Larry Haines, founder of Austin-based Sunconomy, said his company has partnered with San Francisco residential building company, Forge New, to develop a system called We Print Houses. It will allow them to create bigger homes. They use a unique mobile platform to which they attach a print head.
[...] They also use a specific building method, placing geo-polymer concrete on the inside and outside of a steel beam with insulation in the middle.
"That's how we're meeting code is by being able to insulate and get the structural strength and integrity from slab to wall from wall-to-the-roof system all in one," said Haines.
Ultimately, Haines wants to print a whole house, including the roofs and floors, and sell it, something he says has never been done in the country. He's already obtained the permit to build the first model home in Lago Vista, about 30 miles outside of Austin. Construction would take two months, and safety inspections would be performed similarly to those done with a traditionally built house.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Sunday February 03 2019, @08:35PM
If a half million dollars is a lot of capital for a contractor, he's not much of a contractor.
Debt service on a half million dollars is less than $50K per year, and $50K per year is less than the cost of one employee. Do you think this machine contributes more, or less than a single employee?
🌻🌻 [google.com]