3D Printer Built 10 Homes in 24 Hours • Hacker News Board

Re: 3D Printer Built 10 Homes in 24 Hours

#21

Post by toomuchtodo » Wed, Apr 16, 2014, 7:02 PM UTC

Turing_Machine wrote: post #17

toomuchtodo wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I do wonder how this competes with straw bale / rammed earth, shipping containers, and other recycled, rapid prefab building manufacturing. On labor? Much cheaper. And labor is typically the greatest cost.

In First World countries, sure. In Third World countries, maybe not so much. A lot would depend on whether there was a local concrete industry. Edit: I'm not so sure that this is all that "eco-friendly" either -- cement production requires a lot of energy. That said, concrete is very durable (if made and poured properly) and might be a win in the long term.

I should have said "skilled labor". Also, while cement production takes energy, it can be made in a carbon-neutral way. I'd argue its a win with regards to longevity vs energy input.

Re: 3D Printer Built 10 Homes in 24 Hours

#22

Post by joshlegs » Wed, Apr 16, 2014, 7:10 PM UTC

bcoates wrote: post #15

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #2

Built on pre-existing foundation. No kitchen nor bathroom in evidence. So for 2nd-world poor housing, maybe.

They're just ahead of the curve, a century from now people will be amazed that 20th century first-worlders went to so much expense and effort to bring filth and vermin as close as possible to where they live. Water isn't cleaning the fecal bacteria off the toothbrush you keep in the same room as your toilet, your wall-to-wall carpeting is full of food crumbs that roaches love, etc.

re: toothbrushes. Mythbusters did a pretty convincing job debunking this.

as far as carpeting, sure it holds junk more than hardwood or tile, etc. But nobody's saying these folks should shag out their floors.

Re: 3D Printer Built 10 Homes in 24 Hours

#23

Post by m0llusk » Wed, Apr 16, 2014, 7:16 PM UTC

No, this claim is false. Housing involves several major components: structure, exterior, services, and interior fittings. Most of the effort and expense goes into services with interior fittings just behind, but this process only handled the relatively easy elements of structure and exterior. Modular and panelized building methods already enable fast and cost efficient construction of structures and exteriors. The difficult and relevant problem is how to finish the building, not how to start it. That hype and even outright untruths are being offered as solutions to real problems in construction is troubling. Have we forgotten what it takes to make a solution that actually solves the problem at hand?

Re: 3D Printer Built 10 Homes in 24 Hours

#24

Post by chillingeffect » Wed, Apr 16, 2014, 7:17 PM UTC

antisocial wrote: post #12

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Re: 3D Printer Built 10 Homes in 24 Hours

#25

Post by JoeAltmaier » Wed, Apr 16, 2014, 8:21 PM UTC

bcoates wrote: post #15

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #2

Built on pre-existing foundation. No kitchen nor bathroom in evidence. So for 2nd-world poor housing, maybe.

They're just ahead of the curve, a century from now people will be amazed that 20th century first-worlders went to so much expense and effort to bring filth and vermin as close as possible to where they live. Water isn't cleaning the fecal bacteria off the toothbrush you keep in the same room as your toilet, your wall-to-wall carpeting is full of food crumbs that roaches love, etc.

I think there's a market for shared-bathroom shared-kitchen housing. Look at dorms, look at hotels in many countries.

Re: 3D Printer Built 10 Homes in 24 Hours

#26

Post by lotsofmangos » Wed, Apr 16, 2014, 8:41 PM UTC

bkmartin wrote: post #19

lotsofmangos wrote: post #3

This is cool, it does seem unfortunate that Behrokh Khoshnevis and the University of Southern California haven't gone and done this already given how long they have been developing contour crafting, moon bases are great and all, but cheap housing is immediately practical and in dire need in California.

California - You mean Everywhere, right? Because no state, province, country, etc is without a need for cheap housing.

No, I was just meaning that there was a need relatively locally to where cement printing was under heavy development.

Re: 3D Printer Built 10 Homes in 24 Hours

#27

Post by carlosrt » Wed, Apr 16, 2014, 9:04 PM UTC

The speed is what's impressive. One can build a structure in California for a similar price.

It seems people often over estimate the hard costs of construction in the first world. It's cheaper than people think.

In 2005, at the height of the building boom (labor was scarce) in Southern California, I built a 400 sq ft detached garage: Stucco, rolled composite roof, concrete slab, drywall, swiss coffee interior paint, garage door, and 30R insulation in the ceiling (well insulated).

Using all contracted labor.

Total cost: $5,500.

IOW, not much more than this 3D printed house. Building a house in 2.4 hours is the impressive part.

Re: 3D Printer Built 10 Homes in 24 Hours

#28

Post by Crito » Wed, Apr 16, 2014, 9:21 PM UTC

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #2

Built on pre-existing foundation. No kitchen nor bathroom in evidence. So for 2nd-world poor housing, maybe.

Without rebar, I am concerned with how well these structures hold up against earthquakes. There are places where earthquakes are not a significant consideration, but it is probably something that limits where this sort of tech could be deployed.

Maybe there are alternative ways of increasing the tensile strength of the material that lend themselves to this sort of manufacturing. Incorporating some sort of fibrous material into the mix maybe?