Author Topic: D-Shaped 3D Printer Big Enough to Print Houses  (Read 1619 times)

Offline sanman

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D-Shaped 3D Printer Big Enough to Print Houses
« on: 02/25/2012 12:19 am »
Enrico Dini's large D-shaped 3D printer is big enough to print a 2-story home:

http://www.gizmag.com/d-shape-3d-printer/21594/

Well, I guess other people are starting to steal USC Prof Behrokh Khoshnevis' thunder.
« Last Edit: 02/25/2012 12:22 am by sanman »

Offline A_M_Swallow

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Re: D-Shaped 3D Printer Big Enough to Print Houses
« Reply #1 on: 02/25/2012 12:45 am »
That company needs to find a customer that desires large complex shapes in stone.

Can a version be developed that prints in regolith?  Locally made Lunar and Mars buildings may reduce the mass from Earth.

A machine that can print metal may be able to make fuel tanks and airframes.

Offline Blackjax

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Re: D-Shaped 3D Printer Big Enough to Print Houses
« Reply #2 on: 02/25/2012 01:04 am »
That company needs to find a customer that desires large complex shapes in stone.

Can a version be developed that prints in regolith?  Locally made Lunar and Mars buildings may reduce the mass from Earth.

A machine that can print metal may be able to make fuel tanks and airframes.

Printing metal is a well established technology:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_laser_sintering

Offline sanman

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Re: D-Shaped 3D Printer Big Enough to Print Houses
« Reply #3 on: 02/25/2012 02:02 am »
That company needs to find a customer that desires large complex shapes in stone.

Can a version be developed that prints in regolith?  Locally made Lunar and Mars buildings may reduce the mass from Earth.

A machine that can print metal may be able to make fuel tanks and airframes.

I was thinking that maybe the most practical approach for regolith might be to first reprocess it into a superior material (eg. a cement) and then feed it to the big 3D printer.

I'd imagine that with lunar building materials, you'd be very concerned about porosity and the exfiltration/escape of gas from the interior. So maybe you'd want to mix in some additives/binders/etc that prevent that.


Printing metal is a well established technology:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_laser_sintering

E-Beam Melting may be superior. Arcam is the leader in that field.

http://www.arcam.com/

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