3D printing has been a novelty in technology, since certain structures can be recreated efficiently. In fact, anyone can purchase 3D printers for their home. From small objects to collector’s figures, this time it has been nothing more and nothing less than a huge house that has been built thanks to a 3D printer.
This has happened in Bavaria, Germany, where the first house built entirely thanks to a 3D printer is about to open its doors. Construction began in September 2020. This apartment has been designed in the most spectacular way possible: it has a capacity of five floors divided into three floors with approximately 380 square meters of living area. The printer used to do this laborious task has been the “BOD2” model, which is the fastest on the market today.
A complex but effective mechanism
After ten months and more than 100 hours of 3D printing, construction is nearing completion. It is expected that in August it can begin to receive visitors and that in just five weeks it will be fully completed.
The German construction company PERI, in association with the Danish manufacturer COBOD that provided the printer, have been responsible for making this project a reality. According to a statement made available to the press, all the construction technology that has been used to manufacture this house passed all regulatory approval processes.
The printer features a print head that travels along three axes in a heavy-duty metal frame, allowing the printer to be moved anywhere within the entire structure and only needs to be calibrated once. Thanks to this technique it is possible to save both time and money. The material used for printing is designed to meet the needs of 3D construction printing and works perfectly with the BOD2 printer in principle.
A quality product
In addition, the printer has a system with which it can be analyzed where other elements of the house will be installed, such as electricity outlets, pipes or water connections, so these tasks can be completed while the house is still is printing.
The structure consists of hollow triple skin walls that are filled with an insulating material. The BOD2 printer can complete one square meter of a double layer wall in less than five minutes at a speed of one meter per second. The printer with the print head needs two operators and by means of a camera the printing results are checked.
When the construction process is complete, the house will be rented. With the great popularity that 3D printing is gaining in recent years and the large number of other projects that are in the printing process, other 3D printed structures will follow the example of this house and will have their place within German architecture.