[PHOTOS] The Chinese Have 3D Printed An 11,840-Square-Foot Mansion From Scratch
The large scale structures were produced, piece-by-piece, using an offsite 3D printers that was used for creating layers of materials that form walls and roofs. Impressive!
By Sadho Ram — 21 Jan 2015, 01:33 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
A Chinese construction company has unveiled its two largest 3D-printed buildings to date. One is a grand-looking, 3-story mansion, and the other is a more utilitarian 5-story apartment block.
Both are made entirely by 3D printers creating layers of materials that form walls and roofs. Here is the 5-story apartment block.
The parts were fabricated using a diagonal reinforced print pattern
The large scale structures were produced, piece-by-piece, using an offsite machine measuring 7m tall, 10m wide and 40m long, and then put together at the suzhou industrial park.
A specially formulated ink made up of concrete, fiberglass, sand and a hardening agent was used in the creation. This special ink is flexible, self-insulating and is resistant to strong earthquakes.
The method also saves 70% of the time and 80% of the labour needed when compared to building a traditional home
The apartment and the mention are a proof-of-concept for now. Currently, they are positioned side-by-side in an expo area.
This partially finished wall section shows how the giant 3D printer creates layers of 3D-printed concrete that is later formed into a section of wall. These pre-fabricated elements are then put into place to build the entire structure. The company's name is Winsun.
