This 3D printer can print a BUILDING

The World’s First Printed Building (from blueprintmagazine.co.uk)

The printing process starts with a thin layer of sand. The printer then sprays the sand with magnesium-based glue from hundreds of nozzles, which binds the sand into rock. That rock is then built up layer by layer, eventually taking shape of whatever object it is destined to become, be it a curvy sculpture or an entire cathedral. Dini has even been talking with La Scuola Normale Superiore, Alta Space and Norman Foster to design a printer that would work with moon dust, essentially creating a machine that can make an almost-instant moonbase! (source)

Too cool, I especially like the assembly line aspect that can create parts that can be slapped together, put something like this on the moon "printing" buildings out of moondust and we might have our first moonbase.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/f721e7aa60c7.jpg[/atsimg]

Interview with designer here; (and more pics)
3D printing buildings: interview with Enrico Dini of D_Shape

ps: sorry this is a bit dated, its from last March

Cool story, but this whole "printing" metaphor has been stretched too far. Just because these machines have a superficial similarity to ink jet printers, doesn't make them "printers".

These are computer controlled material sprayers that work in 3 dimensions. They don't "print" anything - they spit out liquid materials that soon solidify for the purpose of constructing objects in layers.

These have about as much in common with an ink jet printer as they do cement trucks.

This is actually a rapid prototype machine made at a much larger scale. This technology is going to be the foundation of a lot more interesting things in the near future.

in the 90s I worked for an electro-components manufacturer that had a pretty cool prototyping machine for fab'ing auto-parts. It would begin with a block of resin that would get "sculpted" by lasers in 3 dimensions to become a physical prototype of a part before any production was ever conceived of it.

I'm sure things have come light-years since then but it was very cool back in the day

I find this amazing.

I cant believe that this guy has been trying to get financial backing for his prototype for years without any joy, I would expect some of the the big corporations to be all over this, museums spending millions to reproduce ancient works that have disappeared thousands of years ago. archaeological organizations printing lost relics for human kind to relish for years to come maybe even printing pyramids!

What about evolutionists spending millions on ancient human skeletons to study or ancient creatures and dinosaurs.

How about religions replacing statues and parts of churches, tombs and cathedrals that have deteriorated with time.

Forget building on the moon, lets build a new moon already equipped with cities and launch it into orbit.

The possibilities are endless, I am sure if I had a spare million or two I would be backing these two guys all the way.

Thanks for the link to the article OP, whether or not it is actually printing is not the point. It is a true marvel of artistic and scientific ingenuity.

S+F

Regards S_G

The office I work at (in the A&E industry) looked at getting a 3D printer for knocking out models but it was just to expensive, compared to say, hiring an intern (or two). This thing'll probably find a niche market manufacturing large-scale shapes too difficult to produce by hand, but otherwise.... (it does have a wow factor going for it though).

Z Corp. has been making 3D printers, 3D scanners, and prototype systems for a while now. I was introduced to them about 6 or 7 years ago and was considering buying one for my engineering class. Seems like a useful tool to help demonstrate orthographic projections of objects.

you can buy a small one.
and you can biuld more.
but some parts you can not print off.
yes print.
what you print to a sheet of paper is one laer,
do 10,000 and you have 3D

Originally posted by harrytuttle
Cool story, but this whole "printing" metaphor has been stretched too far. Just because these machines have a superficial similarity to ink jet printers, doesn't make them "printers".

These are computer controlled material sprayers that work in 3 dimensions. They don't "print" anything - they spit out liquid materials that soon solidify for the purpose of constructing objects in layers.

These have about as much in common with an ink jet printer as they do cement trucks.

Sorry, but I have to dis-agree with most of what you said. Especially the cement truck comparison.

have a superficial similarity

There is nothing superficial about it. The internal mechanisms which drive the process work very much like a printer. Well, plotter to be more precise. I almost said CNC, but I think that is more an art of sculpting from a block of material.

These are computer controlled material sprayers

So is a print head.

they spit out liquid materials that soon solidify for the purpose of constructing objects in layers.

Ink is just a "liquid material" jetted out onto and mostly absorbed by piece of paper. A laser jet printer does as you said "solidify for the purpose of constructing objects in layers". The melted toner is just little dots though.

They can't take a 'cement truck' and pour out a building.

I have a friend who's finishing up his dual Electrical Engineering/Physics degree who owns a 3D printer (obviously not one big enough to make buildings). He got it with the intention of making PCB's. Not sure if he's done that yet, but he's certainly managed to print of a whole range of other random bits and pieces. It's a neat machine to watch in action, really.