I just came across this article. It’s an interesting idea. A team of scientists in California is working on a robot that can build a house from CAD plans out of a special mix of concrete. Basically, the robot is like one of those cranes for loading containers onto ships. Or you can think of it as a x-y-z plotter. It lays down layers of thickened concrete like squeezing a tube of toothpaste. Then it uses trowels to smooth the seams between the layers.
Here’s the article:
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994764
and here’s the website of the team of scientists, with pictures and movies:
http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~khoshnev/RP/RP-Top-Page.htm
They already have a functional mini prototype in the lab, and are working with a German building supply company to figure out what kind of mix is best to use.
Who knows? This may be the cheap, mass produced house of the future. And maybe your competition.
Replies
It is an interesting idea. But I wouldn't look for it anytime soon.
I'm a little pessimistic about automation in the building industry. Mostly because a lot of it has been tried in the truss industry, with limited success.
The first thing was automated saws. Sounds good on the surface - Less need for skilled operators, labor savings, fewer errors.
But in reality they're far from perfect. For starters, the saws run about $200,000 each. Not every plant can afford them. They only work really well with straight, perfect lumber. And with more moving parts and more electronics, they're more prone to breakdowns and harder to repair.
Many other kinds of automation have been tried. Automated lumber stackers for one. Again, it looks good in theory - Use a machine to catch the boards and stack them as they come off the saw.
That would work great if every 2X4 was straight and exactly the same size. But as you've probably noticed, they aren't. So they've pretty much given up on the idea, I think.
Another kind of automation that's been tried is automated truss stackers. They work pretty well on simple trusses. But as we build more and more cut up stuff they don't work as well.
.
All these things have been tried out in truss plants in controlled conditions. And most of them haven't panned out. So I'm a little pessimistic about something working on a muddy jobsite where conditions are less predictable.
.
On a sort of related note - I read something once about research that might increase the intelligence level in trained animals, such as monkeys. What if we could train these "improved" monkeys to clean up jobsites, or do other mundane tasks, like mowing yards? Make 'em smart enough to do the work, but not smart enough to demand better pay or working conditions?
Obviously, that's somewhat of a moral dilema. But another interesting concept.
Sometimes I wake up grumpy. Other times I let her sleep.
"They only work really well with straight, perfect lumber."
Boss,
Actually, I think you hit the nail on the head. In home construction, the consistency of the raw mtrls. used is broad. There is a lot that needs to be set aside, culled, or at least selectively used. I'm not just talking about lumber. Stuff gets damaged in shipping, and any natural mtrl. is just that, and has variation.
As you know, I work in a very high tech, automated environment, after reading the article, IMO pretty crude technology at work there. Been around for 20 years.
A century ago (I'm not positive) someone tried build "cast concrete" homes. One solid house. They didn't sell too well. I think it might have been Edison.
Jon
believe that in Germany most houses are built of concrete
so that may be whythe germans are interested
maybe Cloud would be interestedbobl Volo, non valeo
That's understandable after all the ordinance that fell out of the sky in WW2. Maybe there are Middle-Eastern Nations that would be interested in trading oil for one of thses sustems
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
There was a lot of attention about concrete domes at one point. Just blow up a couple balloons and spray shotcrete. It was not as simple or cheap or as popular as they thought. You'd think modular prefab components would be more popular. All the complexity of manufacturing in one place, just bolt together on site. There was also the all-plastic molded house that GE built at Disneyland. Some good concepts in all of this, but not going to replace stick framing just yet.
Bob, meet Cloud Hidden.Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
My take on the article was that even if this thing ended up working, it would have to be larger than the house it was going to build. Getting it to the jobsite and setting it up would be a real chore. You would need a flat, obstacle-free jobsite, I think. I can see it possibly working in large developments, where it could go easily from one lot to the next after it was already set up. Possibly out in the desert. Who knows? Maybe the military could use it for building bases in just-captured areas, instead of living in gargo pods.
You could be right, of course. I'm just not optomistic that it's at all practical.
For starters - If the thing is bigger than a building, it would have to cost hundreds of thouusands of dollars. So it would have to be kept DANGED bust to make it pay for itself. Tons of overhead.
I think technology in automation will have to progress quite a bit more before something like that becomes practical.Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. [Margaret Mead]
Sounds like robotics isn't taking off in your industry Boss, however, robotics is going gangbusters in mine.
Seems like most of the bigger Timber Frame companies are using CNC for everything now. Draw out the frame in autocad -- upload to CNC and bingo - instant timber frame.
Log home companies are doing the same - the architect draws up a floor plan and the computer spits out a cut list directly to the machines. Drop a load of rough sawn cants on one end, and the conveyors do the rest - spitting out a perfectly milled log on the other end - interlocking corners milled out on the way.
I agree though - it'll be a cold day in hell before we can get a robot capable of slogging around a muddy, rainy, snowy job site without bitching for more pay and better CPU's.
LOL
Look how fast Breaktime is at getting on the cutting edge!
Boss mentions training monkeys to do our work, and Bingo, three posts later, a Pet Monkey answers the call!
I'm truly flabbergasted.
;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I would expect the first structures built of a deal like that to be Walmarts and Home Depots. big boxes that dxon't take too much thinking to put together
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
I resent that. I am currently building a Home Depot [and they're building a WallMart next door to it too].
There is actually a lot of thought or organization in building one of these things. Tilt ip walls with each future penetration cast in place. Steel columns placed to the nearest millimeter [smaller than 1/16"].
On the other topic, there is some simple [BASIC] code for computer controlled manufacturing:
180 Cut 2 X 4 @ 164.4".190 Output Beep200 Print "I need a raise."210 GOTO 190
~Peter
My apologies then. Didn't mean to foster anything that might fester. My thinking was simply that it must be easier to build a big box with no windows and three doors than to fit an entire kitchen into a space smaller than a pickup truck.
I'm sure the engineering and cost definitions are pretty precise for you.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Come to think of it, there are no windows in the thing. There is, though, a square hole in the wall for the trash compactor or something.
But I suppose they will have a windows aisle next to the door aisle.
~Peter
Did Cloud see this thing? They've got domes being built with the robot- he'll be out of business with the rest of us.....lol.
Bob
he designs them ...
he's probably secretly funding the project!
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry