The house "printer"

[Remus]

Perhaps you've used those programs that let you design your dream house, creating a Computer Aided Design (CAD) file. Not quite ready to take up the hammer and start building? What if you could just "print" your house?


Behrokh Khoshnevis (USC Engineering) has been perfecting his contour crafting device, which squirts semi-liquid construction materials to form walls and domed ceilings. His ultimate objective?

"The goal is to be able to completely construct a one-story, 2000-square foot home on site, in one day and without using human hands."

http://www.livescience.com/scienceoffiction/070124_house_printer.html

And here's a 3d animation showing how this system works

[youtube]CEA2HaFqsVQ[/youtube]

 

[pvtbones]

rather ingenious and interesting idea.

 

[Reginald]

That is very cool. I could see it being used on a slightly smaller scale to build quick houses for relief work and stuff.

It'd be awesome to build quick sets for films too. :E

 

[Dekstar]

would be better if it had more arms.

 

[CyberPitz]

Would suck when it rains, all the water pooling on top.

Otherwise, ACE!

 

[Krynn72]

Would suck when it rains, all the water pooling on top.

Otherwise, ACE!

A big tarp is the answer!

 

[CyberPitz]

A big tarp is the answer!

Or a sponge!

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

Or a hooker.

Anyway, that's cool.

 

[theotherguy]

Saw this on the discovery channel. They have a scale model of the system that builds small concrete structures.

Their initial plans are to send it to the moon to build colonies for lunar colonists.


Edit: here is the model they use now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOlRI_Hm1Po

 

[Mutley]

Seems flawed. How would you install electrics? Gas? Water? Stairs?

What about the cost of the machine? Transporting it? Setting it up would take longer than 1 day, and even in 1 day of building a house it's still very far from finished. You need to flatten the work surface, what about foundations?

Unlike human labour with a machine you could get a flaw in the design where a human would notice straight a way. Plus they are taking away jobs from a huge industry, for cheap crappy houses.

Booooooooo!

 

[Solaris]

And how exactly does it pour concrete or bricks like that without it slopping over the sides?

 

[Xendance]

And how exactly does it pour concrete or bricks like that without it slopping over the sides?

Agreed.

 

[TechSupport]

And how exactly does it pour concrete or bricks like that without it slopping over the sides?

Magix Mix?... but seriously, they would need a very fast drying substance...

 

[HunterSeeker]

That animation is likely a very crude thing compared to how the real thing would work, but we will see.

 

[lePobz]

Mass produced housing for a mass produced chav population. I hope they burn well.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

And how exactly does it pour concrete or bricks like that without it slopping over the sides?

If they're testing it in a few months, don't you think they'd have already thought of it?

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Mutley]

If they're testing it in a few months, don't you think they'd have already thought of it?

-Angry Lawyer

No.





:dork:

 

[theotherguy]

Arg, did nobody look at the link to the working prototype I posted? It doesn't slop over the sides so much at all.


They plan to make a robot taht does plumbing, insulation and electrical also..that is just considerably harder to do.