Swinburne University engineers team with builder to deliver Ballarat’s first 3D-printed home

In short:
Swinburne University engineers have teamed up with a Victorian building company to construct Ballarat’s first 3D-printed home.

While other 3D-printed buildings exist in the state, the construction team says the 3D-printed design is a first for regional Victoria.

I LIKE THIS BIT

“Our wall system that we’ve designed is up to 60 per cent more energy efficient than a standard brick and timber home, so that means lower energy bills and lower costs to the client in the long term,” he said.

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Well done them, but I’ve never been sold much on the idea. I don’t think they are the answer.

party_pants said:

Well done them, but I’ve never been sold much on the idea. I don’t think they are the answer.

Do you think there is a better answer? Must be lots of home innovation ideas out there, but not well known.

Tau.Neutrino said:

party_pants said:

Well done them, but I’ve never been sold much on the idea. I don’t think they are the answer.

Do you think there is a better answer? Must be lots of home innovation ideas out there, but not well known.

Was in home built homes in Tassie. Built from all sorts of materials. Cost bugger all but served well as modern homes.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Do you think there is a better answer? Must be lots of home innovation ideas out there, but not well known.

I’m fascinated by the idea of shaped stone or cemented blocks that interlock and fit together like Lego. There are a few of them out there. I have seen one in videos where the blocks are assembled dry and then tied down with metal rods. The blocks are made of some kind of crushed rock with a binding agent that sets like stone. All the blocks are made in a factory, no need to mixing mortar or cement on site.

Once the building has outlived it’s usefulness, the building can be disassembled block and block and re-used. The blocks will last for decades if not centuries. Much like old Roman temples got torn down for stone to build new churches.

party_pants said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Do you think there is a better answer? Must be lots of home innovation ideas out there, but not well known.

I’m fascinated by the idea of shaped stone or cemented blocks that interlock and fit together like Lego. There are a few of them out there. I have seen one in videos where the blocks are assembled dry and then tied down with metal rods. The blocks are made of some kind of crushed rock with a binding agent that sets like stone. All the blocks are made in a factory, no need to for mixing mortar or cement on site.

Once the building has outlived it’s usefulness, the building can be disassembled block and by block and re-used. The blocks will last for decades if not centuries. Much like old Roman temples got torn down for stone to build new churches.

shoulda proof-read…

party_pants said:

Well done them, but I’ve never been sold much on the idea. I don’t think they are the answer.

I quite agree. Sure they can print walls reasonably quickly, but the setup time for the equipment must take a fair while. I’d guess the best part of a day ??
And concrete wall by themselves aren’t much good, they need steel reinforcement. Yes the printed walls do get that steel added later though and sometimes the gap between the inner and outer skins of the wall is also filled with expanding foam for extra insulation.

I would have thought that doing all that pre-fabbed in a big factory that could pump out the various (standardised) wall panels much faster & cheaper would be the way to go though. Just join the intersections of the walls on-site, etc.

Spiny Norman said:

party_pants said:

Well done them, but I’ve never been sold much on the idea. I don’t think they are the answer.

I quite agree. Sure they can print walls reasonably quickly, but the setup time for the equipment must take a fair while. I’d guess the best part of a day ??
And concrete wall by themselves aren’t much good, they need steel reinforcement. Yes the printed walls do get that steel added later though and sometimes the gap between the inner and outer skins of the wall is also filled with expanding foam for extra insulation.

I would have thought that doing all that pre-fabbed in a big factory that could pump out the various (standardised) wall panels much faster & cheaper would be the way to go though. Just join the intersections of the walls on-site, etc.

Yes it would be interesting to see the two compared side by side.

I’m wondering if double sided concrete walls are better than single concrete walls?

I’m not really sold on the look of the 3D printed walls either. They would require a fair amount of render and finishing to get them looking “nice”.

party_pants said:

I’m not really sold on the look of the 3D printed walls either. They would require a fair amount of render and finishing to get them looking “nice”.

I’d much prefer these:
Single course, no finishing needed, no painting etc.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Spiny Norman said:

party_pants said:

Well done them, but I’ve never been sold much on the idea. I don’t think they are the answer.

I quite agree. Sure they can print walls reasonably quickly, but the setup time for the equipment must take a fair while. I’d guess the best part of a day ??
And concrete wall by themselves aren’t much good, they need steel reinforcement. Yes the printed walls do get that steel added later though and sometimes the gap between the inner and outer skins of the wall is also filled with expanding foam for extra insulation.

I would have thought that doing all that pre-fabbed in a big factory that could pump out the various (standardised) wall panels much faster & cheaper would be the way to go though. Just join the intersections of the walls on-site, etc.

Yes it would be interesting to see the two compared side by side.

I’m wondering if double sided concrete walls are better than single concrete walls?

It gives you more options, for sure. Like somewhere to hide the wiring & plumbing and using less concrete for the same amount of insulation value.

party_pants said:

I’m not really sold on the look of the 3D printed walls either. They would require a fair amount of render and finishing to get them looking “nice”.

The reliable joke in the 3D printing community is “but look at that crappy layer height!”

• The smaller the layer height the smoother the part looks. On my printer I can go down to 0.06mm and it can be difficult to see any layers a lot of the time. When they’re 20 mm thick, it’s a tad more obvious.

party_pants said:

Well done them, but I’ve never been sold much on the idea. I don’t think they are the answer.

I’ve got nothing against it I suppose but I usually these things misunderstand the problem. House construction costs have not blown up.