AMS 2024

Finland’s Fimatec Looks to 3D Print Modular Homes — Exterior, Insulation, Interior Walls, All in a Single Piece

Electronics
Metal AM Markets
AMR Military

Share this Article

fim3

Over the last 12-18 months we have seen numerous companies and individuals around the world reveal concepts and actual prototypes (if you can call them that) of large 3D printed structures such as homes. Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis’ Contour Crafting seems to be the furthest along within this space, with their printers reportedly ready to be sold sometime in the next 18-24 months, but there are also other smaller companies working on this technology as well.

One such company is Imatra, Finland-based Fimatec, founded by CEO Arto Koivuharju. A small company with staggeringly large ambitions, Fimatec is seeking to 3D print modular apartment buildings sooner rather than later. Their process of printing is said to be incredibly comprehensive. Not only will their technology, which mixes 3D printing with robotic fabrication, be able to print out the concrete exterior walls of a home, but it will also print out insulating materials and inner walls as well.fim2

To begin with, the walls will be printed within a manufacturing facility in large segments and then shipped off to the build site where apartments can quickly be constructed. Ultimately though, Koivuharju wants to bring the entire printing process on-site, reducing transportation costs dramatically.

“The cost is 10-20 percent less than with traditional concrete element building, and the units are constructed 70-80 percent faster,” Koivuharju explained. “When building on-site, the costs can drop by half.”

On Tuesday, Koivuharju unveiled an entire 3D printed wall which he sees as the future of home construction. So far Koivuharju has managed to finance this project himself, developing print heads and patenting the technology at a cost of approximately €200,000, but he says that further funding will be required for this idea to become a thriving business. He hopes to raise at least another €1.5 million to commence a pilot project which will see the construction of these modular apartment buildings begin sometime next year.

“We assume that by the second half of next year we will have a suitable industrial version of the device available,” said the Managing Director of Fimatec, Birch Harju, who believes that the technology will be able to produce walls which meet and surpass Finnish building regulations.

According to Fimatec this is the only machine capable of printing the interior and exterior elements of a wall, including the placement of insulation as well as reinforcement. With that said, we were told by Khohnevis earlier in the year that his company, Contour Crafting, was also building a machine capable of printing insulating material as well as interior wall structures.

fim1

Koivuharju’s approach currently seems to be more in line with that of Winsun, the Chinese company that purportedly constructed the concrete exterior of several apartment buildings and a home off-site before shipping the walls to the ultimate build location.

It will be interesting to see if Koivuharju is able to secure the necessary funding required for the further development of his system, and just how quickly such a system can gain approval within Finland–or any other country for that matter.  Let’s hear your thoughts on the latest in 3D home building technology in the Fimatec 3D Printer forum thread on 3DPB.com.

 

Share this Article


Recent News

3D Printing to Reach $18.8B in Revenues in 2023

Cracks Emerge in 3D Printed Toilet, Titomic Cold Spray Used in Satellite and Nanoscribe 2GL



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

CELLINK Bioprinter Enables Bioprinted Hair Follicles for Skin Regeneration and More

In a landmark achievement, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York have successfully 3D-printed hair follicles in lab-grown human skin tissue, marking a significant advancement in the field of...

Featured

Iowa Demolishes Its First 3D Printed Home

In May 2023, the city of Muscatine, Iowa embarked on an ambitious plan to construct 3D printed homes. The weekend before Thanksgiving, the first such home was demolished. This project,...

Featured

BICO’s Revival: A Fresh Era with Maria Forss at the Helm

Swedish biotech company BICO (STO: BICO) has been making waves in the industry recently. Ever since Maria Forss assumed the role of CEO in November 2023, the company seems to...

3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: November 26, 2023

Things are getting busy again in terms of 3D printing webinars and events! This week is the RSNA annual meeting, the World Manufacturing Forum, and more. HP is holding an...