Chinese Firm 3d Prints Entire Villa

• Proeksa Meas
• 31 December 2015
• Construction Focus
• 1626 Views

Last March, Shanghai firm WinSun Decoration Design Engineering caused a sensation when it printed the components for 10 houses in a single day.

Now, Global Construction Review reports, it has achieved another world first by printing an entire villa measuring 1,100 sqm, and not only that, but a five-storey apartment building, as well.

The firm unveiled the structures at a press conference in Suzhou, China on 18 January.

According to GCR, the villa was commissioned by Taiwan real estate company Tomson Group, and cost US$161,000 (a million yuan) to print and assemble. Ten of these villas have already been pre-ordered.

WinSun’s technique uses an exclusive printing ‘ink’ made of recycled construction waste, glass fibre, steel, cement and special additives. The print machine is 6.6m tall, 10m wide, and 150m long. “This is the world’s first continuous printing 3D printer, and the largest 3D house printer in the world,” Ma Yi He, CEO of WinSun, told reporters.

WinSun estimated that 3D printing technology can save up to 60 percent on building materials, cut build time by up to 70 percent In addition, labour costs are slashed by up to 80 percent, it says, adding that the method does away with the noise, dust and chaos generated by traditional building methods.