3D printing and Construction
Imagine going into a McDonald’s to order a simple McFlurry, you are faced with a screen that gives you three options peanut butter, chocolate, and mint chip. You pick a flavor and click start, all of a sudden after 1 minute of waiting your McFlurry is presented to you. This process is actually a lot similar to 3D printing in construction. Where a technology/device communicates a design to a larger more versatile machine, which will begin to actualize your design in 3D.
Now 3D printing goes a long way, from printing tiny trinkets to mass-producing products, and there are many applications of its uses. As you may have already read, there is a huge housing crisis spreading all throughout Canada, where the number of houses is nowhere near the number of Canadians. At the moment, Canada is juggling a number of housing-related shortages that are deeply affecting the Canadian economy:
Benefits
Lucky for us, 3D construction printing has become more and more popular, which will provide a better stock of houses for Canadians. The benefits 3DCP include:
- The average timeline in residential construction can take years while using 3DCP only takes a few months
- Minimal manpower. As you have seen in the chart above, the shortage of construction workers is still at large; however, using 3DCP the construction industry would require more than 50% less manpower per building (depending on the building’s scale)
- Considering the automation of construction, the number of workplace injuries will be reduced by ~90%
- On top of all this, the cost of buying a house becomes 45% less expensive by eliminating the cost of labor and materials compared to traditionally built homes
- From increased accuracy to higher levels of design, there are plenty more benefits of 3DCP.
Challenges
After hearing all these benefits compared to the status quo I bet you are wondering, “Why in tarnation is this not being implemented RIGHT NOW??”. Well, there are two parts to answer that-
* The Basics
For starters, the actual cost of a 3D construction printer is still very expensive, and considering the recent uprise of 3D printers, there aren’t many people who actually know how to design models via computer or provide proper maintenance. There is also the need for necessary legislation and regulations that allow for clear guidelines on its implementation in new construction sites
* The Technicals
On a more in-depth concentrated note, some issues include the need for the right material mixtures to make sure that the material is actually extruded from the nozzle of the machine, While still being buildable for a specific period of time before the material hardens. There are also space limitations, because of the machine’s figure there are certain shapes and sizes that cannot be printed/constructed. For example, if you wanted to build a 32ft model of the Death Star from Star Wars, then 3D printing would not be the machine you would use to build it.
Essentially, 3D printing in construction is definitely the right way to go if we are to preserve materials, labor, time, and costs but there is still a long way to go before this actually becomes a widespread technology used for buildings everywhere.
Get Think tech’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Follow my learnings while I break down 3D printing in construction and its appliance to the future of housing: 3D printing
For more information about the author check: Linkedin, Medium, or X (formerly known as Twitter).
