3D Printer Builds Large Home in Texas

3D Printer Builds Large Home in Texas

A huge 3D printer is working to create what is believed to be the first two-story home built with the technology in the United States.

The home is currently¹ taking shape in Houston, Texas. The 3D printing machine working on the project weighs more than 12 tons.

The 3D printer is using concrete to produce the home, which will be about 371 square meters. Some parts of the home will also have wood elements. Leaders of the project said the process is expected to take about 330 hours of printing.

Leslie Lok is the architect who designed the three-bedroom home and who leads the design studio HANNAH.

Lok told Reuters news agency² that in the design process, the team had to think about more than the design of the house and how it would be used. "We also design the actual print path, like how the printer will print, where it starts and where it stops," Lok said.

The project is a two-year cooperative³ effort by HANNAH, building company PERI 3D and CIVE, which provided⁴ engineering⁵ support.

Lok said since the printer does most of the work, fewer workers are needed at the building site. She said the effort only requires four to five people to oversee⁶ the 3D printing process.

Lok said: "One of the benefits is also, it takes a lot of the heavy lifting, the labor⁷" from human workers.

Concrete is a very strong material to use in home building and can survive hurricanes, heavy storms and other severe weather.

Roberto Montemayor is the project leader for PERI 3D Construction. He told Reuters the large 3D printer operates in much the same way as the small printers used in homes and offices. But there are two main differences.

The first is that the home-building 3D printer can be expanded and changed to fit the needs of any size project, Montemayor said. The other difference is the material it uses. "We are printing here with concrete, which is a completely different material than plastic."

The home is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023. The builders say they hope the modern method can be used in the future to build even larger housing⁸ structures. They said the technology can also build homes faster and for a lot less money.

A growing number of American companies have begun offering homes built with 3D printing technology in recent years. But so far, the homes being offered are much smaller.

The startup company Icon⁹, based in Austin, Texas, made news in 2018 by completing the first permitted 3D printed home in the U.S. At the time, it said the home had been built in just one day.

Words in This Story

3D (3-dimensional) –adj. having height, width¹⁰ and length

story –n. a level or floor of a building

concrete – n. a hard, strong material that is used for building and made by mixing cement¹¹, sand, and broken rocks with water

architect – n. a person who designs buildings

benefit – n. a good result or effect

1 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

2 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

3 cooperative   

adj.有合作意向的，合作的；n.合作社（企业）等

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• We decided to set up a cooperative.我们决定开办一家合作社。

4 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

5 engineering   

n.工程，工程学，管理，操纵

参考例句：

• The science of engineering began as soon as man learned to use tools. 人类一学会使用工具,工程科学就开始了。
• It was the first great engineering works in the world. 这是世界上第一家大型的工程工厂。

6 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。

9 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

10 width   

n.宽度，阔度，广度；宽阔，广阔

参考例句：

• The hall is 15 metres in length and 8 in width.这个大厅直里有15米，横里有8米。
• Use a rule to measure the width of that cloth.用尺子量一下那块布的宽度。

11 cement   

n.水泥；胶结材料；vt.粘结；巩固

参考例句：

• We need 100 tons of cement at most for this project.这项工程满打满算有一百吨水泥就足够了。
• Let's cement the parts together.咱们来把这些部件粘接在一起吧。