3D Printer Builds Large Home in Texas
2023-01-19
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1A huge 3D printer is working to create what is believed to be the first two-story home built with the technology in the United States.
2The home is currently taking shape in Houston, Texas.
3The 3D printing machine working on the project weighs more than 12 tons.
4The 3D printer is using concrete to produce the home, which will be about 371 square meters.
5Some parts of the home will also have wood elements.
6Leaders of the project said the process is expected to take about 330 hours of printing.
7Leslie Lok is the architect who designed the three-bedroom home and who leads the design studio HANNAH.
8Lok told Reuters news agency that in the design process, the team had to think about more than the design of the house and how it would be used.
9"We also design the actual print path, like how the printer will print, where it starts and where it stops," Lok said.
10The project is a two-year cooperative effort by HANNAH, building company PERI 3D and CIVE, which provided engineering support.
11Lok said since the printer does most of the work, fewer workers are needed at the building site.
12She said the effort only requires four to five people to oversee the 3D printing process.
13Lok said: "One of the benefits is also, it takes a lot of the heavy lifting, the labor" from human workers.
14Concrete is a very strong material to use in home building and can survive hurricanes, heavy storms and other severe weather.
15Roberto Montemayor is the project leader for PERI 3D Construction.
16He told Reuters the large 3D printer operates in much the same way as the small printers used in homes and offices.
17But there are two main differences.
18The first is that the home-building 3D printer can be expanded and changed to fit the needs of any size project, Montemayor said.
19The other difference is the material it uses.
20"We are printing here with concrete, which is a completely different material than plastic."
21The home is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023.
22The builders say they hope the modern method can be used in the future to build even larger housing structures.
23They said the technology can also build homes faster and for a lot less money.
24A growing number of American companies have begun offering homes built with 3D printing technology in recent years.
25But so far, the homes being offered are much smaller.
26The startup company Icon, based in Austin, Texas, made news in 2018 by completing the first permitted 3D printed home in the U.S.
27At the time, it said the home had been built in just one day.
28I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1A huge 3D printer is working to create what is believed to be the first two-story home built with the technology in the United States. 2The home is currently taking shape in Houston, Texas. The 3D printing machine working on the project weighs more than 12 tons. 3The 3D printer is using concrete to produce the home, which will be about 371 square meters. Some parts of the home will also have wood elements. Leaders of the project said the process is expected to take about 330 hours of printing. 4Leslie Lok is the architect who designed the three-bedroom home and who leads the design studio HANNAH. 5Lok told Reuters news agency that in the design process, the team had to think about more than the design of the house and how it would be used. "We also design the actual print path, like how the printer will print, where it starts and where it stops," Lok said. 6The project is a two-year cooperative effort by HANNAH, building company PERI 3D and CIVE, which provided engineering support. 7Lok said since the printer does most of the work, fewer workers are needed at the building site. She said the effort only requires four to five people to oversee the 3D printing process. 8Lok said: "One of the benefits is also, it takes a lot of the heavy lifting, the labor" from human workers. 9Concrete is a very strong material to use in home building and can survive hurricanes, heavy storms and other severe weather. 10Roberto Montemayor is the project leader for PERI 3D Construction. He told Reuters the large 3D printer operates in much the same way as the small printers used in homes and offices. But there are two main differences. 11The first is that the home-building 3D printer can be expanded and changed to fit the needs of any size project, Montemayor said. The other difference is the material it uses. "We are printing here with concrete, which is a completely different material than plastic." 12The home is expected to be completed in the second half of 2023. The builders say they hope the modern method can be used in the future to build even larger housing structures. They said the technology can also build homes faster and for a lot less money. 13A growing number of American companies have begun offering homes built with 3D printing technology in recent years. But so far, the homes being offered are much smaller. 14The startup company Icon, based in Austin, Texas, made news in 2018 by completing the first permitted 3D printed home in the U.S. At the time, it said the home had been built in just one day. 15I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 16Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 17__________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 193D (3-dimensional) -adj. having height, width and length 20story -n. a level or floor of a building 21concrete - n. a hard, strong material that is used for building and made by mixing cement, sand, and broken rocks with water 22architect - n. a person who designs buildings 23benefit - n. a good result or effect 24_________________________________________________________________ 25What do you think of this story? 26We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 27Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.