I bet you thought I forgot all about 3D printing applications.  After all, it’s been about four years since I discussed a new application.

That’s mostly because folks have been working behind the scenes, improving the process and the devices so additive manufacturing can take over an existing method of manufacture.

And, that’s about to happen.  Home construction costs will drop about 30% as Icon finishes the development of its process.

Last year, Icon built a small bungalow (about 350 square feet).  Now, they want to expand that to larger domiciles.

Icon claims it can produce a concrete home in a few days with its Vulcan II printer.  Except- there are some regulatory hurdles that must be addressed.  Other firms have produced shelters  via 3D printing (just like Icon)- but this is a home not a small shelter. These homes are reasonably sized- about 2000 square feet.  And, these printers are pretty huge, weighting some 3800 pounds.

(Apis Cor, a Boston technology firm, is also working on such devices and schemes.)

The biggest problem has been getting the concrete to mix – so workers are not needed to hand mix the concrete and load it into the printer with buckets.  Basically, Icon developed the robotics that powers the printer and coded software (CAD- computer aided design, plus a print planning platform) that works via a tablet computer to control the printing process.  More importantly, they needed to develop special cement mixes that are easily pumped (extruded), have the layers bond together properly, and then will harden quickly.  (Icon calls its proprietary Portland Cement mix ‘Lavacrete II’.)

The Vulcan II can produce up to 8 ½ foot tall walls that are 28 feet long.  The better news is that the layers can be produced at speeds of about 6 inches a second, which means it takes about a minute to produce the 28 foot length. (It also needs a good water supply, running at a 2 gallon per minute flowrate.)

The concrete is extruded from the machine one layer at a time.   And,  since it is controlled via a hand-held tablet, the system  requires only a few employees.  No framers, no sheet rock, no insulation, and no exterior finishers.  But, building these homes when it’s really cold, excessively hot, windy, or rainy- are issues that need to be addressed.

Icon claims a 2000 square foot home costs about $ 20K, but that structure  still needs plumbing, and interior finishing- plus the cost of land, so the price of the home is only cut by about 30%.   But, that could be enough to satisfy potential homeowners, since rising material prices and worker shortages have caused home construction costs to skyrocket.

Right now, Cielo Property Group (Austin) plans to build a series of cost-effective homes in Austin, through their partnership with Icon.  Cielo has committed $ 1 million for the project to provide housing for the homeless.

I’m hoping this is the first of many such developments.  (Pun intended!)

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