Advantages and Disadvantages of 3D Printing in Construction Using the Example of Building an Individual House

When interacting with various people and trying to explain the principle of construction using 3D printing during everyday conversation, I notice that very few believe in the future of this method of construction. Why? Just as researchers come from different backgrounds, they also develop different 3D printers that use different materials and different 3D printing techniques. When the walls are completed, formwork is installed for the intermediate floor slab, whilst during this time the 3D printer is raised by an additional 3m so that we can print the ground floor walls and roof. We repeat the process of printing walls with two ** parallel walls**, the same with printing lintels for doors and windows.

Problem

When interacting with various people and trying to explain the principle of construction using 3D printing during everyday conversation, I notice that very few believe in the future of this method of construction. Why? The answer probably lies in the fact that in their environment there are traditionalists, ** brick and mortar** are more than sufficient…

Around the world, researchers from various companies, universities, and even private individuals are attempting to transfer into the world of construction what I can say are already fairly well-established 3D printers. Of course, the scale in the world of construction is considerably larger.

Solution and Method

Just as researchers come from different backgrounds, they also develop different 3D printers that use different materials and different 3D printing techniques. But everything is bound by a common thing… how to create a 3D printer for construction that will simplify and reduce the cost of building various structures, from bridges, houses, and even tower blocks. His diploma thesis is a comparison of classical construction with 3D printing construction technique.

Since there is currently no such construction in Slovenia, he had to carry out the part of the diploma thesis dealing with 3D printing purely theoretically. He obtained basic data about the operation of the 3D printer from its manufacturer, Abram Jože. From data such as printing speed, ** height** and ** width** of the printed layer, and ** maximum aggregate granulation** for printed concrete, he calculated the quantities of installed material and printing time.

The project itself, the plans, and the bill of quantities for classical construction were included in the calculations of construction costs, whilst certain parts of this project were modified and adapted to the method of construction using 3D printing. Thus, in the 3D printing method, he first had to set up the 3D printer, for which he built two strip foundations with sufficient load-bearing capacity for the printer. All vertical formwork was replaced by printing two parallel walls, between which concrete was installed, whilst in the case of the foundation slab, only the external wall was printed.

When the foundation slab was completed, 3D printing of the basement walls could begin. The printer is programmed to print one layer across the entire floor plan according to the design, whereby at openings for doors or windows it rounds off and thus passes from one wall to another parallel wall, whilst an open space remains in between, which we later fill with concrete. The necessary lintels for doors and windows are pre-printed on the ground, reinforcement bars are added between individual layers, and when they dry, we place them in the intended location using the printer, which can be used as a ** gantry crane**.

We also print reinforced concrete columns, whilst reinforcement bars are inserted into the intermediate empty space and concrete is installed.

Results

When the walls are completed, formwork is installed for the intermediate floor slab, whilst during this time the 3D printer is raised by an additional 3m so that we can print the ground floor walls and roof. We repeat the process of printing walls with two parallel walls, the same with printing lintels for doors and windows. The width of the walls in the ground floor storey is greater, which also means more intermediate space, which in this case we fill with an insulating mixture of ** expanded clay and cement, for better ** thermal insulation and at the same time ** strength**.

This is followed by installation of the non-accessible roof slab and printing of 70 cm high walls on the flat roof. Throughout the construction, the 3D printer can also be used as a gantry crane for lifting and transporting loads on the construction site or on the structure itself. The fact that there is no investor in Slovenia who would build using 3D construction technology placed me before the difficult fact of how to realistically complete the set objectives of his diploma thesis, which he could only theoretically predict and calculate on the basis of given data.

Mr Abram has printed several layers with which he demonstrates to potential buyers of the 3D printer its capabilities and actual operation, but for real construction there are still bureaucratic obstacles in Slovenia, as even for a sample house the problem arises with building permits. His opinion is that on simple terrain with installation of standardised houses, as is the case in ** El Salvador, where they intend to ** print an entire settlement of simple dwellings, this construction technology could prove to be very efficient and favourable.

In fact, it is possible to print a residential house more cheaply using 3D printing, but since simply printing a house is not enough, 3D printing is for the time being still considerably more expensive than classical construction. With further development of 3D printers and the introduction of improved technologies, the number of 3D printer operators will decrease, but already now 3D printers require no more than 3-5 people to operate the 3D printer. The finding that construction using 3D printing is ** cheaper up to the 4th construction phase** than classical construction means that we can expect the expansion of 3D printing amongst builders.

His opinion is that construction using 3D printing is recommended up to the 4th construction phase, I consider that 3D printing can be the future of construction. A good example is the planned construction of an entire settlement of residential units by the American company Icon, as with the construction of a settlement it is not necessary to transport the printer, as it moves on rails from structure to structure. This can save a great deal of time and money.