Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

D_Shape 3DPrints Houses, Rocks, Temples

The D_Shape Mega Scale 3DPrinter uses a special structure and print head to "print out" three-dimensional structures up to 6x6 meters in size. Just right for that house or replica temple you've been thinking about. The device was designed by Enrico Dini.


(You can print anything [even from Planet of the Apes])

This new machinery enables full-size sandstone buildings to be made without human intervention using a stereolithography 3-D printing process that requires only sand and our special inorganic binder to operate.

Stereolithography, also known as 3-D layering or 3D printing, allows the creation of three-dimensional (3-D) objects from CAD drawings. It is already used to manufacture small objects. To achieve a building on a full scale will only require a machine of adequate size and the right binder. The Monolite building process is similar to the “printing” process because the system operates by straining a binder on a sand layer. This is similar to what an ink jet printer does on a sheet of paper. This principle allows the architect to design fantastically complex architectural structures.

Seen from the exterior, Monolite appears like a big aluminium structure inside which the building will be constructed. CAD-CAM software drives the machinery during the building process and this structure holds the printer head, which is the real core of the new technology.

Technovelgy readers will note the similarity with the Contour Crafting 3D House Printer, but I say, the more the merrier.

This kind of technology reminds me of the architectural coral from Larry Niven's 1968 novel A Gift From Earth. It's not an exact match, but it shows what you can do with the right building composite.

Read more at the D_Shape website and this D_Shape Mega Scale 3DPrinter [pdf]. Via Next Nature.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/11/2009)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 3 )

Related News Stories - (" Manufacturing ")

Varda Space Industries Orbital Factories
'... work summers in their orbital factory complex.' - Jerry Pournelle, 1976.

Boring Company Bricks Predicted In 1929
'... used to make building blocks for these invaders.' - Frank Phillips, 1929.

Is It Possible To GROW Planes And Vehicles?
'These are your rudimentary seed packages...' - Greg Bear, 2015.

Scaly-Foot Snail Works With Iron
'Micro-Scale suit tiles fabricated by genetically engineered metal affinity bacteria...'

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

How Old Are Tesla Designs?
You be the judge.

Is Your Autonomous Tractor Safe?
'The field-minder finished turning the top-soil of a two-thousand-acre field.'

Smart TVs Are Listening!
'You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard...'

Police Drones In China Would Like To Have A Word With You
''OVERRIDE,' the City Fathers said suddenly, without being asked anything at all.'

Oh Great (Part 2), Fence-Climbing Robots
Please, no stingers.

Are The Thought Police Listening To Everyone All The Time?
'... they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to.'

Finally, Robot Conductors On Autonomous Buses
'Wardour Street,' he told the robot-conductor.'

RoboShiko! Sumo Exercises Still Good For Robots
'... the expressionless face before me was therefore that of the golem-wrestler, Rolem, a creature that could be set for five times the strength of a human being.'

Giant Robotic Hands At Gundam Next Future Science
'Waldo put his arms into the primary pair before him; all three pairs, including the secondary pair mounted before the machine, came to life.'

JWST Finds Bucking Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1
'... the glittering little rocket bolted to the black iron behind him.'

BeamBike Solar Power Canopy For Electric Bikes
'The slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector...'

California Fireman Arrested For Starting Fires
'Fire is bright and fire is clean.'

Robots Need A Better Sense Of Touch
'First, it rubbed my arms...'

MouthPad Supports Head And Tongue Tracking
'The operation that had transformed half his body... had located the control switchboard in his teeth.'

REALLY Remote Control Excavators
'It takes over a second for the signal to get to the Moon...'

Disney Helping Robots Dance
Dance, Robots, Dance.

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.