Summary Reader Response Draft #3

ICON’s website, aptly titled “Technology” (n.d.), introduces the Vulcan Construction System, a 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) construction system that operates through unifying hardware, software, and construction materials. Vulcan is a gantry-based, large-scale construction-use 3D printer. Designed to be transported quickly and assembled on-site, as reported by Yashar et al. (2023) for their work with NASA, it is capable of printing volumes up to 38 thousand cubic feet without needing to be repositioned. Magma is a portable factory that dries, hydrates, and adjusts the mixing formula for Lavacrete in real-time based on site conditions. Once ready for printing, Lavacrete is then supplied from Magma to Vulcan. Lavacrete is a proprietary high-strength cement-based material, designed for use with Magma and Vulcan, with compressive strength rated at 2000 - 3500 psi. Lastly, BuildOS is a collection of software products that makes up ICON’s operating system, boasting CAD and print planning capabilities, as well as real-time machine learning and predictive analytics through interfacing with Vulcan and Magma, assisting workers in controlling and refining the printing process.

Over the past few years, housing projects built using the Vulcan Construction System have showcased advantages against conventional housing construction methods in the United States, with lower overall construction costs and shorter construction time. Though, the system at present cannot build multi-story buildings due to being height-limited by its gantry system.

The Vulcan Construction System reduces overall construction costs through savings on material use, as well as lowering labor requirements. A study on 3D-printed housing by Abdalla et al. (2021) finds that while the lifecycle cost of a 3DCP construction system contributes to over 80% of expenditure increase, the exclusion of steel, concrete and formworks found in conventionally constructed concrete housing resulted in 49% of construction materials savings. The study thus concludes a 3D-printed house boasts “78% reduction in the overall capital costs when compared to conventional construction methods.” A paper by Abou Yassin et al. (2019) provides simulation data showing that in the first month of a construction project, while 3DCP construction costs are initially 9 times higher than conventional construction costs due to machine purchase cost, 3DCP costs will eventually be half of conventional costs by the tenth month, due to lower maintenance and operation costs with 3DCP construction, and compounding labor costs over time associated with conventional construction. Indeed, ICON’s first 3DCP project in 2018, Chicon House, saw concrete walls printed for the project costing 10,000USD (Bauguess, 2018; Lee, 2018). While not reflective the full construction cost of Chicon House, the average cost of residential ground up construction in Texas was 266USD/square-foot in 2021 (Builders United, 2021), indicating an average cost of 93,100USD when scaled up to 350 square-feet, the floor area of Chicon House.

In addition, ICON has repeatedly shown through their projects completed with the Vulcan Construction System that 3DCP construction significantly shortens construction time in comparison to conventional construction, with the Chicon House having its concrete walls completed in 47 hours of cumulative print time (Bauguess, 2018). Their subsequent 3DCP project in Tabasco, Mexico saw the completion of two 500 square-foot homes, each of their walls completed in 24 hours of cumulative print time (Bauguess, 2019). ICON’s system extrudes concrete layers that harden enough within 30 minutes to support the subsequent layer, without the need for formworks (60 Minutes, 2023), thus allowing the system to print continuously. Abdalla et al. (2021, p. 5) also notes in their study “…the construction time frame of the 3D printed house was approximately 2 weeks, whereas the conventionally built house was 4 months…” The United States Census Bureau (2021) corroborates this conventional time frame, as for single-unit residential buildings built in the South in 2021, 56% were completed within 4 to 6 months, while only 12% were completed within 3 months or less.

However, the Vulcan Construction System cannot build multi-story buildings due to being height-limited by the gantry. At present, the system can only print up to heights of 10.5 feet (ICON, n.d.). As such, for East 17^th Street Residences, a residential development in East Austin comprising of four 2-story homes, ICON could only print concrete walls for the first floor, while the walls on the second floor consist of timber and metal cladding (Keighran, 2021). In comparison, Apis Cor, a competing company in the 3DCP construction space, utilizes a robot-arm based 3DCP system that can print for multi-story buildings, with their system having built a 31 feet tall, two-story building in Dubai, the world’s largest 3D printed building by volume to date (Meisenzahl, 2019; Guinness World Records, n.d.).

In conclusion, the Vulcan Construction System, like many 3DCP systems, are battle-proven in the construction industry, its benefits to the residential construction pipeline evident from successful development projects over the years. While the system has built-in weaknesses due to its design, given the prominence of single-story residential housing in the US, it most likely will remain a strong contender for future 3DCP projects in the United States.

(821 words, in-text citations inclusive)

 

Reference List:

60 Minutes (2023, October 11). 3D printing homes on Earth, someday the moon | 60 Minutes [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXUX6dv2_Yo

Abdalla, H., Fattah, K. P., Abdallah, M., Tamimi, A. K. (2021). Environmental Footprint and Economics of a Full-Scale 3D-Printed House. Sustainability, 13(21). https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111978

Abou Yassin, A., Hamzeh, F., Al Sakka, F. (2019). Agent based modeling to optimize workflow of robotic steel and concrete 3D printers. Automation in Construction, 110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2019.103040

Bauguess, B. (2019, December 11). ICON + New Story + ECHALE Unveil First Homes in 3D-Printed Community. ICON. https://www.iconbuild.com/newsroom/icon-new-story-echale-unveil-first-homes-in-3d-printed-community

Bauguess, B. (2018, March 12). The Chicon House. ICON. https://www.iconbuild.com/projects/chicon-house

Builders United. (2021). TEXAS - CONSTRUCTION COST PER SQUARE FOOT. https://buildersunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/TX-Q3-2021.pdf

Guinness World Records. (n.d.). Largest 3D-printed structure (volume). Retrieved February 17, 2024, from https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/397929-largest-3d-printed-structure

ICON. (n.d.). Technology – ICON. https://www.iconbuild.com/technology

Keighran, M. (2021, August 31). America’s First Development of 3D-Printed Homes Hits the Market in Austin, Texas. Dwell. https://www.dwell.com/article/east-17th-street-residences-3d-printed-housing-development-icon-3strands-ef421760

Lee, D. (2018, March 15). 3D-printed homes turn sludge into shelter. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-43411581

Meisenzahl, M. (2019, December 31). This building in Dubai is the largest 3D-printed structure in the world — and it took just 3 workers and a printer to build it. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/dubai-largest-3d-printed-building-apis-cor-photos-2019-12

United States Census Bureau. (2021). Percent Distribution of New Privately Owned Residential Buildings Completed in Permit-Issuing Places in 2021 by Number of Months from Start [Data set]. https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/pct_start_to_comp_2021.pdf

Yashar, M., Glasgow, C., Mehlomakulu, B., Ballard, J., Salazar, J. O., Mauer, S., Covey, S. (2023). Mars Dune Alpha: A 3D-Printed Habitat by ICON/BIG for NASA's Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA). Earth and Space 2022 - Space Exploration, Utilization, Engineering, and Construction in Extreme Environments, 976-984. https://ascelibrary.org/doi/epdf/10.1061/9780784484470.082