3D- printing Makes Mark in British Clumbia Construction

Brief 

The British Columbia building industry and universities are embracing 3D printing, with Twente Additive Manufacturing co-founder Ian Comishin saying “3D printers will be as common on building sites as excavators” in the next decade. Hit by devastating floods in 2021, Merritt, British Columbia, is slated to be the site of the largest residential 3D project in the province, with a study underway to create 20 3D-printed housing units for displaced residents as part of a research effort.

Insight

D printing of houses, utility buildings and construction is becoming a reality in B.C.’s building industry with projects and printers on the ground and educational institutes focused on new materials.

“Over the next 10 years, 3D printers will be as common on building sites as excavators,” predicts Ian Comishin, president and co-founder of Twente Additive Manufacturing (TAM), with Canadian offices in Nelson, B.C. where the first 3D concrete house was built in 2020.

Eighteen months ago, TAM sold a 3D printer to retired professional engineer Jon Scott based on Salt Spring Island whose company StrongPrint3DConstruction Inc. does contract construction work. His latest 3D project is a farm stand, with a bus stop shelter lined up next.

Flood-ravaged Merritt is now poised to become home to B.C.’s largest residential 3D project as it is the midst of a feasibility study to put 20 housing units on site for displaced residents.

“We still have people living in hotels,” said housing manager Andrew Nielsen.3D construction is part of a technological field called additive manufacturing with institutions such as the University of B.C. (UBC) and Selkirk College carrying out R&D.

The process utilizes data computer-aided-design (CAD) or 3D object scanners to direct hardware that deposits layer upon layer of material in designated shapes. Research is being directed at utilizing different materials such as concrete, wood-waste and plastics.

Nielsen said the Merritt feasibility study examines design and costs with options on single-storey 640 to 1,000 square foot units or a shared-wall complex of units. The proposal is a joint research project with UBC’s Okanagan campus which has its own 3D printer. A successful study outcome in late June could see construction start later in 2022 or early 2023.