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I don't see a problem with printing plumbing. Just switch from concrete to PVC for the tubes. Electric wires might be a bit tricky to "print". But I can imagin

I don't see a problem with printing plumbing. Just switch from concrete to PVC for the tubes. Electric wires might be a bit tricky to "print". But I can imagine a machine that inserts the wires into the right places... One day, you'll print a house with curtains and wooden floor included.

asuffield 12y ago
If you could build a 3d printer that could lay down PVC pipes to heating/hot-water spec, that would revolutionise construction in the way that a concrete printer seems unlikely to do. If you could do walls/floors/plumbing/electrics in one machine in one pass, it would change the world in ways that are hard to imagine - this would completely change the economics of construction projects. Nobody's done those yet, sadly. They seem difficult things to design.
- mathgladiator 12y ago
  Yet is the key word.
klunger 12y ago
While it might be possible to print PVC pipes that are waterproof at the same level of reliability as traditionally manufactured ones, this seems rather overly optimistic. Bringing in pre-made pipes will probably be required for quite some time, before the printing technology is reliable enough for that.