Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Wasp-inspired setup 3D-prints complete homes for $1,000
newatlas.com: The Crane WASP, also known as "the infinity 3D printer," uses locally sourced clay, mud or cement to 3D-print affordable homes. It can even use agricultural waste as aggregate. The system is now being used to build much-needed housing in Colombia.
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7 comments:
I’ve seen stuff about 3D printing houses in the past, and it seems to me that they definitely have their ups and downs. Of course, it’s undeniably a good thing to create new housing, and it’s good that it’s eco-friendly and sustainable. On the other hand, by having a machine build a house, you take away potential construction jobs from the local community. I’ve seen articles calling out the durability of 3D printed houses, as well. My immediate thinking tells me that 3D printing houses won’t solve an overarching problem of homelessness. It feels like it would be more beneficial to a struggling community to engage their economy rather than give away houses. Particularly in this case, the WASP is promoted for its cheap operating costs and simplicity in operation. But if you take a step back, it sounds like they are trying to invest the least amount of money towards a community that needs help.
I can see how people might be wary of living in houses built with literal mud, but these houses seem like a great idea. In ancient cities, like those of the Mesa Verde people, homes were built using mud and clay, not only does this make use of an abundant resource it also keeps the inside of these structures at a level temperature minimizing the need for extra cooling systems. Learning from ancient civilizations can help us create a better modern-day world. Taking inspiration from the past and using it to progress us further as a society instead of suppressing the ingenuity of these people can help us push science and art further.
This new concept of 3D printing houses is a super cool and innovative idea to progress the housing industry. However with it comes concerns for the current people, like the builders and plumbers, etc who work on houses day to day and make a living within the house building industry. Not only that, but if we are focusing on creating houses that are environmentally friendly, they should therefore also be affordable for the general public, especially if these new 3D machines are taking away jobs from the local people who work on houses. However, I think this new innovation is something that is sustainable and incredibly neat. I wonder how these houses hold up in extreme weather conditions though, and how long it will take to build the much needed housing in Columbia. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for more improvements and updates regarding this story, as I find that it could change our housing industry significantly
This is incredibly cool technology! Combining the large-scale 3D printing technology that has begun to emerge and become more widespread with the use of sustainable materials in order to create sustainable and economical housing seems like a really good idea. Being able to access locations without the need for a lot of construction equipment seems as if it would be a useful perk as well when it comes to building larger groups of buildings. The design and thought put into these constructions is thought out well, and I’ll be interested to see if more designs and types get built in a more widespread/commercial manner over the years. I hope that over the years 3D printing materials specifically for construction will become more economically viable and bring prices down with them, so towns and neighborhoods like the one near Austin will become more widespread, affordable and sustainable. It will be interesting to see how this technology continues to evolve and develop.
Ever since I saw these 3d printed houses a few years ago, I have thought they were brilliant. It's great to see how the technology keeps improving and costs keep going down, and also how they are starting to use more materials than just concrete and are now using mud or their "lavacrete". I have seen a few videos where it seemed like a pain to hold the wiring and plumbing out of the way of the printing head, but I think that that too will become easier over the next few years. I am curious to see the limits of this machine and how commonplace they will be here in America, like whether we will see these machines out there printing new skyscrapers or general infrastructure rather than just smaller houses. They are starting to make more expensive houses, like with the Wolf Ranch, but housing should be a general human right so I do hope this will keep costs down and make housing available at low costs for everyone.
This is an exemplary example of innovation in construction that is inspired by nature and the environments that surround us at all times. Despite being an impressive feat in itself to make this technology, it also shows that when innovating in construction, it is incredibly important to pay attention to other fields to find out how solutions to their problems can also be unique solutions to our own problems. Collaboration in technology is essential to making forward progress and becoming capable of so much more. Further, it allows us to better understand the limitations of that technology - I am particularly curious about the long-term structural success of these homes, especially when considering their ability to undertake stress and strain during natural disasters and more extreme environmental circumstances (or if bugs and animals will begin to take room inside the foundations of these homes (nice dark, warm, enclosed spaces). As we continue to test our technology, the more we learn about it’s application and proper implementation.
Wow! Finding inspiration in the Mason Wasp is inspiration in and of itself. This use of a sort of biomimicry is a great tool to use in underserved communities, as mentioned in the article. The use of indigenous soil material in such areas is genius, considering the finances, time, and other resources saved. The 3D printing itself is a very efficient method since it’s additive (rather than subtractive like other types of construction, which can result in a lot of waste). That being said, I do fear the price tag given private companies marketing this as a luxury, whereas the reality is cheaper than ‘standard housing’ - the article states as low as $1000. I think this practice has great applications in the present, and great potential in the future to expand - I just hesitate when thinking about corporate greed. Then again, I equally hesitate to prefer restricting this technology by federal governments.
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