1. Introduction 

Houses are always being built and the process of building those homes takes a lot of time and money. 3D-printed houses could bring down the cost of labor and lower the time of construction. “The new home will be slightly larger at 1,500 square feet and will feature three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a garage. It is listed at just under $299,000, about half the price of a comparable newly built home in the area”. DianaOlick. (2021, February 25). You can now buy a 3D-printed home – here’s a look inside. CNBC. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/25/you-can-now-buy-a-3d-printed-home-heres-a-look-inside.html. 

1.1 Problem Statement

3D printers are capable of creating 3D objects in a short timeframe and creating shapes that are impossible to be obtained through any other existing technology. A major disadvantage of 3D printing is its high cost since there’s not much development on the variety of the material that is suitable for the 3d-printer The limited material causes the actual price of the materials to be higher than the traditionally manufactured houses/building and also sometimes, the 3D printed objects building quality is lower than if it had been traditionally manufactured. Also since the material of 3d printed houses/buildings are concrete and other filaments the house/building will lack the ability to obtain pressure and form slab cracking by tree roots, soil displacement, earthquakes, frozen ground, etc. due to the properties of the material concrete and lack and insufficient testing about the strength of the other filaments of the 3d printed house will harder to let the 3d printed house to be sustainable housing options for other people¹¹.  Furthermore, the layer-by-layer fabrication approach(shown in the figure below) should be reconsidered for applications for the structure building. In many materials and techniques, this leads to significant anisotropy in strength and ductility, due to poor bonding between layers, limiting the efficacy of printed parts¹². So the engineers, designer, and accountant will conduct research and tests on the strength of these filaments and the data will be collected and will be compared to eliminate the materials that aren’t strong enough and have high costs to be used to build/print houses. And also develop more structural ways to build a 3D-printed house.

1.2 Background 

Since the first 3d printed house was in 2021, it has become apparent that 3D-printed houses are the future (Wikipedia 2021). Costing considerably less than the conventionally constructed house, the 3D-printed house serves as an affordable housing alternative to conventional housing. That is why we have decided to create a 3d printed company dedicated to 3d-printed housing. 

The 3d printer involved in the 3d printed houses are massive, ranging from 30 feet in height and length, and utilizes a nozzle to shoot out concrete and a robotic arm to control where the concrete ends up. (All3dp, year). The way this mechanism works is the 3d printer is first set up in an enclosed space, usually the same as the dimensions of the printer itself. Then the design of a 3 bed, 2 bath, 1 garage 1500 square feet house that is made on the computer is sent to the 3d printer itself, which then begins to print the design onto the enclosed space, thus resulting in the formation of the house. The cost of the printer is 180,000 to 1 million dollars and the cost of the concrete is $5.40 – $6.40 per square foot. (home guide).

1.3 Needs Statement

In its current state, the technique of 3D printing houses is aiming to innovate a new way to build houses and other structures. These houses need to be built with a strong foundation and must also be able to withstand the weather conditions of the areas they were built. For us to gain knowledge and better. To develop the materials used when 3D printing, we needed funding/investment. These funding/investments can be used to hire more engineers and researchers and purchase types of equipment that can conduct tests and research on materials/filaments to find the best solution to this limitation. There may also be better ways to create the structure of houses to reduce the time it takes to build houses. 

1.4 Objective

We aim to develop more sustainable materials/filaments for 3D print homes that encourage creativity in the design process while having increased durability. These advancements will also enable our team to create more affordable homes in large numbers for people looking to own a home. This will allow the new generation to become homeowners faster and help break the gap between renters and homeowners. Having homes 3D printed can reduce the amount of waste made when constructing a house. This will also allow stronger and more precise homes to be built with different types of materials. Our Mission is to allow cheaper, faster, and better alternatives to making houses all around the world.

2.  Proposed Technical Approach

In this project, we need technical staff including the house designer to use computer software like AutoCAD to build the prototype of the house on the computer to be ready to be printed. Construction contractors to obtain the permits like NB permits (New Building permit) and Engineers to obtain the New York State licensed Professional Engineer (PE) or Registered Architect (RA) and they can help our team to set up the construction site of the 3d printing house. We also need a Sourcing Agent/Buying Office, they can be responsible for our purchasing including equipment, materials, shipping company, space rental, etc… We also need mechanical engineers to conduct research and tests on these houses built with the materials we choose to in terms of its ability to contain the pressure and the time it needed to be finished. And finally, we need an accountant for calculating the costs of these materials and houses.

2.1 Requirements

-Research of the damage and effects of immense forces caused by hurricanes, tornados, blizzards, and other natural disasters can be done towards the 3d printed houses needs to be completed

-The obtaining of permits needs to be done

-Test and research the durability and strength of these materials under the immense forces caused by hurricanes, tornados, blizzards, and other natural disasters 

-The setup of the 3d printer needed to be correct and safe so that no worker is injured 

-The funds for purchasing materials/filament for the 3d printer and hiring technical staff are needed

2.2 Architectural Design

The project will start with the layout of what the client wants in their house like size, layout, rooms, bedrooms, height, and more by the house designer in our team. The blueprint will then be submitted to contractors and engineers and make sure the design can be built safely and accurately. If there are any issues with the build it will go back to the designer so changes can be made until it meets certain specifications and standards.

Then contractors and engineers will set up the space to let the house be built. First, the 3d model built in the AutoCAD are being extracted, and then the 3D model is then sliced into thin layers and each layer is assigned a specific path for the printer to follow. The 3D printer bed is set up in the place where the structure will be printed and the bed is heated with a thin layer of adhesive, its purpose is to let the house/structure stick to the bed during printing. The 3d printer extrudes the melted filament through a small nozzle, layer by layer, following the path. The material cools and solidifies as it is deposited, creating the final object. 

2.3 Implementation Design

-describe the steps that will be taken to complete the project

Step 1 will be to talk with a design team that will gather information about how you want the houses to look from the outside and all the materials we will need for the specific location. After that is done you will pick out the size and how many rooms you want inside the house. After that is complete, we will begin by laying out the template based on the design given to us by the architects.

Step 2 will be to plan out how we will be transporting all of our needed staff, (Construction workers and maintenance team), and all of our equipment such as the 3D Printer and the materials we need for the 

-who will be working on what

Architect/design team – Create the schematics for the house design and layout.

Researchers/engineers – Identity what materials are needed for building the house to withstand arctic or tropical weather. 

Maintenance team – First, assemble the 3D Printer, then monitor the printer for repairs while operating. 

2.4 Quality Assurance Plan 

The OSHA standards will be applied to this project to ensure that the people involved in this project will be safe while working and be able to work in safe conditions. Furthermore, we will set strict regulations for workers to follow while the 3d printer is being set up and being used so that no worker is injured. These regulations would be that specialized engineers would do the 3d printer assembly to minimize errors and injuries and no one would be permitted to enter the region where the 3d printer is printing so no one can get injured inside the printer. 

To ensure the quality of the house we built, we will run simulations of the final house on programs that simulate immense forces caused by hurricanes, tornados, blizzards, and other natural disasters. Furthermore, once the 3d printing is done, engineers will carefully inspect the house for cracks, breaks, or weak spots on the house to ensure complete structural integrity and no errors in the printing. Finally, we will check if any water or other types of fluids have broken into the house anywhere to prevent current and future structural damage caused by the constant flowing of these fluids. 

2.5 Schedule

The delivery of the 3d printer will take about a week to arrive in NYC. Upon arriving, it will then take another week to fully set up the 3d printer in the area that it needs to be in to build the house along with getting all the necessary materials ready for the printer to use. After that, it will take the printer approximately 45 days to complete printing the house in its entirety. Following this, the safety inspections will take another 3 days and another week will be needed to dismantle and remove the 3d printer from the location of the house. 

3. Expected Project Results 

– We expect that our project will develop a material/filament that is suitable and sustainable for the 3d printed houses with worthy costs.

– We expect that our team of engineers will ensure the quality of our 3D-printed houses that will enter the housing industry.

3.1 Measures of Success 

The benchmarks that will show if our project was a success would be if the house that is printed is properly standing and the same as the intended design created on the computer. Furthermore, we will know if the project is a success if the house that is printed is structurally sound and has no cracks or damage. The house must be able to withstand immense forces from natural disasters and stand to be a success. 

3.2 costs

• It is $590,000 for the 3d printer (including transportation fees).
• The cost of a house after it is completed is sold for about $235,000 for 1,280 sq. ft 
• The cost of concrete is $5.40-$6.40 per square foot. 
• The salary of the engineers in charge of safety inspection is $68,000 annually.
• The salary of the engineers in charge of setting up, using, and dismantling the 3d printer is $50,469.