3d printing is long rumored to be a disruptive force in the world of manufacturing and construction. Alas, like many technologies, the hype outpaced the reality of what the technology could do.
For this reason, it drifted in the background for a few years after the major hype around 2015. Since that time, the developers were hard at work bringing the technology up to par.
Now, I see it to the point of taking off. I believe the next 2 years will see enormous jumps in this technology, bringing it to the mainstream.
3D printing is centered around a few ideas. The benefits to it are as follows:
- less waste
- contour manufacturing
- on demand manufacturing
- less labor required
- time savings
- combination of traditional manufacturing processes
When it comes to the world of construction, we need to pay attention. It is prudent to consider how much of the global economy is made up by this single sector. Real estate is an enormous part of the American economy, with tentacles that extend far and wide.
Any seismic shift in this realm is bound to have tremendous ramifications.
Dubai seeks to be the global leader in 3D printing. Their target is to have 1/3 their construction come from 3D printers by 2030. As we can see, they are well on their way.
The country just set a world record by printing the largest structure ever. It is a two-story, 6800 square foot building. All the building standards were met which tend to be stringent in that area. All construction needs to be able to withstand the extreme heat that Dubai deals with.
This is nice but it doesn't amount to much unless it is put in perspective.
Here is what the project did.
Officials said construction costs for a building this size would be cut from about Dh2.5 million to less than Dh1m. The process used about half the usual number of construction workers, needing only 15, and generated about 60% less waste. There were also some major time savings in using the 3D printer. The walls took just two days to build, while the rest of the house took a further four months.
https://3dprinting.com/construction/dubai-unveils-worlds-largest-on-site-3d-printed-building/
Most of the benefits listed about were hit.
At the head of the list is the cost savings. This project cost 60% less to construct as compared to traditional methods. The time savings, which I am sure accounted for a great part of the savings, was also rather large.
This is going to have a number of benefits on our global economy. To start, the proverbial job situation is in play. Using half the labor will, eventually, cut down on jobs. It is imperative to keep in mind this is an early generation of the printing technology. Another half decade will see progress where the costs will come down even further, the capabilities increased, and the speeds much faster than today.
Another aspect to all this is how quickly things can be put together. With low cost, the market for this technology keeps expanding. We have seen buildings constructed for under $10,000 that were roughly 750 square feet. Again, give it another few years and we should see those costs dropping even more.
The final piece to this puzzle, and perhaps the biggest, is how it affects the major builders. Obviously, they are going to be the first adopters of this technology. However, over time, the prices will drop to where most builder can afford this. Right now, the economies of scale favor the mega corporation. Will this change?
We are also going to see a return to customization. A 3D printer is programmed by using a digital file. For customization, one simply needs to create a different file and download it to the printer.
Housing is the biggest expense for most businesses. With 3D printing, we are starting to see a major part of the process demonetized. Because printers come under the Laws of Informational Technology, you can expect a decade of rapid price declines. We also can presume there is also going to be a major advancement in print speeds.
This all spells a radically different construction market a decade from now. If 15% of the global construction is done via 3D printers, it will take a huge chunk out of the money spend in this industry. So while production might expand, the overall dollar value per unit will decline a great deal.
Pay attention to technology, it is leading the way into the world we will be living in.
And, in my opinion, noting is going to affect investing as much as knowing where technology is going.
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