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Careers – ICON
Career Opportunities
Career Opportunities
Benefits & Perks
ICON is a truly exceptional place to work.
We are as passionate about the success and experience of our team members as we are about our mission to shape the future of homebuilding.
We offer comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, FSA & HSA.
We offer generous family and parental leave for growing families.
Enjoy our “Use What You Need” time away from work policy.
Includes employee stock options, 401K, and Roth IRA retirement programs.
Daily lunch, snacks, and beverages are provided in-office and on-site.
“We believe that to address the global housing crisis, something radical and courageous needs to happen. To make dignified, resilient and sustainable housing accessible for all and to develop space-age construction systems, we are rapidly building a creative, bold, and diverse team. ”
Jason Ballard / ICON Co-Founder / CEO
Join Team ICON
You’re not just building your career, you’re helping build the future of human shelter.
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- Director, DOD Research and Development Programs
- Application Test Engineer
- Project Manager, MEP Systems
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Technology – ICON
Vulcan Construction System
Meet Vulcan
Our Home-Sized
3D Printer
Designed and engineered from the ground up for volume 3D printing of homes with precision and speed.
Designed and engineered from the ground up for volume 3D printing of homes with precision and speed.
| Total Width | 46.5 feet |
| Total Height | 15.5 feet |
| Weight | 9500 lbs |
| Voltage | 230/240 V residential single phase |
| Print Height | 10.5 feet |
| Print Width | 36.5 feet |
| Print Length | Infinite |
| Print Speed | 5-10" /sec |
| Material Mixing & Pumping | Magma System |
| Material Input | Lavacrete |
Vulcan Construction System
Meet Vulcan
Our Home-Sized
3D Printer
Designed and engineered from the ground up for volume 3D printing of homes with precision and speed.
Vulcan Construction System
Print SuiteRobotics + Software + Materials
The Vulcan construction system is a combination of hardware, materials, and software to construct homes and large-scale structures. Every part of the system has been designed, engineered, and built from the ground up at ICON to build the highest quality homes possible.
The Vulcan construction system is comprised of the Vulcan printer and the Magma portable mixing unit that prepares ICON’s proprietary building material, Lavacrete, for printing. All of this hardware is driven by our BuildOS software suite. BuildOS generates and prepares architecture for printing, then controls the robotic hardware on-site to turn digital plans into physical homes.
Vulcan is a large-scale, construction 3D-printer that prints entire homes on location. The printer is designed to be rapidly transported to build sites, then moved quickly from site to site. Vulcan prints directly on the ground or a poured slab.
A portable factory that feeds a Vulcan printer on location. Magma ingests dry Lavacrete, hydrates, and then adjusts the formula in real time based on the conditions at the build site itself. Once material is mixed, Magma pumps the Lavacrete to Vulcan for printing.
Lavacrete is a proprietary material created by ICON’s material science team to be both highly printable and incredibly strong. Lavacrete has gone through rigorous testing and development yielding an extremely durable building material.
A collection of software products, BuildOS creates digital architecture and then helps control the robots that turn those designs into physical buildings. BuildOS software spans multiple device interfaces to accelerate construction through high-precision, parametric architecture for ICON’s construction operations.
Vulcan
Robotic ConstructionThe Vulcan is our third generation, large-scale 3D-printer system for additive construction.
The current Vulcan system is 1.5x larger, 2x faster than our previous generation and capable of printing homes and structures up to 3,000 square feet without relocation. The Vulcan can produce resilient, single-story homes faster than conventional methods and with less waste and more design freedom.
- Vulcan Size 15' x 46'-6"
-
Build Volume 10'-6" x 38' x 100'
Magma
Mix MasterMagma is a smart, portable factory that feeds a Vulcan printer with material to print a home. Intelligent and working in perfect sync with a Vulcan printer on-site, Magma takes the guesswork out of complex, high-performance cementitious material.
The Magma system feeds Vulcan printers with ICON’s advanced cement-based material, Lavacrete. Using any of ICON’s proprietary Lavacrete blends, the Magma system mixes Lavacrete, additives, and water automatically, depending on current site weather conditions, then supplies the ready-to-print Lavacrete to the Vulcan. Think of Magma as an extremely smart print cartridge, super-sized for home construction.
Weather and environmentally aware, a Magma unit adjusts & mixes ICON’s Lavacrete material in real time for the best possible material.
Build OS
Digital NativeICON’s digital operating system controls every aspect of print operations via an intuitive, simple, and beautiful user interface.
The BuildOS system translates floor plans into print jobs and then directs both Vulcan and Magma, using real-time data down to the millisecond to produce the highest quality printed structures in the world.
From its powerful CAD and print planning to enable machine learning and predictive analytics for Vulcan robots, this advanced software brings construction into the 21st century.
ICON’s digital operating system controls every aspect of print operations via an intuitive, simple, and beautiful user interface.
The BuildOS system translates floor plans into print jobs and then directs both Vulcan and Magma, using real-time data down to the millisecond to produce the highest quality printed structures in the world.
From its powerful CAD and print planning to enable machine learning and predictive analytics for Vulcan robots, this advanced software brings construction into the 21st century.
Materials
Rock SolidScience
Materials
Rock SolidScience
ICON’s Lavacrete can be printed at high speeds while retaining form, enabling homes to be built faster while keeping construction projects on schedule and on budget.
Lavacrete, a high-strength concrete, boasts a compressive strength of 2,000 - 3,500 psi. In structural tests, ICON's wall system exceeded building code design requirements by more than 350%.
ICON’s Lavacrete can be printed at high speeds while retaining form, enabling homes to be built faster while keeping construction projects on schedule and on budget. Lavacrete, a high-strength concrete, boasts a compressive strength of 2,000 - 3,500 psi. In structural tests, ICON's wall system exceeded building code design requirements by more than 350%.
Read an article about the first 3D printed houses?
3D printing has been used in construction for several years now. In this article, you will learn about the first real houses printed on 3D printers.
3D printing of houses is still quite new to the layman. While construction 3D printing technologies have been developed for many years, only a few "real" projects have already seen the light of day.
We are still far from technology taking over conventional construction methods. But with each new project, she is getting closer to becoming mainstream. nine0005
There are many benefits to 3D printing. For example, the cost of a 3D printed house can be much lower. And it will take much less time to build.
In order to draw a line under what has already been achieved in this area and show some interesting projects, we have devoted an article to the "first" and the best. These projects will always remain milestones in the construction 3D printing industry as they set the stage for future advances in the field.
First 3D printed house in Germany
Germany is a country often associated with cutting edge engineering, so let's start our list with Germany's first ever 3D printed house.
The house itself is located in Beckum, a city that is partly located in North Rhine-Westphalia, next to Holland and Belgium. This is the first 3D printed house to be fully certified to official building codes.
This project will give way to many other 3D printed construction projects in Germany as well as the rest of Europe. nine0005
The project is the result of a collaboration between German construction company Peri and Danish construction 3D printing firm COBOD. Peri is a large corporation that operates not only in Germany, but throughout the EU. Its portfolio includes many products, including scaffolding and formwork solutions that every construction site needs.
Peri followed the construction 3D printing segment for years before acquiring a stake in COBOD in 2018. Now they are pushing the technology together and further. The construction of the house in Beckum began two years after the acquisition of the share. nine0005
For 3D printing at home, a BOD2 modular 3D printer from COBOD was used. The printing itself took just over 100 hours.
• Built: (started) September 17, 2020
• Commissioned: summer 2021
• Where: Beckum, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
• By: Peri, COBOD
First occupied 3D printed home in the US
Several homes have been printed in the US, but this home is the first officially occupied home, according to CNN.
Its creators: the construction company Alquist and the humanitarian organization Habitat for Humanity Peninsula. nine0005
From a distance, you might think that this is an ordinary house. However, when approaching it, the layered structure of the concrete walls becomes noticeable. After all, 3D printing creates an object in layers.
Surprisingly, the 111.5 square meter concrete structure of the house (was printed in about 12 hours, significantly faster than traditional construction methods would allow.
The house was reportedly purchased by April Springfield, who lives there with her son and dog She bought the house through Habitat for Humanity's housing program, and given that the nonprofit's goal is to help solve the global housing crisis, it makes sense to use 3D printing to create affordable homes that will make many people's dreams of home ownership come true.0005
• Built: 2021
• Commissioned: December 22, 2021
• Where: Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
• By: Alquist 3D, Habitat for Humanity Peninsula, Greater Williamsburg
The first five-story 3D printed house
This project, made by the Chinese company WinSun, is a real record holder.
It is a 3D printed five-story residential building with a height of 10 meters - the tallest 3D printed building so far.
The house is located in Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu province in eastern China. It stands next to a mansion that was also built by WinSun using a concrete 3D printer.
Looking at the WinSun designs, you can't help but notice that they don't look like they've been 3D printed. Usually 3D printed structures are gray in color, the layer lines are clearly visible. But WinSun adds color and makes walls smoother. Nowhere is it stated how the company achieves the smoothness of the walls, but we assume that the workers smooth them by hand. WinSun projects are not like the ones we're used to. nine0005
• Built: Winter 2014
• Commissioned: Not specified
• Where: Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
• By: WinSun
First 3D printed biodegradable house
Can you guess that there is rice in the walls of this house?
Most 3D printed buildings are made from concrete mix.
But this project is different from the rest. With the aim of creating housing solutions with little to no environmental impact, Italian company WASP 3D printed Gay's house using soil and agricultural waste. nine0011 WASP developed the sustainable blend in collaboration with Ricehouse, a company that specializes in using natural and agricultural materials such as clay and rice in construction.
The house is named Gaia in honor of the ancient Greek goddess of the earth. In fact, 25% of the mixture contains local soil, 10% hydraulic lime, 25% rice husks and 40% crushed rice straw (a by-product of rice production at harvest).
An innovative solution not only in terms of material, but also in the design of the walls themselves. The specific corrugated structure was used to provide ventilation on warm days as well as insulation on cold periods, virtually eliminating the need for air conditioning. nine0005
Gay's house is small - about 20 square meters. The wall printing took only 10 days, while the estimated materials cost is just under $1,000.
• Built: not specified
• Commissioned: October 7, 2018
• Where: Massa Lombarda, Ravenna, Italy
• By: WASP, Ricehouse
AirBnB's first 3D printed house
The perfect weekend getaway.
You can find many different types of accommodation on AirBnB, but what about a 3D printed home? nine0005
The so-called Fibonacci house is the first 3D printed house to be offered for booking through AirBnB. Considering that it is located in rural British Columbia, it will be a wonderful place to stay.
Although the Fibonacci house looks small, it has a lot to offer vacationers. About 35 square meters is enough to accommodate up to four people.
The concrete walls of the house were designed and printed by Dutch 3D printing firm Twente. 20 concrete parts were produced offsite in just 11 days. The material was produced by Laticrete. The parts were later transported and assembled at their current location. nine0005
• Built: 2020
• Commissioned: Not specified
• Where: Kootenays, British Columbia, Canada
• By: Twente Additive Manufacturing
First 3D printed houseboat
Prvok is not only the first 3D printed house in the Czech Republic, but the world's first floating 3D printed house on a pontoon.
The project was implemented by the start-up company Scoolpt. The concrete structure of the houseboat took only 22 hours to print. nine0005
Approximately 43 square meters of living space divided into bathroom, bedroom and living room with kitchen. Weight isn't usually discussed in the context of houses, but given that this one is on water, it's interesting to note that Prvok weighs 43 tons.
The house is equipped with a built-in recirculating shower and tanks for drinking and municipal water and has a service life of at least 100 years.
• Built: June 2020
• Commissioned: August 18, 2020
• Where: Prague, Czech Republic
• By: Scoolpt
Europe's first 3D printed residential house
Not every 3D printed house has visible line layers.
More often than not, 3D printed houses are demos made to show what the technology can do. For most of them there is no information about the actual residents. But in 2017, the couple did move to live in a 3D printed house located in Nantes, France.
Thus, the house of "Yanov" became the first of its kind, which was inhabited in Europe. nine0005
The house is a project of the University and the Laboratory of Digital Sciences of Nantes. An interesting aspect of the project is the special technique used in its construction by BatiPrint3D. Instead of 3D printing a concrete structure, the robotic arm created wall shells using polyurethane, a material used for insulation. Later, these membranes were filled with concrete.
It took a total of 54 hours to print. It took a little over 4 months to complete the construction. Mainly due to the fact that the rest of the components were created using conventional means. House area - 95 square meters.
• Built: 2017
• Commissioned: March 2018
• Where: Nantes, France
• By: University of Nantes, Nantes Digital Science Lab
India's first 3D printed house
This building was built in a couple of days.
India's first ever 3D printed house was completed back in 2020.
The project was carried out by construction startup Tvasta, founded by graduates from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. In fact, the institute's Chennai campus was chosen as the location of the building. nine0005
The significance of this project lies in its possible impact on the solution of the housing crisis worldwide and in India in particular. The ability to build such a house within a few days and at a low cost cannot be underestimated.
House 55.7 sq.m. with a spacious layout, one bedroom, combined kitchen and living room.
The concrete structure of the house was 3D printed off site and the parts were later transported and assembled on campus. The foundation, meanwhile, was built using the conventional method of pouring concrete into the ground. nine0005
• Built: 2020
• Commissioned: Not specified
• Where: Chennai, India
• By: Tvasta Construction
Africa's first 3D printed house
Back in 2019, in the Moroccan city of Ben Guerir, Spanish firm Be More 3D created Africa's first 3D printed house.
The project originated during the team's participation in the Solar Decathlon in Africa. This is an international competition during which teams design and build solar-powered houses. nine0005
Be More 3D printed house 32 sq.m. in about 12 hours, took first place and received the title of the most innovative startup.
Be More 3D didn't stop building in Africa and later created the first 3D printed house in Spain and developed its own concrete 3D printer in partnership with several corporations from the automation and materials industries.
• Built: 2019
• Commissioned: Not specified
• Where: Ben Guerir, Morocco
• By: Be More 3D
First 3D printed home for sale in the US
Last on our list is the first 3D printed home for sale in the US.
This house was printed in the same place by SQ4D, a company specializing in the development of robotic building systems. The building was printed with SQ4D's Arcs concrete extrusion system and has a 50-year warranty on the printed structure.
Living area of 130.7 sq.m. with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. There is also a garage for 2 cars. nine0005
The house was listed for sale in January 2021 for $299,999. Considering the size of the house and the fact that it is priced 50% below the cost of comparable newly built houses in the same area, the deal is pretty good.
• Built: 2020
• Commissioned: 2021
• Where: Riverhead, New York, USA
• By whom: SQ4D
Translation source: https://m.all3dp.com/2/first-3d-printed-house/
On our website you can choose and order a construction 3D printer for both building construction and small building forms. To do this, go to the catalog of construction 3D printers. nine0003 "Tsvetnoy Mir" is a reliable supplier of 3D printers with many years of experience, supplying directly from manufacturers and guaranteeing their quality.
ICON - 3D Technology
Automate the construction of a 3D printed concrete wall using a lintel gripper
MDPI licensee, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is in the public domain and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). nine0005
Abstract
Developments in the field of automation of building processes, observed in recent years, are aimed at accelerating the construction of buildings and structures. Additive manufacturing using concrete mixes is one of the most promising technologies in this regard. 3D printing of concrete allows you to create a structure by extruding a mixture layer by layer. However, the mixture initially has a low load transfer capacity, which can be especially problematic in the case of external components that need to be placed on top, such as precast lintels or floor beams. This article describes the application of additive manufacturing technology in the manufacture of a building wall model in which the doorway was finished with an automatic lintel installation. The study adjusts the wall design and printing process, taking into account the rheological and mechanical properties of fresh concrete, as well as Eurocode design requirements.
The article shows that the process can be accurately planned and how stress growth in fresh concrete can be modeled depending on the strength level developed. The conclusions drawn from this study will be useful in the design of larger civil structures. In addition, the adverse effects of concrete shrinkage on structures are also presented along with appropriate control methods. nine0005
1. Introduction
The fact that the fourth industrial revolution has already occurred is stated in various sources [1]. It was defined in terms of integrating intelligent machines and systems and making changes to manufacturing processes aimed at increasing productivity and making changeovers more flexible. The changes brought about by Industry 4.0 are not only about technology, but also about new ways of working and the roles of the people involved. In particular, further developments will have an impact on areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of things, additive manufacturing, nanotechnology and materials engineering.
The above technologies initiated the development of innovative solutions in the construction industry [2,3,4,5], which are associated with the digital processing of new materials and technologies and automated construction of buildings and structures [6]. XNUMX]. nine0005
Researchers are focusing on additive manufacturing technology, which could completely change the way construction is done using concrete and cement mortars. With this approach, the mixed material is dosed precisely to predetermined locations through the print head nozzle. The print head moves in three-dimensional space along a programmed trajectory, building the designed structure layer by layer [3]. Various types of 2D printers are used, including Cartesian robots [3], robotic manipulators [7,8,9] and delta robots [10,11,12]. With the help of this technology, several objects have already been manufactured both for demonstration purposes and for practical use [13,14]. In most cases, wooden formwork was used over the door and window openings to support the fresh concrete laid [15,16,17,18,19, 20,21,22,23, 1, 24] (Figure XNUMX).
However, printing presses can also be used to erect prefabricated elements, including lintels, floor beams, and other structural elements [XNUMX]. In these cases, the printer must be equipped with appropriate grippers capable of handling such components. nine0005
The use of wooden formwork for the production of building elements using additive manufacturing technology: ( a ) ICON print wall [20], ( b ) Be More 3D startup construction [21], window opening of a 3D printed building WASP [22], ( d ) SQ4D house printed on a 3D printer [23].
In the additive manufacturing of structures, it is of paramount importance to balance the increase in load caused by additional printed layers and the increase in strength of the layers already applied during the curing process. From this point of view, it is important to determine the appropriate extrusion rate, which allows to obtain sufficient strength for each layer by the time the print head returns to its original position, the layer must withstand the load created by the applied layer.
upstairs. nine0005
The task of 3D printing is to obtain a mixture with the desired rheological properties [3,25,26,27,28,29,30,31, 3, 3,25,26,30,31,32, 26, 32, 0.3, 0.9, 27, 4.77]. Due to the lack of standards for assessing the suitability of mixtures for 33D printing, many research centers have developed their own methods [60]. Blends are evaluated for extrudability, composability, flow, open time; i.e., parameters important for a proper printing process. Different research groups have used different approaches to evaluate the load-bearing properties of a fresh mix. Le et al. [35] evaluate the rheological properties of high-strength concrete using the shear blade test, which determines the shear strength. Blends with a shear strength in the range of 34 to 35 kPa are suitable in terms of extrudability and buildability. Another group [60] is evaluating the suitability of the mixture for shape stability testing, which determines the deformation of a cylindrical sample at a stress of 120 kPa in a compression test.
Another approach simulates the printed layer in tests [32,34,35,36]. A cylindrical sample with a diameter of XNUMX mm and a height of XNUMX mm was loaded with a load at certain intervals, reflecting successive layers printed in a real structure. The test allows you to determine the time after which the layers fail under the action of the load. Some of these, similar to those used in soil mechanics testing, have also been applied, including the [XNUMX] uniaxial unrestricted compression test and the direct shear test. In the [XNUMX] study, a cylindrical sample with a diameter of XNUMX mm and a height of XNUMX mm was used for the study. Numerical models are also being developed to predict the change in stress and strain values of individual layers of a structure as a whole over time [XNUMX]. nine0005
Considering that formwork can be up to 35–54% of the total cost of erecting a concrete structure [30,37,38,39]. The use of additive manufacturing brings tangible profits. This not only allows structures to be produced without formwork, but also reduces overall production time, costs and labor.
The technology also improves the safety of workers on the construction site, produces less waste, and uses raw materials with a low energy content [30,39].
The purpose of this article is to present the additive manufacturing process for a scaled-down wall with a doorway, including lintel installation using a specially designed grip. During the study, the wall design and printing process are adjusted taking into account the rheological and mechanical properties of fresh concrete, while taking into account the installation process of the lintel. The article will demonstrate that the process can be designed with high accuracy, which is confirmed by simulation. nine0005
2. Materials, methods and experimental program.
2.1. 3D printer
The wall was built on a specially designed site, consisting of a 3D robot connected to a pumping module (Fig. 2, a). The mixture was extruded with a screw feeder (Fig. 2b) with a nozzle outlet diameter D = 20 mm. The movements of the printer and printhead were controlled by G-code.
The mixture was prepared in a laboratory mixer and fed to a pumping unit, from where it was fed through a hose to the printhead hopper. nine0005
100 Texas Hill Country Home Community
Located along the scenic San Gabriel River in the hills of Georgetown, Texas, the Wolf Ranch community of houses 3D printed by ICON in collaboration with Lennar is located in minutes from everything. This contemporary community combines the Texas Hill Country with access to the entire Austin metro area.
Explore the Genesis Collection at Wolf Ranch
Explore the Genesis Collection at Wolf Ranch
An innovative community of one hundred 3D printed homes built by ICON and Lennar, one of the nation's leading homebuilders, to code design by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, has eight floor plans, 24 façades, and will be powered by the sun with solar panels on the roof.
How We Build
The Future of Housing
ICON's 3D printed high-performance homes feature enhanced architectural and energy-efficient designs that highlight the resiliency and sustainability benefits of digital additive construction capabilities.
Delivered quickly and on a large scale using ICON Vulcan's fleet of robotic building systems, software and advanced materials, each home's complete wall system, including interior and exterior walls, is produced with less waste and with greater design freedom. nine0005
ICON's high-performance 3D printed homes feature enhanced architectural and energy-efficient designs that highlight the resiliency and sustainability benefits of digital additive construction capabilities. Delivered quickly and on a large scale using ICON Vulcan's fleet of robotic building systems, software and advanced materials, each home's complete wall system, including interior and exterior walls, is produced with less waste and with greater design freedom. nine0005
Robotic construction
We make the machines, materials, and software
That build our homes Construction-scale 3D printing not only makes it possible to build better homes faster and cheaper, but printer parks can change the way entire communities are built for the better .
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Branch Technology 3D Print Building Walls with World's Largest Freeform 3D Printer - Launches 3D Printed House Contest
3D printing is a technology with more potential than most of us realize. The reason is that it is a manufacturing process that is capable of the smallest detail and complete customization, unlike anything seen in more traditional manufacturing and construction methods. Over the past couple of years, we've seen 3D printing at both small and very large scales, and everything in between.
We have seen 3D printed microscopic objects and entire 3D printed buildings made using computer code, various materials and state of the art equipment that we call 3D printers. nine0005
Very few in the construction industry are paying attention to the potential of 3D printing. While architects and builders around the world are finally realizing that 3D printing may one day enable faster construction methods, reduced labor and ultimately cost savings, very few have been brave enough to actually business to proceed to this unknown land.
For one man named Platt Boyd, he was one of the few who recognized the fact that the future of 3D printing in architecture and construction is too profitable to pass up. In this world, there are those who lead and those who follow. Leaders usually make a name for themselves, eventually becoming CEOs of multinational corporations or world-famous inventors and going down in history as world-changing innovators. These are Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk from all over the world.
If Boyd gets his way, his name could end up joining these people in history, and that story can only begin today. nine0005
"Branch Technology, a Chattanooga, Tennessee startup, announces today that it is the first company to successfully build building walls to scale using the world's largest free-form 3D printer," Christina Bronner told 3DPrint.com from DCI (marketing). "The company is also announcing that it will be sponsoring the world's first 3D printed home design competition starting in September and culminating in a $10,000 prize and building a 3D printed home in Chattanooga." nine0005
Branch Technology will officially announce itself at today's GIGTANK Demo Day, a startup event in Chattanooga. This announcement will also include the fact that Branch has become the first company to successfully build full-sized building walls with its large robotic arm 3D printer. These are not just typical walls. These walls are a modern version of yesterday's musty and stagnant architecture that has barely evolved over the past few decades.
The latest developments have only been made possible by 3D printing technology. nine0005
Over the past few months, Branch has been able to create some intricate 3D printed display pieces of his walls. These walls are based on natural forms, combining lightweight architecture with heavy-duty construction.
"It combines art and functionality and I'm excited to see how it will change the way we think about the spaces we live and work in," explains Sean Thorne of Branch Technology. "We can't wait to show you what the end products could look like." nine0005
The process for printing these building walls is called Cellular Fabrication™ (C-Fab™) and uses Branch's patented freeform 3D printing technology that uses a large KUKA robotic arm to print objects in open space rather than confined areas, as seen on more traditional portal 3D printers. This is much faster and allows you to create virtually unlimited build volumes when using a special algorithm to print very complex geometries without any requirement for support material.
nine0005
"Branch Technology opens up a new era in construction," the company explains. “Nature has unlimited creativity. Likewise, Cellular Fabrication™ provides virtually unlimited design freedom with cost-effective building materials. As a result, all building projects – every home, every office – can enjoy the freedom of cost-effective design.”
The branch is currently focused on designing and 3D printing unique interiors, as well as exhibition structures and art installations, but in the near future they plan to use C-Fab to 3D print large load-bearing and exterior walls, and also entire buildings. nine0005
Also today, the company is announcing a $3,000 10,000D printed house design competition in which they will ask designers and architects to come up with a 3D printed house design. The winning design will be printed on a 10,000D printer in Chattanooga and the winner will receive a cash prize of $10,000.
It will certainly be interesting to follow this story as design ideas emerge and new products are produced.
