Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Contour Crafting extrudes iber-reinforced cement from a nozzle
Currently, Contour Crafting can build a structure that's about 7 feet high,
23 feet long, and 15 feet wide. Behrokh estimates that his printer can build at
the rate of about one square foot of wall in less than 20 seconds. To lay down
thick streams of cement lines in seconds, the Contour Crafting robot has two
swiveling trowels that smooth out each layer of concrete as it's printed.
Right now, the Contour Crafting technology can't embed vital infrastructure
into its raw concrete such as pipes and electrical wiring. Someday, however,
more sophisticated construction tools could be added to join the two trowels
that aid the printer. For example, an additional robotic “pipe layer” could lay
pipes into the hardening cement.
One of science-iction author Bruce Sterling's famous quotes was, “Just as ter-
mites build castles on Earth, robots could erect skyscrapers on the moon.” With
space travel in mind, NASA has funded several of Behrokh's robotic construction
research projects as a possible method for building structures in outer space.
Behrokh envisions someday constructing structures on the moon and Mars,
and closer to home, providing emergency and low-income housing on earth.
On the other side of the Atlantic, outside of Pisa, Italy, Enrico Dini, an Italian
designer and architect, has devised a computer-guided, 3D printing construction
method that uses sand and an inorganic binder to create artiicial sandstone.
Sand is one of the most commonly available raw materials on the globe. Enrico
describes his printed creations as smooth and marble-like, cool and hard to the
touch. He named his construction printer the “D-Shape robotic building system.”
