ICON has been featured by the New York Times.
ICON is one of the most prominent 3DCP companies on the planet. Based in Texas, the company has undertaken a number of home-printing projects and apparently has around 200 completed buildings at this point.
They developed a material and technology to perform this type of work, and have successfully grown.
Now we see a rather large article in the New York Times featuring ICON and its founder, xxx.
For those following ICON, there’s not much new in the story, as it covers their history and key projects. But what is interesting is that the article exists at all.
The New York Times is by definition a mainstream media outlet, and mainstream media does not often cover 3D printing to this degree.
Sure, mainstream media did cover 3D printing about ten years ago when the desktop printing craze was at its height. Then, aggressive entrepreneurs proposed a “3D printer in every room”, and the media lapped it up. Eventually reality hit and 3D printing, at least the desktop variety, faded into the background.
Here we have something new: mainstream media is covering 3DCP technology. That’s the method of extruding concrete (or similar materials) to form walls of buildings or larger structures.
We know that 3DCP tech has been increasing in interest over the past two years. There are now dozens of small regional building companies adopting various 3DCP equipment and beginning projects in their areas.
Could this be the start of another boom in 3D printing, this time focused on 3DCP?
I read the comments in the NYT article to see what the general public is thinking about technology. Most of the NYT readers would be entirely unfamiliar with 3DCP and its implications.
It seems that only 30-40% of the comments had a positive sentiment. There were many that had technical questions. Examples:
- Why are the roofs made from conventional wood? (3DCP does not do roofs, at least not yet)
- How would I clean the rough surfaces of the extrusions?
- How can I add/change electrical/plumbing/etc after the build?
- How can you build a second storey?
- How do you tear it down later?
Some readers didn’t see the part where ICON explained their next 3DCP device will apparently be able to handle multiple stories and roofs.
In addition, many were skeptical about true, full-accounted pricing and delivery times. Some wondered if pre-fab housing would be just as fast, or faster. Some wondered about insurance effects, particularly for fire and earthquake scenarios, and others the actual carbon footprint of the approach.
Based on the responses, it seems that 3DCP technology does have quite a way to go in order to persuade the majority of the public. That’s certainly true, since 3DCP today, while faster at times, does introduce a number of maintenance challenges not seen with conventional building approaches.
We may be a bit early for the 3DCP boom.
Via New York Times
