There is a different issue with construction, which Robert Heinlein pointed out 70 years ago. Basically imagine that buying a car would mean a bunch of workmen going to your site and hand assembling one there. How inefficient it would be. I.e. the issue is the lack of mass manufacturing of (obviously modular) houses from subassemblies, like every sane manufacturing process.
Of course prefabs exist but they should have became the dominant model long ago.
3D printing is another custom-assembly thing at the end. Why can’t we just prefab?
Prefabs are, correct me if I’m wrong, made using current technologies, which are more expensive than just printing off a few walls, a base and all the other stuff.
Also, the 3D printer is potentially much faster. In fact, scratch that, I am reasonably sure that it is much faster, and can, or will soon be able to, produce a similar quality product for less cost, and with less waste.
Also, I suspect that you would be able to transport these printers in one or two large trucks from some nearby construction centres, with the trucks also going back to get the feedstock.
The internet of things stands to greatly increase the efficiency of the current logistics systems in place. I mean, they’re shockingly bad. I was actually surprised by how inefficient they tend to be. And this whole paragraph is largely useless.
Prefabs are, correct me if I’m wrong, made using current technologies, which are more expensive than just printing off a few walls, a base and all the other stuff.
Current technologies can’t “just print off a few walls”. Are you comparing current-technology prefabs with future-technology 3D printing?
There is a different issue with construction, which Robert Heinlein pointed out 70 years ago. Basically imagine that buying a car would mean a bunch of workmen going to your site and hand assembling one there. How inefficient it would be. I.e. the issue is the lack of mass manufacturing of (obviously modular) houses from subassemblies, like every sane manufacturing process.
Of course prefabs exist but they should have became the dominant model long ago.
3D printing is another custom-assembly thing at the end. Why can’t we just prefab?
Prefabs are, correct me if I’m wrong, made using current technologies, which are more expensive than just printing off a few walls, a base and all the other stuff. Also, the 3D printer is potentially much faster. In fact, scratch that, I am reasonably sure that it is much faster, and can, or will soon be able to, produce a similar quality product for less cost, and with less waste. Also, I suspect that you would be able to transport these printers in one or two large trucks from some nearby construction centres, with the trucks also going back to get the feedstock.
The internet of things stands to greatly increase the efficiency of the current logistics systems in place. I mean, they’re shockingly bad. I was actually surprised by how inefficient they tend to be. And this whole paragraph is largely useless.
Current technologies can’t “just print off a few walls”. Are you comparing current-technology prefabs with future-technology 3D printing?
Much faster than this?
Perhaps. And probably cheaper too. Also, I don’t think that was taking into account the time it took to make the parts, or the shipping times.
And yes, I am comparing current pre fab tech to 3D printing. I apologise if I wasn’t clear.