This is just something off the top of my head, but maybe someone else here has already looked into it. It’s something very new, and will have regulatory hurdles, as well as public acceptance issues, but there’s also a lot of potential. I’m talking about using 3D printing to make components to build a house, manufacturing the parts on-site. (A lot of this involves concrete.)
My first question is - who makes the 3D printers? That would seem to be a big growth industry, with a decent chance at better potential than earlier companies like 3D Systems (DDD). On the other hand, it could be like the early auto industry, with lots of competition over many years, and difficult to find an investment that pays off.
For that matter, there are probably several 3D printing niches right now that are quite successful or are taking off now.
The examples I have seen thus far of 3D printed houses are in the category of “interesting that they did that, but would anyone want to live in them?” Until that changes, I have trouble seeing this as any more than a tiny niche market.
Possibly the top example of a demonstration project of this concept is from a company that I have some familiarity with, as I took a tour of their facility a few weeks ago.
Branch is still a private company, so no public equity is available. I am not familiar with their current funding desires/needs, but they do have a fair amount of venture funding already.
volfan84
(not employed by Branch Technologies, but from all interactions with their founder, I would be quite intrigued to work there)
The examples I have seen thus far of 3D printed houses are in the category of “interesting that they did that, but would anyone want to live in them?” Until that changes, I have trouble seeing this as any more than a tiny niche market.
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I dunno… If you’ve looked at lumber recently, the overall quality is declining rapidly* and it’s much harder (if even possible) to find longer spans that have enough real grain to carry the load of the same type of lumber 10 or 20 years ago could. We’re pulling younger trees or speeding up their growth.
My deck is in need of repair, and I could do the decking for maybe 5$$ all-in. But when I went to look at the lumber, it’s all twisted, wide grain, very low-quality, and I know I’ll have to do it again in another 6 to 8 years [current deck is 13y old now]. So, for a few more hundred (low 1$$$ all-in), I’m putting down Trex composite decking – and not their lowest model, the mid-level with some actual color grain in it. Install cost is higher, plus a weekend of my time, but aside from washing it now and then, I can skip all the nonsense with reapplying stain and “5-year” protectants that really don’t do anything after about a year of the weather where I am.
So, expand your scope a little from “interesting 3D home” and I would actually not be surprised to see composite materials, perhaps combined with 3D printing, end up becoming the way we build houses not too far down the road.
*especially treated lumber now that copper sulfates (containing arsenic) are verboten… Good luck with your new deck made with the new stuff.
Yeah, that’s only for the decking (floor) material, mostly. The rest is in decent shape, and it’s not a terribly huge deck. Obviously building a new deck from scratch is far more expensive (4x4 posts and 20-foot decking boards, etc.).
My point was, even if you buy lumber today, it’s not very good quality (or you’re paying a huge premium for “good” quality, if you can find it), and then you have the maintenance on top of it every year or two to re-stain or otherwise protect it. My time is worth more to me now than the money, and I’m happy to hit the Trex with some soapy water once or twice a year versus an entire weekend of stripping, pressure-washing and re-staining.