In March of last year, company WinSun claimed to have printed 10 houses in 24 hours, using a proprietary 3D printer that uses a mixture of ground construction and industrial waste, such as glass and tailings, around a base of quick-drying cement mixed with a special hardening agent.
Now, WinSun has further demonstrated the efficacy of its technology — with a five-storey apartment building and a 1,100 square metre (11,840 square foot) villa, complete with decorative elements inside and out, on display at Suzhou Industrial Park.
The 3D printer array stands 6.6 metres high, 10 metres wide and 40 metres long (20 by 33 by 132 feet). This fabricates the parts in large pieces at WinSun’s facility. The structures are then assembled on-site, complete with steel reinforcements and insulation in order to comply with official building standards.
WinSun built houses with a 3D Printer,which is 20 feet tall, 33 feet wide and 132 feet long in less than 24 hours. The parts, such as frame, wall were printed separately. Such a new type of 3D-printed structure is environment-friendly and cost-effective.
All materials used were created from recycled construction waste, industrial waste and tailings.
We produce a mix of cement and construction waste to construct the walls layer by layer, a process much like how a baker might ice a cake. We also plan to building 100 recycling facilities around China to help keep us with demand.
A CAD design is used as a template, and the computer uses this to control the extruder arm to lay down the material “much like how a baker might ice a cake,” WinSun said. The walls are printed hollow, with a zig-zagging pattern inside to provide reinforcement. This also leaves space for insulation.
This process saves between 30 and 60 percent of construction waste, and can decrease production times by between 50 and 70 percent, and labour costs by between 50 and 80 percent. In all, the villa costs around $161,000 to build.
And, using recycled materials in this way, the buildings decrease the need for quarried stone and other materials — resulting in a construction method that is both environmentally forward and cost effective.
In time, the company hopes to use its technology on much larger scale constructions, such as bridges and even skyscrapers.
SOURCES -CNET, Caixin, Winsun
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