wonder if this will really be cost effective?