We’re endlessly impressed by the advances in the world of 3D printing. But this latest innovation is legitimately mind-blowing. Now there’s machine that can “print” a 2,500 square foot home in roughly 20 hours. WTF.
The fabrication process known as Contour Crafting streamlines the process of construction by scaling 3D printing to a ginormous size. Just like the average 3D printer funnels filament, a massive machine deposits dense concrete layer by layer, building a home from the ground up based on a 3D model. Even essentials like plumbing, electric, and reinforcements can be automatically plugged into the blueprints. Plus, concerns like safety, going over budget, and meeting deadlines are put to rest thanks to this cost-effective machine.
The team behind Contour Crafting is hoping to generate entire neighborhoods with this technology, but every home wouldn’t have to look the same. That’s because you can change the design of your home just by tweaking the architecture on computer program (or CAD/CAM files) that controls the machine’s movement. We’re now entering an age you could program a machine to print your home to look just like the Barbie Dreamhouse, should you choose.
Besides convenience and awesomeness, there are many positive cultural implications to Contour Crafting. Just think about how it could help victims of natural disasters by rebuilding a flattened home in a less than one day; how it could repair once forever-lost segments of historic relics; or how, one fateful day, it would be available “for lease at your local Home Depot” for any consumer to use. What an amazing thing to imagine!
What do you think about this new technology? Would you 3D print your own home? What are your favorite 3D advancements to date? Talk to us in the comments below.
