Have a day and 4K? We’ve got a house for that…
Building a home is now as easy as pushing ‘print’ on a tablet
Okay, so maybe there is more to it than just pushing ‘print,’ nonetheless, it’s quite an impressive innovation to be able to 3D print a home in less that 24 hours and for only 4K.
New Story, a housing charity organization based in San Francisco, and ICON, a construction-technology company that designs 3D printers, have teamed up to end global homelessness. Together, they are on a mission to produce tiny homes that can be utilized by those that truly need them.
Using their 3D printer, Vulcan, ICON was able to print a prototype tiny home, 350 square feet, for 10K and in just 48 hours. This house was considerably cheaper than your average tiny home, coming in at 25K. They are confident that they can get the the cost down to 4K or less, and once they run Vulcan at higher speeds, they can get the printing time down to 24 hours.
ICON has now released Vulcan II, an upgraded 3D printer. The Vulcan II can produce a home seamlessly on site — just needing to add the doors and windows after.
The printer churns out layers of cement and is operated from a tablet (no more need for a large crew of people). The Vulcan II is able to produce walls up to 8 and half feet tall and up to 28 feet wide.
The home’s cement can withstand extreme weather conditions. It can operate during a power shortage and without access to potable water, making it perfect for families in El Salvador, which ICON and New Story plan to produce more than 100 homes for.
What’s next, printing in space? Yup. ICON is researching how to expand the technology to build space habitats. Although it may sound silly now, who knows, maybe in 20 years, you can have your own 3D printed home in space. Far out!
SOURCES: Business Insider, YouTube
