3D printers can now create houses out of mud
Produced by Italian 3D printer company WASP, the giant, three-armed printer was demonstrated at Maker Faire Rome recently.
While there are currently 3D printers out there that can quickly construct houses, this model is special as it can be assembled on site within two hours, and after that filled with mud and fiber to construct exceptionally low-cost dwellings in a few of the most remote places on Earth.
WASP CEO Massimo Moretti described to Make:, the magazine that produces the faire, that this allows designers to work more carefully with natural forms, instead of the square-shaped block homes that common brick residences are made from.
The mud that goes inside the printer first requires to be mixed with another natural fibre, such as wool, to help bind it together, creating a rough paste that can then be ejected into the wanted shape, sort of as though you were icing a cake.
Although they might not look like much, these houses can be approximately 3 metres high, and when dry produce a difficult and sustainable shelter for individuals in rural or impoverished locations. Instead of conventional foundations, the ones developed by the WASP printer at the Maker Faire Rome utilized skillfully developed layers of the mud mix to make the walls strong.
"While no strategies are officially in location, Moretti mentions that the very first WASP house may take place next year in Sardinia, due to the accessibility of wool, used as a fibrous binder in the printer's mud, for the job," writes Mike Sense for Make.