Germany's First 3D Printed Residential Building, 25 Hours To Print Out The Bottom Of The House

Recently, PERI Building Materials Company used 3D printing technology to build a residential building in Bekum, North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. The building is composed of two-story detached houses, each floor has a living space of approximately 80 square meters, and is constructed using a 3D construction printer.

The 3D construction printer sprays concrete layer by layer, like applying cream to a cake. The two workers printed out the bottom floor of the residential building in only 25 hours, which was time-saving and labor-saving. This house is a flagship project of the local government to test whether 3D buildings are more efficient and flexible than traditional buildings.

With the improvement of 3D printing technology, more and more objects can be completed by 3D printing. In the beginning, 3D printed products were small objects. However, the potential of 3D printing is far more than just producing DIY household items. In fact, this technology can even completely subvert the traditional construction industry.

3D printing technology appeared in the mid-1990s and is actually a technology that uses light curing and paper lamination to achieve rapid prototyping. Its working principle is basically the same as that of ordinary printers. The printer is equipped with adhesive materials such as powdered metal or plastic. After it is connected to the computer, the blueprint on the computer is finally turned into a real object through a multi-layer printing method.

Large items such as bicycle frames, car steering wheels, and even aircraft parts require larger printers and more storage space. This technology is now being applied in many fields, and people use it to make clothing, construction, automobiles, and so on.

3D architectural printers are simple in design but quite complicated to implement. The process consists of a giant three-dimensional extrusion machine. Its operation is very similar to the printer operating principle we have seen, but there is one obvious difference: it squeezes out concrete.

Gear drives are used on the extrusion head of the 3D construction printer system to create foundations and walls for the house. Its principle is very similar to the use of mud bricks, and the built buildings can withstand earthquakes and other natural disasters. The use of this process is not only cheap and quick to build, but also environmentally friendly, and the construction cost and materials are greatly reduced.

3D architectural printing has fundamentally changed the way we build and the process of housing construction. The director of production and supply chain of PERI building materials company said: "Because this is the first building of its kind, our printing speed is slower than the actual speed." "We hope to take this opportunity to gain more experience in daily operations. Because it will help us in our next printing project to make greater use of the technology's potential to reduce costs."

In order to build this residential building, the PERI building materials company used a BOD2 3D printer, which can be moved from any position in the building along with its frame, and only needs to be calibrated once.

"The concrete printing process provides our designers with a high degree of freedom when designing buildings." Architect Waldemarcourt said, "Using traditional construction methods, it can only be achieved by paying huge capital costs. at this point."

The building is composed of a three-layer cavity wall filled with an insulating compound. During the printing process, the printer will take into account the plumbing connections to be laid in the future.

The BOD2 3D printer has been certified and can work in the printing area while printing. This means that manual work (such as installing and connecting empty pipes) can be easily integrated into the printing process.

Nowadays, the development of 3D printing buildings is no longer an illusory fantasy, it can really be realized, and technology has changed lives.