HOUSING OBSERVER

2015

Credit: Olivier Middendorp via Hollandse Hoogte

3D Printing and the

Construction Industry
Article 3December 2015

Housing Obser ver 2015

3D Printing and the Construction Industry

Table of Contents
1

What is 3D Printing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3D Printing in the Construction Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3D Printed Residential Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Potential Implications of 3D Printing for the Home Building Industry . . . . . . 6

The Future of 3D Printing in Residential Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Although this information product reflects housing experts current knowledge, it is provided for
general information purposes only. Any reliance or action taken based on the information, materials
and techniques described are the responsibility of the user. Readers are advised to consult appropriate
professional resources to determine what is safe and suitable in their particular case. Canada Mortgage
and Housing Corporation assumes no responsibility for any consequence arising from use of the
information, materials and techniques described.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Housing Obser ver 2015

3D Printing and the Construction Industry

1 What is 3D Printing?
3D printing, also referred to as additive printing or additive manufacturing,
is a revolutionary production technique capable of creating solid objects from
a digital file uploaded to a 3D printer. The printer reads the file and lays down
successive layers of materials, such as plastics, resins, concrete, sand or metals,
until the entire object is created.

2 3D Printing in the
Construction Industry
In the construction industry, 3D printers are used to create 3D models,
prototypes or small, non-structural building components such as landscaping
bricks or decorative elements.1
Researchers are experimenting with different types of 3D printers and a range
of raw materials and fabrication techniques to advance the technology and expand
the range of potential applications to include structural building components and
even whole buildings. Current research includes experimentation with:

a variety of raw materials including recycled plastic, bioplastics, concrete and a

synthetic stone-like material created from a combination of sand and chemicals;
advanced 3D printers capable of extruding multiple materials;2
a variety of fabrication methods (e.g., printing wall components in sections
which can be snapped together on site; printing structural scaffolding which
can be filled in with construction materials on site to create full-sized walls3);

fabrication of reinforced concrete beams;4 and

direct printing on-site or in factories.

http://inhabitat.com/british-architect-designs-first-3d-printed-element-for-use-in-the-construction-industry/

http://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/this-week-in-tech-mit-makes-a-multi-material-3d-printer_o

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/08/the-worlds-biggest-free-form-3d-printer-is-being-used-to-build-houses/

http://3dprintingindustry.com/2015/08/11/house-3d-printing-fortified-with-wasps-reinforced-concrete-beams/

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Housing Obser ver 2015

3D Printing and the Construction Industry

3 3D Printed Residential Buildings

Research projects are underway to create residential buildings from 3D printed
modular components. One example is Canal House (DUS Architects) project
currently being printed in Amsterdam.

Building blocks 3D Print Canal House, credit: DUS architects

The 3D Canal House is a 3-year research and development project to create

a 13 room demonstration house.
The project team built a 3D printer, called a KamerMaker or room maker,
which was installed inside a large, upended shipping container.
The printer creates wall components from a bioplastic mix of plastic fibres
and 80% plant oil. Wall components are then interlocked together and filled
with bio-concrete to provide structural strength.
See more at: http://3dprintcanalhouse.com/
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Housing Obser ver 2015

3D Printing and the Construction Industry

Architects, engineers and researchers are also exploring the potential of creating
complete buildings from 3D printers.
In September 2015, a 12 meter (40 foot) 3D printer, called the Big Delta was
unveiled in Italy by the Worlds Advanced Saving Project (WASP).5 The printer
is designed to produce a complete shelter using local materials, such as mud,
clay and natural fibres and could potentially be used to create housing in disaster
areas or areas where a large supply of emergency housing is needed.6
Berok Khoshnevis, from the University of Southern California, has developed a
3D fabrication process called contour crafting which he believes offers the potential
to automate the construction of a complete house including electrical, plumbing,
drywall and insulation (see http://craft.usc.edu/CC/modem.html). He envisions
widespread use of light-weight contour crafting 3D printers to print houses by
2020 and high rises by 2025.7

Credit: Berok Khoshnevis, University of Southern California

http://www.gizmag.com/wasp-big-delta-3d-printer-clay-housing/39414

http://www.sciencealert.com/the-world-s-largest-3d-printer-can-now-make-entire-houses-out-of-clay

http://3dprint.com/53437/contour-crafting-dr-khoshnevis

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Housing Obser ver 2015

3D Printing and the Construction Industry

4 Potential Implications
of 3D Printing for the
Home Building Industry
Although still in its early days, 3D printing could offer the following benefits:

Onsite or factory applications.

Printed products only use as much material as needed to form them. This means
fewer resources are required and less waste is generated.
Reduced transportation costs if products are printed on-site (although the cost
of transporting the printer can be expensive due to the size of printers currently
needed for construction).
Potential to create more efficient and interesting designs as 3D printing can
achieve shapes that conventional techniques cannot.
Lower labour costs.
Reduced cost of customized design (with 3D printing, it costs the same to create
one item as to produce thousands.)
Reduced health and safety risks if 3D printing can be used to produce assemblies
that would otherwise need special equipment and precautions to be taken.

Current challenges to be overcome include:

More expensive than conventional construction due to high cost of 3D printer and
lack of familiarity in the industry with 3D printing technologies and applications.
Currently, a limited number of materials have been used, although experimentation
is underway with printers capable of using multiple materials to produce more
complex assemblies.
3D printers can be large and, therefore, difficult and costly to place on site.
3D printing incurs more up-front costs to create the digital model that will result
in safe, cost-effective products.
Printers are currently slow compared to conventional construction, although they
can be operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The potential of a disruptive impact on the type of skills and labour needed to
design and build homes.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Housing Obser ver 2015

3D Printing and the Construction Industry

5 The Future of 3D Printing

in Residential Construction
There is a wide range of views about where the technology could be headed.
Although 3D printing is still in its early days in all industries, the potential benefits
seem to be driving the technology forward. Some suggest 3D printers will be
used mainly to print building components and panels either in factories or on
site, while others envision 3D printing as a transformative technology that could
revolutionize the construction industry.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Housing Obser ver 2015

3D Printing and the Construction Industry

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