A Texas startup says it will be able to use a 3-D printer to churn out a concrete house within days by year-end, a technology that has the potential to help solve housing shortages, writes The Wall Street Journal (March 12, 2019). The firm, Icon, says the printer can produce bungalows of up to 2,000 square feet, nearly as large as the typical 2,400-square-foot American home. A year ago, Icon built a 350-square-foot home in Austin using the new technology.
Still, home builders are likely to face skepticism about the look of the new houses, which are poured one layer at a time, producing walls that resemble the folds of a shar pei dog. The technology faces other practical hurdles. Scaling up the production and shipment of expensive and heavy machinery is formidable. Building homes in windy, rainy, hot or cold conditions presents another test.
The new 3-D printer is operated by a tablet and requires only a few people to run and supervise it. The 3,800-pound machine squeezes out a stream of concrete as though it is icing a cake. The machine replaces workers who frame a home and install sheet rock, insulation and exterior finishes. It also produces less waste than a traditional construction site, where a third of materials end up in the trash.
Icon said it costs about $20,000 and takes several days to 3-D print a 2,000-square-foot house. After factoring in the cost of land and other construction such as plumbing and finishes, it works out to a reduction of about 30% in total costs. In Austin, where the average home is roughly $400,000, Icon said it could make a home $120,000 cheaper. A 3-D-printed home could address real problems facing the industry. Construction costs have skyrocketed due to shortages of workers and rising material prices.
Classroom discussion questions:
- Why is the industry skeptical about 3-D printing’s widespread use?
- What are the advantages of the approach from an OM perspective?