In Brief

3D Print a New House in Just a Few Hours

News
By
published
3d-printed-house
These 3D-printed houses were built in a matter of hours. (Image credit: 3ders.org)

Gone are the days when building a house required months of hammering wall studs, screwing floor joists and other backbreaking tasks. If a company in China has its way, a new house can be yours in a matter of hours, thanks to a their 3D-printing technique.

Shanghai-based WinSun has devised a method of 3D printing its patented reinforced gypsum panels and cement building components, most of which are composed of recycled construction waste. This makes the small houses not only inexpensive (about $4,800) and quick to assemble, but very eco-friendly.

Like most 3D printers, WinSun's immense printers lay the materials down layer by layer, building up as they go. The materials are designed to readily accept plumbing, electrical lines, insulation and windows after the walls and roof are assembled. WinSun hopes its 3D-printing technology will offer "affordable and dignified housing" to poor neighborhoods.

Follow Marc Lallanilla on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. 

TOPICS
Marc Lallanilla
Marc Lallanilla
Live Science Contributor
Marc Lallanilla has been a science writer and health editor at About.com and a producer with ABCNews.com. His freelance writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and TheWeek.com. Marc has a Master's degree in environmental planning from the University of California, Berkeley, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin.