The list of materials that can be produced by 3-D printing has grown to include not just plastics but also metal, glass, and even food. Now, MIT researchers are expanding the list further, with the design of a system that can 3-D print the basic structure of an entire building. — MIT
According to the researchers, structures built with this tech will be faster to make and cheaper than traditional construction. They'll be customizable and enable forms otherwise difficult to manufacture. "Even the internal structure could be modified in new ways," they write, "different materials could be incorporated as the process goes along, and material density could be varied to provide optimum combinations of strength, insulation, or other properties."
The process involves using a large, industrial robotic arm with a smaller, precision-motion robotic arm attached on a movable track. The highly controllable arm can work as a traditional construction nozzle, pouring concrete or spraying insulation, or be used for digital fabrication with something like a milling head.
The system is different than other large 3-D printers in that it's free-moving and doesn't require an enclosed, fixed structure. To test it out, researchers built a 12 ft. high dome out of foam insulation in less than 14 hours. The foam could then serve as a mold for concrete, like with traditional insulated-concrete formwork techniques.
“To me it’s not merely a printer,” states Neri Oxman, the group director of the project, “but an entirely new way of thinking about making, that facilitates a paradigm shift in the area of digital fabrication, but also for architectural design… Our system points to a future vision of digital construction that enables new possibilities on our planet and beyond.”
Check out the video below to see the machine in action:
3 Comments
MIT is the master of the cool PR video for cool tech that you never hear about again.
Let's hope we never hear of it again.
Which post came first? This one, or this one?
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