Will Your Next House be 3D Printed? By: Carlie Wagner With RTC Australia just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to explore the impact that 3D printing is having on the world of architecture. While architects once had to painstakingly create models by hand, with the development of 3D printers, all they have to do now is click Print. To save time, money, and effort, architects became one of the first groups of professionals to adopt 3D printing technology. Today, though, 3D printers aren’t only being used to make a miniature version of the structure, they are actually printing the full- sized structure itself. Here are some of the exciting projects that are changing the way buildings are being made. Featuring carefully thought-out architectural detailing, these structures are beautiful and functional. Furthermore, because they are printed with mostly recycled building materials comprised of concrete, sand, fiberglass, and a hardening agent, these buildings can be produced with less cost and less waste than those built using traditional methods. The materials and the cross- beam structure of the print result in buildings that are self-insulated, flexible, and earthquake resistant. To create these structures, WinSun used a Structural 3D Printing Becomes a Reality massive 3D printer. Measuring more than 20 feet in height, 33 feet in width, and 132 feet in length, the printer created the structural Once confined to the realm of building theory or components in pieces that were later science fiction, 3D printed structures have become constructed with beam columns, a reality. steel rebar, and insulation. The As I discussed in my previous article on 3D printing process left space printing materials, Chinese manufacturer WinSun for pipes, windows, doors, is currently leading the charge. In 2014, WinSun and electricity, which were made headlines when it announced that it had added during the assembly developed a 3D printer capable of printing ten process. homes in a 24-hour period. While not offering much in the way of aesthetics, it was thought that these 3D printed homes, which are cheap to make, could be a great alternative to refugee and other types of emergency temporary housing. WinSun Then, the following year, WinSun truly outdid itself by unveiling a 3D printed five-story apartment building and 12,000 square foot mansion. 26 www.cadlearning.com