Architect Andrey Rudenko wanted to see how far he could push the boundaries of home building by constructing a 3D printer that could extrude half-inch lines of concrete. What he ended up with is this “small” castle (I thought at first it was a playset, but when you look at alternate angles, you can see it’s pretty big.)
The Minnesota man came up with the idea to 3D print a house two years ago, and in April started putting together plans to construct an entire house, but started with this castle. Doesn’t it take like a year to build a house the conventional way? I’d say less than four months for a castle is pretty impressive. And the visual effect of the layered concrete is impressive, too:
He’s moving on to creating an entire house with his printer, after making some adjustments based on the castle results.
My biggest priority is ensuring that the upgraded printer will be ready for the new project. My goal will be to print 24 hours a day until the project is finished. I’m also planning to print the structure in one piece; printing the castle turrets by themselves was a bad idea as they were extremely difficult to lift and place.
Since Minnesota winters are not as forgiving for laying concrete as its summers, Rudenko is looking for a warmer location to pull off printing an entire 2-story house. The 24-hour-a-day printing goal is less about setting some record for home building and more about aesthetics. The only defects you can spot in the castle walls are from where the printer had to stop and start. He’s hoping the round-the-clock process will create a seamless look.
I’m not sure if the different colored stripes of concrete are intentional or a side effect of mixing concrete at different times in different batches, but it sure is pretty.
Via 3Dprint via Engadget and Nerd Approved