World’s largest 3D-printed neighborhood built using special robot – and scientists hope to use the tech on the Moon
A ROBOT has built the world’s largest 3D-printed neighborhood – with thick walls resistant to extreme weather and even termites.
It means the United States – and Nasa – are a step closer to building landing pads and homes on the Moon.
A high-tech robotic printer is currently completing the last few homes of 100 3D-printed houses in Wolf Ranch, a community in Georgetown, Texas, about 30 miles from Austin.
The single-story homes feature three or four bedrooms, and are priced from $450,000 to close to $600,000.
Each Texas ranch-style house has taken about three weeks to finish printing, said construction tech firm ICON, based in Austin.
They range in size from about 1,850 sq ft (172m2), and have concrete walls which are designed to be resistant to water, mold, termites and extreme weather.
“It doesn’t rot, there’s no bugs that are going to eat it, it’s not effected by humidity – the walls are just stronger,” Spencer Padgett, VP of construction for ICON, told Construction Briefing.
“We got a utility bill from one of the customers there from last week, [and] for a 1,850 sq ft house, [the energy bill was] $35 for the entire month.”
It feels like a fortress.
Lawrence Nourzad
The master-planned community has been built with ICON’s aptly- named Vulcan printer – a specialized machine which is definitely too big to fit on any desk.
The printer is more than 45 feet (13.7 m) wide and weighs a whopping 4.75 tons.
It’s capable of printing structures up to 3,000 square feet, said ICON.
“The Vulcan can produce resilient, single-story homes faster than conventional methods and with less waste and more design freedom,” the firm added.
ICON said that in November 2022, its robotic printer began printing the walls of what it described as the world’s largest 3D-printed community.
It starts with mixing together cement powder, water, sand and other additives.
This combination is then pumped into the printer, and a nozzle squeezes out the concrete mixture like toothpaste onto a brush, said Reuters today.
It’s built up layer by layer along a pre-programmed path that creates corduroy-effect walls.
The foundation and metal roofs are installed traditionally.
Building this way is more efficient, said Conner Jenkins, ICON’s senior project manager.
“Where there were maybe five different crews coming in to build a wall system, we now have one crew and one robot.”
It doesn’t rot, there’s no bugs that are going to eat it, it’s not effected by humidity – the walls are just stronger.
Spencer Padgett,
“It feels like a fortress,” said resident Lawrence Nourzad, a 32-year-old business development director.
He and his girlfriend, Angela Hontas, a 29-year-old creative strategist, bought a Wolf Ranch home earlier this summer.
They said the walls work like magic in the harsh summer heat, keeping their place cool even when the air conditioner is not on full blast.
However, one downside is that the 3D-printed walls are so thick that they also block a solid wireless internet connection.
What is a 3D home?
A 3D printed home is a residential building built with 3D printing technology.
Architects and engineers create a plan/blueprint using computer-aided design software.
A special program then helps the printer convert this detailed drawing into a printable file.
The second step includes installing a massive 3D printer onsite where the building is to be completed, said 3D construction printing experts, COBOD.
The structure is then constructed layer-by-layer.
This is done with a specialized construction 3D printer – basically a big robotic arm with a nozzle on one end.
The nozzle pours out an initial layer of cement – to construct the walls.
The walls can be smooth or layered.
Once this has dried and become solid, additional layers are gradually laid over it, to create an entire wall.
However, 3D printers are only capable of making the frame of the house.
The doors, windows, stairs, plumbing, electricity, foundation and roof have to be installed traditionally.
“Obviously these are really strong, thick walls,” said Nourzad.
“And that’s what provides a lot of value for us as homeowners and keeps this thing really well-insulated in a Texas summer, but signal doesn’t transfer through these walls very well.”
A spokeswoman for ICON said most Wolf Ranch homeowners are using mesh internet routers to get around the problem.
These broadcast a signal from multiple units placed throughout a home, versus a traditional router which sends a signal from one device.
LUNAR HOME PLANS
Nasa, as part of its Artemis Moon exploration program, has contracted ICON to develop technologies that could help build infrastructure such as landing pads, habitats, and roads on the lunar surface.
The printer can build cave-like dome structures in as little as 48 hours.
The space agency has been partnered with the 3D-printing firm since 2022, as part of a $57 million contract.
ICON has already printed a 1,700-square-foot simulated Martian habitat, called Mars Dune Alpha.
