2 ms·

Maybe it's just the fact that I don't know anything about material science, but I am not sure I'd feel safe in a wood+resin house; this just seems like it's goi

Maybe it's just the fact that I don't know anything about material science, but I am not sure I'd feel safe in a wood+resin house; this just seems like it's going to end up as extruded particleboard, which I wouldn't even consider building a house out of it. Honestly, maybe they're getting better, but when I researched 3D printed houses about a year ago I was a little disappointed to see how little the 3d printing actually bought you. It still seemed like an awful lot of human labor was involved in the process, to a point where I'm actually not sure that the 3D printing actually saved time or money. There's a lot more to a house than the walls, but the 3D printer can't really help with anything but walls.

Mountain_Skies 2y ago
Reminds me a bit of the Shed-to-House projects or shipping container house projects that end up costing nearly as much as a site built home once all of the non-shell costs are added in.
- tombert 2y ago
  Yeah, that's what I was thinking as well. It's obvious why something like this would be appealing; stuff like shipping containers are abundant and cheap and modular, so it seems like a no-brainer, but I think a lot of people forget that building codes actually exist for a reason. You need a foundation if you don't want your home to sink, unless you want to larp as the unabomber you'll need electricity and plumbing installed, in the case of shipping containers there's a risk that the paints and metals inside there aren't really meant to be inhaled by humans for prolonged periods of time (which is not an issue if you're only in there for a few minutes a day to load and unload boxes, but might be an issue if your plan is to sleep there). There's a cool novelty to some of this stuff, and that might be worth it for some people, and I don't really want to tell people how to spend their money, but it just doesn't seem worth it to me. This isn't to knock prefab homes as a concept, there are plenty of really good ones and they're not necessarily overpriced, but those are basically still just regular houses with pre-cut and pre-measured materials, and there's no delusions that it'll lead to a house being built overnight.
bluGill 2y ago
Wood is cheap. I wouldn't be surprised if the materials of this are more than a wood frame plus labor to put it up. At least when I compare HDPE 2x4 to wood 2x4s the cost difference is massive.
- tombert 2y ago
  That's what I was thinking too! I am not super handy, but I have purchased pine 2x4's and plywood at Home Depot before and I do know roughly how much this stuff costs, and it's not expensive. While there could be, in theory, technically less human labor involved with the printing (though as someone who has spent way too much time fixing 3D printers after they break I'm skeptical of that), it might not actually save any time compared to just having a contractor or handyperson just do the actual labor.
pragma_x 2y ago
I agree on all points. I think where automation would really shine for this tech is to incorporate conduit, plumbing, doors, and windows to the wall construction. I'm imagining something like a massively scaled-up pick-and-place crane carriage on the printing gantry. So the print head sweeps out of the way, parts and other sub-assemblies get placed where needed, crane sweeps out of the way, then printing resumes.
- tombert 2y ago
  And maybe we'll get there, I'm not a complete luddite. If we can get the entire process automated (or at least most of it), I think it would get to the point of actually saving money (though I would still be a bit concerned with the material itself). If we could, if nothing else, get all the plumbing installed automatically I think that the value add of 3D printing might actually start being worth it. As it stands right now it kind of just feels like a novelty that doesn't actually save time or money.
throwaway173738 2y ago
I’m very concerned about how this stuff reacts with water. Based on the description it sounds like it’s essentially bakelite and it will naturally degrade into the environment with water and uv exposure.

Mountain_Skies 2y ago

Reminds me a bit of the Shed-to-House projects or shipping container house projects that end up costing nearly as much as a site built home once all of the non-shell costs are added in.

tombert 2y ago
Yeah, that's what I was thinking as well. It's obvious why something like this would be appealing; stuff like shipping containers are abundant and cheap and modular, so it seems like a no-brainer, but I think a lot of people forget that building codes actually exist for a reason. You need a foundation if you don't want your home to sink, unless you want to larp as the unabomber you'll need electricity and plumbing installed, in the case of shipping containers there's a risk that the paints and metals inside there aren't really meant to be inhaled by humans for prolonged periods of time (which is not an issue if you're only in there for a few minutes a day to load and unload boxes, but might be an issue if your plan is to sleep there). There's a cool novelty to some of this stuff, and that might be worth it for some people, and I don't really want to tell people how to spend their money, but it just doesn't seem worth it to me. This isn't to knock prefab homes as a concept, there are plenty of really good ones and they're not necessarily overpriced, but those are basically still just regular houses with pre-cut and pre-measured materials, and there's no delusions that it'll lead to a house being built overnight.

bluGill 2y ago

Wood is cheap. I wouldn't be surprised if the materials of this are more than a wood frame plus labor to put it up. At least when I compare HDPE 2x4 to wood 2x4s the cost difference is massive.

tombert 2y ago
That's what I was thinking too! I am not super handy, but I have purchased pine 2x4's and plywood at Home Depot before and I do know roughly how much this stuff costs, and it's not expensive. While there could be, in theory, technically less human labor involved with the printing (though as someone who has spent way too much time fixing 3D printers after they break I'm skeptical of that), it might not actually save any time compared to just having a contractor or handyperson just do the actual labor.

pragma_x 2y ago

I agree on all points. I think where automation would really shine for this tech is to incorporate conduit, plumbing, doors, and windows to the wall construction. I'm imagining something like a massively scaled-up pick-and-place crane carriage on the printing gantry. So the print head sweeps out of the way, parts and other sub-assemblies get placed where needed, crane sweeps out of the way, then printing resumes.

tombert 2y ago
And maybe we'll get there, I'm not a complete luddite. If we can get the entire process automated (or at least most of it), I think it would get to the point of actually saving money (though I would still be a bit concerned with the material itself). If we could, if nothing else, get all the plumbing installed automatically I think that the value add of 3D printing might actually start being worth it. As it stands right now it kind of just feels like a novelty that doesn't actually save time or money.

throwaway173738 2y ago

I’m very concerned about how this stuff reacts with water. Based on the description it sounds like it’s essentially bakelite and it will naturally degrade into the environment with water and uv exposure.