3D Printing and Apartment Building

World's first 3D Printed apartment building in China

A Chinese Company has demonstrated the construction of world's first 3D-printed apartment building from a special print material. WinSun printed 10 houses in 24 hours using a proprietary 3D printer that uses a mixture of ground construction and industrial waste such as glass and tailings around a base of quick-drying cement mixed with a special hardening agent. The computer controls the extruder arm to lay down the material like a baker with a cake. The walls are hollow inside with a zig-zag pattern to provide reinforcement and also space for insulation. This process saves between 30 and 60 percent of construction waste, and can decrease production times by between 50 and 70 percent, and labour costs by between 50 and 80 percent. The construction method is both environmentally fine and cost effective. Recycled materials are used.
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"... Now, WinSun has further demonstrated the efficacy of its technology -- with a five-storey apartment building and a 1,100 square metre (11,840 square foot) villa, complete with decorative elements inside and out, on display at Suzhou Industrial Park.
The 3D printer array, developed by Ma Yihe, who has been inventing 3D printers for over a decade, stands 6.6 metres high, 10 metres wide and 40 metres long (20 by 33 by 132 feet). This fabricates the parts in large pieces at WinSun's facility. The structures are then assembled on-site, complete with steel reinforcements and insulation in order to comply with official building standards. ..."

 

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Find this at http://www.cnet.com/au/news/worlds-first-3d-printed-apartment-building-constructed-in-china .