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3D-printing technology continues reshaping how homes are built, making the process more efficient and less expensive. These 3D鈥憄rinted houses are more durable and can be easily customized.
Virginia Tech is becoming a national leader in 3D鈥憄rinted housing research. The university has helped build four homes in Virginia and is currently producing five more.
鈥淲e can basically deploy a robotic arm now to build structures, and we can make it mobile and bring the technology out to the site,鈥� said Andrew McCoy, the Interim Managing Director of the Coalition for Smart Construction at Virginia Tech, as well as the Director of the Virginia Center for Housing Research.
He said the robot works like an inkjet printer, but with concrete instead of ink, layering material to build up the walls. The 3D鈥憄rinted homes are around 1,400 square feet, and the team has been working closely with Habitat for Humanity.
鈥淲e’ve been printing three-bedroom, two bath homes with a nice, big kitchen,鈥� he said. 鈥淒ining room, living room kind of combo. And they’ve been very well received.鈥�
The robotic arm is a major advancement from the previous method, called the gantry system, which required four posts for the printer to move along the X and Y axis. That system couldn鈥檛 easily go from one location to another. The robotic arm they use now sits on a base with crawler treads, making it more mobile and flexible.
鈥淚t can go on a construction site and move all around the site,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s very independent and very customizable. And we could print much larger homes.鈥�
McCoy said the traditional way of framing a house can take a couple of weeks, with multiple trades working together. In comparison, they can 3D鈥憄rint a wall in about half an hour and potentially build five walls in a single day.
One of the biggest advantages of 3D-printing is how easily a home can be customized. Unusual shapes and design features that are typically expensive or labor鈥慽ntensive become far easier to achieve, without added cost or the need for a specialized crew. McCoy said one home they鈥檙e printing now had a specific request for the fa莽ade.
鈥淭hey wanted a brick facade,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his thing basically preprints all the facades, and then we ship them out and we attach them, and they’re done.鈥�
He also described 3D鈥憄rinted homes built with reinforced corners for durability because of their location in a flood鈥憄rone area.
鈥淭hey have these thicker areas that make them stronger to basically divert water,鈥� McCoy said.
The technology is a way to combat the labor shortage and rising cost of materials. The state of Virginia is investing in innovation to bring more housing into the market, creating a series of grants through Virginia Housing, the state鈥檚 housing finance agency.
鈥淭he whole purpose of these grants is to basically introduce technology into the market, bring builders in and show them how to use it, and take the financial risk off the builder so that they’re willing to try it,鈥� McCoy said. 鈥淸With] these grants, that’s how we’re able to create this system. They helped us fund the process of figuring it all out.鈥�
Their goal is to continue improving 3D鈥憄rinting research 鈥� investigating what works and what doesn鈥檛, lowering costs, and speeding up the process.
鈥淚 feel like if other states would try to do some of this, that’s how we’re going to make some good inroads into the housing crisis.鈥�
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