Innovation… Firm debuts 3-D houses assembled in 3 hours

3D-printed homes aren’t exactly new, but the rapid progress made in this new industry never cease to amaze. Earlier this year there was a story about a Chinese company that used a specially designed 3D printer to create large ec0-friendly housing in record time. Another construction company has now perfected the process, making it possible to assemble a fully functional home in just three hours!

The revolutionary new technology was developed by Zhuoda Group, in Xi’an, central China. On July 17, they put up a two-storey sample villa built from pre-constructed components that were printed in a factory and later lifted into place using a crane. The instant villas cost only about 3,500 yuan ($564) per square meter, which is far lower than the current industry standard.

Zhuoda representatives have revealed that their own 3D homes use ink made of a different base, other than cement. They haven’t actually revealed the material, but they claim that it’s a lot cheaper and more durable. In fact, they insist that their villas will last at least 150 years, and can withstand high magnitude earthquakes. The material is fireproof and waterproof, and it contains no formaldehyde, ammonia, radon, or other harmful compounds.

The company revealed that 90 percent of the villa was fabricated in a factory, a lot like how other products like shoes and phones are made. Everything, including interior decoration, wiring, plumbing, kitchen fittings and other facilities are created through 3D printing technology.

The villa was assembled during a presentation that began at 9.30 am – the workers stacked each module of the house like building blocks, using a crane. The living room was assembled first, followed by the bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom on the first floor, and the terrace, bedroom, and utility rooms on the second floor – all in under three hours.

Read also: Innovation… Light bulbs that play music from your gadgets

“Thanks to our special materials, our rate of assembling houses is really fast,” said Zhuoda group vice president Tan BuYong. “Since 90 per cent of the houses we build are completed in a factory prior to the actual on-site construction, we only need to do on-site follow-up work to complete a build. This not only avoids the pollution caused by traditional construction sites, but also dramatically reduces construction costs by thinking about houses as a traditional manufactured product.”

The company is trying to patent the technology, and it will soon be made available to consumers on a mass scale. They’re planning to introduce customization as well – the material can be modified to resemble jade, marble, wood, granite, and other decorative textures. Customers will even have the option of embedding Chinese herbs within the walls for ‘built-in aromatherapy’.

– odditycentral.com

Ripples… without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now