this post was submitted on 30 Nov 2023
106 points (94.9% liked)

3DPrinting

14875 readers
14 users here now

3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.

The r/functionalprint community is now located at: [email protected] or [email protected]

There are CAD communities available at: [email protected] or [email protected]

Rules

If you need an easy way to host pictures, https://catbox.moe may be an option. Be ethical about what you post and donate if you are able or use this a lot. It is just an individual hosting content, not a company. The image embedding syntax for Lemmy is ![](URL)

Moderation policy: Light, mostly invisible

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 22 points 7 months ago (3 children)

It's definitely overhyped.

Maybe not completely a gimmick - you can actually build functional walls with it. But it is nowhere near replacing traditional construction in terms of cost or time.

Personally, I don't see this process ever getting easier. Concrete pumping is a nasty, complicated and error-prone business. Once you mix concrete it is immediately starting to cure - you have a very limited amount of time before it turns into rock inside the printer. Just think about trying to pump a thick fluid with the density of stone - every part of the system is always on the edge of clogging up. It's an impressive technical feat that any of these projects actually completed their walls, but none of the advertising videos are showing you how much micromanagement is being done to keep the printers working.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

You can't see it getting any better? Has history not shown new technologies can change in ways unknown to the original inventors?

[–] overzeetop 2 points 7 months ago

I don't; at least no in our lifetimes (I'll call that 50 years). I've been an engineer in the building industry for 25 of my 35 professional years, and I've watched multiple "disruptive" technologies progress and mature. 3D printing may very well become a useful tool for complex building geometry in certain niche markets but it will not take over any substantial part of the building industry during the life of any adult today. And I say that as someone who has helped new technologies to market, done design for nearly every (non-3d printed) material around (cordwood, straw, timbercrete - hell, I had a guy call me who wanted to build a garage out of 400 surplus 19" aluminum server racks he got at an auction).

3D printed walls will go right up there with geodesic domes, hyperbolic parabaloid concrete, and (as much as I hate to say it) structural insulated panels. It's not that there is anything wrong with it, or the other methods I mention, it will simply not achieve mass adoption due to a combination of appearance and cost competitiveness of the finished product.

[–] Red_October 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I mean, 3D printing itself was just a gimmick, some niche little curiosity that didn't have any practical use. Things improve, new use cases emerge, times change.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

Sure, but 3D printings greatest advancements have been opening up new engineering possibilities, not replacing old refined and efficient ones.

3D printed complex structures for cooling systems, or molecular structures are things we couldn’t do before. Or printing small batches of rare parts or prototypes that would otherwise require injection mold design and fabrication are great advancements.

We don’t have any problems building houses fast. It’s all financial (capitalistic) and social problems that are making home ownership hard right now.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

It's definitely overhyped

Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.