An industrial and consumer 3D printing equipment developer reports completion of the world’s largest permitted project of its kind to date: A three-bedroom home whose foundation, exterior walls and interior partitions were printed in 48 hours over an eight-day window with temperatures in the 30s at a cost below $6,000. SQ4D Inc. deployed its Autonomous Robotic Construction System (ARCS) for the 1,900-sq.-ft., Calvern, N.Y. project.
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| SQ$D kept the ARCS feed rate at ~550 ipm for the project—under 50 percent of the maximum speed of 1,200 ipm as it was their first full-sized house printing. Previously, it completed a 500-sq.-ft. home in under 12 hours. |
ARCS is a gantry-style 3D printer whose shuttle guides a mix hose and nozzle along lateral and longitudinal paths, placing low slump mixes in beads or layers approximately 0.75-in. thick and 1.5-in. wide. Powered by patent-pending technology, the digitally driven system reduces labor to as few as three crew members by consolidating upward of 20 manual, labor-intensive processes behind the home structure and enclosure. Developers anticipate future print cycles to be half those logged in pilot projects. Completion of the world’s largest permitted 3D printed home, they contend, supports the SQ4D tagline: “Changing the way the world is built.” — SQ4D Inc., Patchogue, N.Y., 844/773-3669; www.sq4d.com