Russia’s Betonator has manufactured a 3D printer and intends to print its first private house of 120 square meter next spring, Alexei Fedoseev, company owner and CEO, told Invest Foresight. It will not be the first house in Russia created through the use of additive technologies. Still, Fedoseev’s company is the first in Russia which produced a 3D printer capable of printing large houses.
Why aren’t all houses printed yet?
Three years ago international media reported about houses printed by construction 3D printers in Shanghai, Amsterdam and, more recently, Dubai. Everybody was impressed by the speed of creating such edifices, in merely few hours. But 3D printing is not widely used in construction industry yet. The problem is the limited areas of printing. In Russia, Spetsavia sells construction printers. One of its customers built a private house (of some 300 square meters) in Yaroslavl in 2017. The overall process, though, lasted for almost two years, and the walls of the building were made of printed blocks. In 2016, Irkutsk-based Apis Cor printed a house of 32 square meters in Stupino (Moscow Region). No more houses created with the help of additive technologies have been made in Russia since then.
“In Russia, 3D printers are made by mechanical engineers, not construction engineers, therefore these printers do not fully take account of the conditions at a real construction site”, Alexei Fedoseev explains. He runs a construction business. Few years ago he visited a 3D printers exhibition and decided to produce a large 3D printer of his own to print a house.
Improving 3D printers
Betonator printer was manufactured in Russia. It has an adjustable reproducible area. The device is placed right on the foundation of a future building or on floor slabs, thus allowing to adjust the building’s width and length according to the customer’s requirements. Betonator is capable to print walls right above the foundation. A construction 3D printer uses concrete grout with some additives which is supplied through a special extruder. The width of a printed layer is 3 cm, but it may be adjusted for printing, for instance, cavity walls. If some bearing units are installed, a printer can be as large as required. The smallest printer is 6 by 6 meters weighing 500 kilos. It can be easily disassembled and transported and costs about RUR 3 mio ($53K).
3D printing eliminates a human factor in construction works and substitutes several technological processes. Such a printer can print not merely supporting walls, but communications such as vent ducts, exhaust flues, as well as fireplaces, tables, walling niche, etc. But the printer manufactured by Betonator is not able to print ceilings, wall insulation, glass and window frames. Those are manufactured by traditional means. Ceilings may also be printed separately. All other 3D printers function in a similar manner, though.
Project one
At the moment, the company has an order to print a private house of some 120 square meters in Pushkino county (Moscow Region). It will have two floors, and the basement for it is ready. But the walls will be printed in April only.
“The basement is already there, but a decision was made not to do printing in wintertime since 3D printing is a very delicate process. It is essential to have proper construction ink. Temperatures below zero are not right for concrete works”, Fedoseev explains.
The walls of the house will be printed within 24 hours at half cost compared to brick walls. If the house was to be constructed of bricks, the process would last for two to three weeks. Besides, when a house is printed, there is no construction waste left.
3D printing allows having walls of any shape and with any decorations. That is another reason why it is of interest to architects. Andrei Rudenko used a 3D printer of his own make to produce spiral columns for Lewis Grand Hotel in Philippines; Spetsavia printed domes for a church in Solonino village (Yaroslavl Region).
“3D printing would be ideal for Gaudi. It is a pity we did not coincide in time”, Alexei Fedoseev says.
Higher and larger
Betonator is not going to stop here. The company has designed a new 3D construction printer capable of printing three-storey buildings. Fedoseev is certain that printed houses will be in demand in the market. Still, he has not got half a million dollars to finance manufacturing the new printer. Until now, Alexei Fedoseev has funded the project using revenues of his other businesses, but now he considers an option of raising capital at an ICO.
Buildings of vast floor space and of over one storey can already be printed. 3D house printer P1 manufactured by Slovenia’s BetAbram can print a 144 square meters building of concrete. In 2014 China’s Winsun erected ten 3D-printed buildings within 24 hours; in 2015 Winsun constructed a five-storey building of 1100 square meters.
By Natalia Kuznetsova