Author 1: jacob.alvear@stonybrook.edu
Author 2: priya.shahi@stonybrook.edu
Author 3: pedro.l.rodrigues@stonybrook.edu.
Word Count: 506
A start up company on Long Island plans to build an experimental home this March that is nearly 1500 square foot using 3D printing in Riverhead, with hopes to land a certificate of occupancy.
With test prints outside the firm’s office and smaller models of house structures, S-squared is making improvements to advance designs to their own anti-corrosive 3D printer from the art concept to the finished prototypes, which has been in construction for two years. The printer is able to print interior and exterior walls of an eco friendly house layer by layer.
“We’re looking to go green. This concrete can be torn down, ripped to shreds and then reused on roads or other houses,” Bob Smith, a design engineer for S-squared said.
The company is looking to get metal roofing done, so the heating and solar panels can be built right into the roof. Additives and coatings are being applied to the cement formula to enhance water repellency and fire resistance when printing structures of the house. Extra columns are also being attached inside the wall passage ways for heating ventilation and air-conditions to make the house air and water tight.
“Houses made out of wood and drywall mold suck in water, so we’re trying to build longer lasting homes,” Kirk Anderson, an engineer who has been with S-squared for one year said.
While 3D printers have been around for 20 years, the company plans to perfect the the technology and turn it into a regular construction style.
“There are competitors,” Andersen said. “We aren’t the first, but we are going to be the best at it. Our machine is proven to be more accurate and of easier use. It’s a race right now and we’re looking to lead it,”
The cost of manufacturing a home using a 3D printer is roughly 60 to 70 percent less than a current construction cost. S-Squared claims the autonomous machine can lay down a cookie cutter house, a 1500 sq feet house, in a set amount of hours.
“The cement formula takes about 7 days to reach full strength, so after a week it can be worked on without any damage done to the shell or structure,” Smith said. “After that, the roofers, the electricians, and plumbers are free to go in. So within less a month’s time, we can complete a house.”
The company’s greatest obstacle is getting certified for improved construction. The 3D printing of homes is brand new. Adapting to the federal and local process of building a home with 3D printing can mean new rules and regulations.
“The town of Riverhead has been gracious enough to invite us with open arms to build an experimental house up there. They don’t just want a structure, they want a house. They want to us showcase a piece out there,” Smith said.
Louis Walker, a former architect, says he never worked with companies that were involved in 3D printing.
“I think companies overall are leaning more towards modular homes where you can get better steel quality for windows and doors, and it also reduces cost is a lot,” he said.
S-Squared is expanding their manufacturing by selling their 3D printers.
“Bob and his partner Mario made the design and the first prototype to schools and libraries,” Norman Borter, an intern at S-Squared said.
The anti-corrosive 3D printer made out of aluminum and stainless steel that can print out a cookie cutter house, 1500 sq foot house, in a set amount of hours may lead the firm into larger projects in the near future. Construction workers, like Eddie Nunez, a worker at the 831 Construction Corporation in Medford, thinks 3D printing is part of the future.
“I think it’s (3D printing) a step in the right direction if it ends up working out.” he said.
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