How much can 3D Printing save over traditional construction methods?
Savings in Time and Labor
It is well known that traditional “sticks & bricks” construction can take around 9 months to complete a home. The project timeline could be reduced up to 50% and in some well-developed cases a starter homes could be done in 45 days, because the same machine can do foundation, floor, walls, and roof in fairly quick succession.
Let's compare traditional framing of walls to 3D Printing of walls. For 3D Printing, an experienced team of 2-3 is all that's required to setup and to run the printer. With the printer running at full capacity, a 1,300 sq ft house with 8 foot high walls can be completed in 28 hours of printing. Compare that to a team of 7 framing for a week. And today's young people would rather control a robot than swing a hammer. This increases the appeal of your business to attract labor.
Savings in Lost Time Accidents
Jobsite accidents are one of the most costly occurrences in the construction industry. The construction industry’s Fatal Four are Falls, Electrocutions, “Struck-Bys” and “Caught-in/Betweens,” which cover a wide range of dangers, such as when a vehicle, piece of machinery or material strikes or traps a worker. The fatality rate has hovered around 10% over the last decade, just over 1000 deaths per 100,000 workers.
With Concrete 3D Printing, the robot is doing the dangerous work, and the crew is controlling it on the side. The crews aren't lifting trusses or removing formwork. Reducing accidents not only keeps workers safe, but also opens the doors to a greater range of ages and enables women to be more involved at the construction site. With the robot doing the dangerous work, we're confident that's a big reduction in accidents.
95% Reduction in Waste
The National Association of Home Builders reports that a 2000 SF “Sticks and Bricks” built home generates 8000 Lbs. of waste materials that go to the landfill at a considerable cost. 3D Construction Printing puts material only where needed. Waste is reduced as much as 98%.
Reduction in Material Cost and Handling
Concrete is a more cost-effective material. We've calculated a material cost savings of 30%, and that was before lumber prices went crazy. But on top of that the material is mixed and pumped by the automated system.
To sum up, you can expect up to 30% cost savings and up to 50% time savings.
How resilient are 3D Printed homes?
3D concrete printed structures are by their very nature stronger than similar wood structures. If designed well, they can withstand the Florida 250 MPH wind load test. Think about the wind damage from hurricane Ian that impacted Florida.
How do termites affect 3D printed homes?
Since the primary structure is 3D printed concrete, termites are gone. Mold, mildew, and dry rot are much less likely to occur.
What's the largest building you can print with this printer?
The printer has a modular design, so you can add on more length, width and height. We've recently increased the maximum length to 100 ft. The maximum height is 30 ft and the maximum width is currently set at 30 ft for our lightweight X-axis.
However, the largest building you can print can be much bigger than that because you can move the printer to print the building in sections and connect the sections. In fact, to keep the concrete layers adhering well to each other, it's optimum to keep prints to a maximum of 30 ft x 30 ft per day.
