Today it is difficult to say who first thought of trying to print an apartment house on a 3D printer, but it is already clear that in the near future 3D printing technology will become an integral part of the construction business.

At the beginning of the 2000s, several independent groups of scientists began research into the use of 3D printing technology in construction.

Engineers from China, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands worked hard, tirelessly. It is possible that in a couple of years everyone can buy a 3d printer for building houses in the retail market. So far, these are just conjectures.

Let's dwell on the results already achieved.

A house on a 3d printer is a myth or a reality?
A group of engineers from the British University of Loughborough, working under the guidance of Dr. Sungu Lim, managed to create a unique cement composition that allows printing products of any shape: convex, corner, curved, cubic.

Researchers refused to use the technology of laser sintering and digital processing with light. Instead, they returned to the origins of 3D printing in the face of a somewhat modified layer-by-layer technology.

The improved cement formula is laid by the extrusion method, which makes it possible to simplify construction work considerably, since the need for formwork is eliminated. Ready-made concrete figures are easily amenable to adjustment and finishing works.

The experiments of the British engineers did not pass without a trace. Their idea aroused the keen interest of scientists from the University of Southern California. They suggested using huge machines for 3D printing directly on construction sites.

At the moment, a project called Contour Crafting was sent to the US Patent Office, on the basis of which it is planned to assemble a huge printer that can print houses in assembly: not only bearing walls, but also wiring with plumbing.