The Advanced Structures and Composites Center at the University of Maine (ASCC) took a novel and sustainable approach in 3D printing houses.
Brittany Chang/Insider
ASCC prints homes from wood waste instead of concrete.
Brittany Chang/Insider
The research and development center has its hands in diverse projects — from floating wind turbines to rebars — all with the goal of creating a sustainable future.
Brittany Chang/Insider
We’re not here today to discuss all the side quests of ASCC.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Instead, I visited the college’s campus on a cloudy afternoon in April to see its newest project: the BioHome3D.
Brittany Chang/Insider
ASCC revealed this project in November 2020 as the world’s first 3D-printed tiny house made from “biobased” materials.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Source: Insider
The center created the durable printing material by encapsulating wood residues from sawmills.
Brittany Chang/Insider
ASCC collaborates with a variety of industrial partners who specialize in pallet manufacturing throughout the US.
Brittany Chang/Insider
We’re all familiar with sawdust. If sawdust is further ground, it turns into cellulose nanofibers.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Combining nanofibers with a binder made of plastic can create a small collection of pellets.
Brittany Chang/Insider
The pellets are then injected into the ASCC 3D printer. According to the university, this is the largest polymer 3D Printer in the world.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Source: University of Maine
This printer essentially functions as a “glue gun with hundreds of settings,” Habib Dagher, the founding executive director of the center and principal investigator of this project, told me when I visited …
Brittany Chang/Insider
… turning the pellets into a printing material that acts like the “ink” of the printer.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Dagher would like to be able to produce the pellets and source the wood locally one day.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Maine’s wood waste is enough to build 100,000 homes per year, he believes.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Source: Insider
ASCC created the home using a modular, prefabrication approach.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Most companies print only the walls of the house, sometimes on site.
Icon
These modules were moved out of the building and then installed on a concrete base within a half-day using a flatbed.
Brittany Chang/Insider
After two hours, an electrician spent the rest of his time powering up the unit.
Brittany Chang/Insider
The center told Insider that the prototype home was not connected to the plumbing system because it is a prototype.
Brittany Chang/Insider
Now, it’s undergoing testing — including on the material and its ability to be recycled five times over — to determine what should be changed in the next home.
Brittany Chang/Insider
It’s safe to say that the home has survived Maine’s “extreme” winter, as described by Dagher.
Brittany Chang/Insider
0
0
