THIS HAPPENED: A 3D PRINTED VILLA WAS BUILT IN CHINA IN UNDER 3 HOURS
Months after news broke that a 57-storey tower in Changsha City, China was built in only 19 days, here’s another one that’s making headlines in the Chinese construction industry.
Zhuoda is the latest company in China that aims to revolutionise the home construction market – via 3D printing. The firm recently ‘built’ a two-storey villa in under three hours, estimating that their new technology can reduce construction costs to as little as USD400 per sqm, according to Inhabitat.
“The traditional villa can take at least six months to construct, but our 3D module villas take just ten days from the beginning of production in our factory to the final assembly at a specific build site,” said An Yongliang, a Research & Development engineer for Zhuoda.
The villa is made of six 3D printed modules, all of which were constructed offsite before being assembled and stacked together on location using a crane. Each module weighs more than 100 kg and is designed to independently bear weight, ensuring that the villa can withstand up to magnitude 9 earthquakes.
All the essentials, such as wiring, plumbing and decoration, were incorporated into each module during their individual printing stage offsite, according to 3D Printing Industry, before being assembled into the complete villa in front of a live audience.
Zhuoda’s secret recipe to their success lies in the inclusion of an undisclosed material which also makes the villa fireproof and waterproof. With 22 patents issued on their new technology, it’s unlikely Zhuoda are going to spill the beans just yet, although Tan Buyong, vice president of the company, has confirmed the new material is sourced from industrial and agricultural waste products, aside from being free from formaldehyde, ammonia and radon.
“Thanks to our special materials, our rate of assembling houses is really fast. Since 90 percent of the houses we build are completed in a factory prior to the actual on-site construction, we only need to do on-site follow-up work to complete a build.
“This not only avoids the pollution caused by traditional construction sites, but also dramatically reduces construction costs by thinking about houses as a traditional manufactured product,” Buyong concluded.
Source: http://www.my-property-report.com/articles/this-happened-a-3d-printed-villa-was-built-in-china-in-under-3-hours#.VepZT7wi6nc.facebook
Back to news
Would you like to share the page with your friends?