The first house made with 3D printing is built in Valencia

On the campus of the Polytechnic University of Valencia these days a different metallic structure has been installed: a kind of crane under which, layer by layer, a concrete house is being built.

It is a project of the Valencian start-up Be More 3D, in collaboration with other entities such as the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) -in whose campus the pilot house is being built-, Schneider Electric -which provides the electrical panel of the printer-, Cementex and Acciona cement, through its I’mnovation ideas acceleration program. Once finished, it will become the first house completely printed in 3D -in situ- in Spain, the second in Europe and third in the world.

The pilot house has 24 square meters, which will include a living room, a bathroom and a bedroom. To assemble the machine developed by Be More 3D, according to the company, it is only necessary to have three operators for a few hours. The concrete printer is 6 meters high and 3 meters high.

Record time

It is estimated that the machine could print a house of 60 square meters in just 12 hours. A shelter for 25 people, victims of natural catastrophes or wars, would be built in just five or six hours.

The next challenge of Be More 3D will be the construction of two pilot homes in Madrid and 7 homes in Cuenca, as part of a repopulation program for a rural area.

“The application of additive manufacturing technologies in construction represents a very promising future: projects like Be More 3D open the door to a building that is not only cheaper and less polluting, but also faster, which can be a fundamental innovation for humanitarian projects “, says Víctor Moure, director of the Retail and EcoBuildings divisions of Schneider Electric.

Saving

The construction with 3D printing allows a cost reduction of up to 35%, according to Be More 3D. They also shorten delivery times and contribute to less pollution, since a concrete printer works with electricity and produces virtually no waste.

In Italy, another start-up called Wasp has developed an adobe printer, capable of building homes for only 35 euros, “including gasoline to move the land,” according to its creators. In their case, they claim to be able to lift the main structure of the house-six meters wide and four meters high-in a week.

Now, these machines can not end, by themselves, a home. Once printed the walls and the floor, it is necessary to incorporate roof, doors and windows, as well as energy and water systems. In Valencia, Schneider Electric will be responsible for the installation of energy control devices that will contribute, in addition, to the reduction of pollutant emissions and costs.

Source: expansion.com