A Minnesota native decided to make the most of the romance between architecture and 3D printing and is now building a home using the "concrete printing" technology.
Concrete printing employs the same technique as any other plastic-spewing 3D printer uses. However, instead of plastic, the machine will lay concrete in thick layers to help construct homes faster.
Andrey Rudenko, a contractor who has an architectural background, opened up about his new 3D printing technology. He reportedly built the printer in his two-car garage, which took two years to complete.
Rudencko's first project with the new concrete printer is a playhouse, the scale size model of a castle though which he will analyze the "structural process" of the printing. However, he eventually plans to build a 10m x 15m, two-level house, complete with electricity and plumbing.
"I've done a lot of experimenting on small structures; now I'm printing medium-sized structures, including the 3 x 5m castle. I'm choosing to print a castle form because it allows me to include a variety of different shapes and elements, including arches, etc, in addition to the fact that a medium-sized structure is the only size I can legally print in my backyard...The castle will take about a week for the setup, printing, and making of the video," Rudencko tells the website.
You can see the video below:
Rudencko also explains that his concept of concrete printing is different from the proposed version of Behrokh Khoshnevis, a University of Southern California professor who introduced a concept called "contour scaling" earlier this year. Explaining the difference between his and Khoshnevis' concept he says:
"Differently than Behrokh Khoshnevis's method, I'm creating a natural, free-layering of fine concrete. My goal is to have a nice-looking, natural texture, without a need for any additional finish. 25mm (1 inch) width x 10mm height is my standard dimension, which makes for easy calculations. But within reason, I am able to pretty much print layers of any dimension."
Rudencko will also be using low cost materials and has designed the machine in such a way that it will need some manual operation, so as to preserve construction jobs. His machine will also be able to withstand freezing temperatures.
Rudencko is not the only one trying to revolutionize the construction industry with 3D printing techniques. More recently, a Chinese firm built ten 650-square-feet homes in just a span of 24 hours!
But the popularity of 3D printing has even reached space. NASA is reportedly developing a space factory where 3D printed space instruments will be manufactured. The technology has also been used in medicine to print body parts of humans like ears, nose and even a kidney.
