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#Industry News

WASP PRINTS LOW COST HOUSE USING MUD

Alleviating World Housing Shortage Using Locally Sourced Materials

Massimo Moretti has been building things since he was a young boy helping out his father in his workshop. His quest to discover new ways of building led him to discover the RepRap project and through it, 3D printing. Around the same time Massimo became aware of the vast housing crisis around the world, particularly in developing countries. Taking inspiration from how the mud dauber wasp constructs its home, Massimo founded World’s Advanced Saving Project (WASP), with the goal of creating a 3D printer that prints house. Other groups based in China have held similar ideas.

Earlier this month at the Maker Faire in Rome, Massimo and the team at Wasp demonstrated it was possible to build a practically zero cost structure using little more than mud, clay and water. Due to restrictions in space and time, the Wasp group constructed a 3D printer standing 13 ft (4 m) instead of the usual 20ft (6 m), they then printed a smaller scale structure using mixture of mud and clay; two natural materials found in abundance around the world. The team at Wasp believe it is possible for two people to put together a working 3D printer in as little as two hours. This 3D printer would be capable of extruding mud, clay or other natural fibers and could build a home some 10 ft (3 m) in height. The goal of printing a home on location using natural materials sourced on site and at virtually zero cost remains Wasp’s dream; a very admirable endeavour indeed.

Wasp: 3D Printed Houses

Details

  • United States
  • Massimo Moretti

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