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Ask HN: Who offers 3D printed structures(not homes)?

A lot of 3D printing construction companies and they are all focused on building homes. While I understand that the construction industry is a trillion dollar one, it is certainly not a low hanging fruit with permits and expenses and labour unions and govts involved etc. I have asked this to some of the 3D construction startup folks and they don’t seem to be interested. Why don’t we have 3D printing services for fences, sheds, landscaping, barns, etc. This is low hanging fruit and speaking for Ag, we need a lot of structures that are not for habitation and we could use some technology. It’s good testing ground and honestly I think it should be the first offering. Not 3D printed homes. For even my small farm, I need a shade structure, packing shed, storage shed, office, greenhouse, barn maybe(wishlist)..if I had animals, there are more applications. I guess it is even more useful in landscaping for gazebos and backyard sheds or outdoor spaces. 3D printed Housing otoh is a pain. In California, an optimistic outlook is maybe..if ever..30 years at least. The construction unions will never permit it.

jelliclesfarm 4y ago
+ https://3dprint.com/292186/saint-gobain-launches-parametric-3d-printed-stairs/ https://3dprint.com/292186/saint-gobain-launches-parametric-... [..] As with bridges, people seem to have a particular affinity for 3D printed stairs. With good reason: aside from just being eye-catching structures, the ability to print things like bridges and staircases could be a significant factor determining the long-term success of the additive construction sector. Although stairs produced via additive manufacturing (AM) are becoming more commonplace lately, there’s still something quite unique about the latest such project, launched by Saint-Gobain: they’re engineered with parametric design. The project reduced CO2 emissions by 50 percent and construction time by eight weeks, compared to traditional methods.
aristofun 4y ago
How exactly do you expect a 3D printing of something already dead simple/cheap to build to be more cost effective? Any particular examples you have in mind maybe
- jelliclesfarm 4y ago
  Let’s take city infrastructure or parks. There is a ton of concrete projects. Enclosure fencing instead of wood panels. Garages…vertical parking spaces..stadiums..steps/stairs etc.
  - aristofun 4y ago
    Yes, but did you analyze the costs? I wonder where’s the profit here
    - jelliclesfarm 4y ago
      This reminds me of what I hear in small scale Ag all the time when a need for agtech is presented. Of course, exploitation of dirty and repetitive manual labour is going to be cheaper. Of course, burning through natural resources to keep jobs is always going to be cheaper than creating systems that don’t go obsolete or making sure we spend money to renew resources. At this point in our civilization, we have to ask … what IS the point of new technology? Is it to better improve our world and make leaps? Or use technology to support an artificial construct called ‘money’ that accumulates in few hands. Time to free technology. It should work FOR us. Instead we are gaslit into believing that it is something that we serve. When we consider profit motive for everything, tech becomes a collar that makes workers out of almost all of us.
      - aristofun 4y ago
        I am all in. But the market doesn't care about these sentiments if you can't compete with status quo.
        jelliclesfarm 4y ago
        Wrong. Only the market that exploits labour. For example, I just finished reading the article about WeldingDroid in Norway: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/denmarks-weldingdroid-automate-welding-tanks-used-food-grouleff https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/denmarks-weldingdroid-automat... : Denmark's WeldingDroid to automate welding of tanks used in food production in Norway Citing profits to continue exploiting cheap labour in lieu of installing new technology doesn’t happen everywhere. Slavery in plantations was profitable. Nobody can justify it today. And yet there are supporters of minimum wage and dangerous jobs just because it’s not institutionalized slavery. This here is the key: [..]Faced with rising wage costs and increasing prices of both raw materials and freight, not to mention a widespread shortage of qualified welders, many manufacturing businesses around the world are experiencing a pressing need to improve their efficiency and profitability. In this situation, giving the qualified welders at a workplace the option to automate low-profit operations and focus their efforts on more profitable jobs makes a real difference, [..]
toast0 4y ago
Flat pack sheds out of plastic exist and aren't too expensive. I don't see how you're going to get cheaper by 3d printing vs molded plastic. Simple structures don't need a whole lot of finesse and can be built from wood parts cheaply (subject to wood costs, of course) too. Prefab sheds and small barns are available at most home stores too. Most of the labor for a house comes from finish work which 3d printing doesn't cover anyway; it's a boondoggle for the most part.
jelliclesfarm 4y ago
https://www.concretewinetanks.com https://www.concretewinetanks.com : we even have concrete wine tanks and fermenters now. Google ‘egg shaped fermenters’ https://www.bibendum-wine.co.uk/news-stories/articles/wine/whats-the-point-in-concrete-eggs/ https://www.bibendum-wine.co.uk/news-stories/articles/wine/w... I am also thinking that it would work for distilling..Altho not concrete but more like clay extruders.

jelliclesfarm 4y ago

+ https://3dprint.com/292186/saint-gobain-launches-parametric-3d-printed-stairs/ https://3dprint.com/292186/saint-gobain-launches-parametric-... [..] As with bridges, people seem to have a particular affinity for 3D printed stairs. With good reason: aside from just being eye-catching structures, the ability to print things like bridges and staircases could be a significant factor determining the long-term success of the additive construction sector. Although stairs produced via additive manufacturing (AM) are becoming more commonplace lately, there’s still something quite unique about the latest such project, launched by Saint-Gobain: they’re engineered with parametric design. The project reduced CO2 emissions by 50 percent and construction time by eight weeks, compared to traditional methods.

aristofun 4y ago

How exactly do you expect a 3D printing of something already dead simple/cheap to build to be more cost effective? Any particular examples you have in mind maybe

jelliclesfarm 4y ago
Let’s take city infrastructure or parks. There is a ton of concrete projects. Enclosure fencing instead of wood panels. Garages…vertical parking spaces..stadiums..steps/stairs etc.
- aristofun 4y ago
  Yes, but did you analyze the costs? I wonder where’s the profit here
  - jelliclesfarm 4y ago
    This reminds me of what I hear in small scale Ag all the time when a need for agtech is presented. Of course, exploitation of dirty and repetitive manual labour is going to be cheaper. Of course, burning through natural resources to keep jobs is always going to be cheaper than creating systems that don’t go obsolete or making sure we spend money to renew resources. At this point in our civilization, we have to ask … what IS the point of new technology? Is it to better improve our world and make leaps? Or use technology to support an artificial construct called ‘money’ that accumulates in few hands. Time to free technology. It should work FOR us. Instead we are gaslit into believing that it is something that we serve. When we consider profit motive for everything, tech becomes a collar that makes workers out of almost all of us.
    - aristofun 4y ago
      I am all in. But the market doesn't care about these sentiments if you can't compete with status quo.
      - jelliclesfarm 4y ago
        Wrong. Only the market that exploits labour. For example, I just finished reading the article about WeldingDroid in Norway: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/denmarks-weldingdroid-automate-welding-tanks-used-food-grouleff https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/denmarks-weldingdroid-automat... : Denmark's WeldingDroid to automate welding of tanks used in food production in Norway Citing profits to continue exploiting cheap labour in lieu of installing new technology doesn’t happen everywhere. Slavery in plantations was profitable. Nobody can justify it today. And yet there are supporters of minimum wage and dangerous jobs just because it’s not institutionalized slavery. This here is the key: [..]Faced with rising wage costs and increasing prices of both raw materials and freight, not to mention a widespread shortage of qualified welders, many manufacturing businesses around the world are experiencing a pressing need to improve their efficiency and profitability. In this situation, giving the qualified welders at a workplace the option to automate low-profit operations and focus their efforts on more profitable jobs makes a real difference, [..]

toast0 4y ago

Flat pack sheds out of plastic exist and aren't too expensive. I don't see how you're going to get cheaper by 3d printing vs molded plastic. Simple structures don't need a whole lot of finesse and can be built from wood parts cheaply (subject to wood costs, of course) too. Prefab sheds and small barns are available at most home stores too. Most of the labor for a house comes from finish work which 3d printing doesn't cover anyway; it's a boondoggle for the most part.

jelliclesfarm 4y ago

https://www.concretewinetanks.com https://www.concretewinetanks.com : we even have concrete wine tanks and fermenters now. Google ‘egg shaped fermenters’ https://www.bibendum-wine.co.uk/news-stories/articles/wine/whats-the-point-in-concrete-eggs/ https://www.bibendum-wine.co.uk/news-stories/articles/wine/w... I am also thinking that it would work for distilling..Altho not concrete but more like clay extruders.