3D printed Cob homes...

The biggest expense/obstacle to the masses wanting a cob home is the cost/labor expenses.

I am predicting that this will be what brings cob to the masses. Would make them cheaper than current building practices. I know that NASA wants to do something like this if they ever try to settle Mars.


https://homes.yahoo.com/blogs/spaces/3d-printing-homes-223421156.html

Cool ! They have a couple of youtube videos too.





And their website says that they are working on a Pyrolytic stove ! How about a printed rocket stove core!!

Miles Flansburg wrote:

And their website says that they are working on a Pyrolytic stove ! How about a printed rocket stove core!!

That would be really cool and should be easier than building a home even.

How cool would it be to use CAD software to design/or select a home based on your climate and needs. Then just set the thing up and press the print button and walk away. With CAD software you would instantly know how strong and efficient a home is without ever building it. If you have earth quakes then design that into it. If you want a micro climate to grow oranges in a cold region... design a sun trap into the wall.

And here is the guy who built a small castle out of cement.



He is looking for other people to work with. Somebody needs to get him to try cob !

I'm not sure how I feel about "manufactured" cob homes. Half of cob building fun is the customized and imperfect designs. I like that no 2 cob homes are the same.

I'm not sure this would work well with cob. The method seems to require fluid material, and if cob is fluid enough to use I see it sagging significantly before it dries (unless laid down painfully slowly for this technology). Also, much of the strength comes from interlocking straw, which would not be possible with extrusions as the video shows.

Glenn Herbert wrote:I'm not sure this would work well with cob. The method seems to require fluid material, and if cob is fluid enough to use I see it sagging significantly before it dries (unless laid down painfully slowly for this technology). Also, much of the strength comes from interlocking straw, which would not be possible with extrusions as the video shows.

It is hard to say what the tech. will be like in the end. However, I do know that they are talking about being able to print a new arm onto ppl some day. That would freak me out a little. Even if they didn't take it that far... mixing in some straw with mud should be doable.

Even if the maching went slow( I assume it would too... like you) then the labor costs would still be wiped. Which, is what makes cob out of reach. There is the overhead costs of the machine though. So all of that would have to be worked out and refined over time. Just like the clalculator.

The WASP group has now created a working 40ft 3D printer tower...

http://www.businessinsider.com/wasp-builds-40-foot-3d-printer-to-build-clay-homes-2015-9