How Will 3D Printing Affect Construction Jobs?
It’s still experimental but there’s a global fascination with 3D printing and how it will impact building and construction jobs. Consider this example from Sharon O’Malley on ConstructionDive.com: In China, a five-story apartment building is on display next to a 1,100-square-foot mansion—also created on a 3D printer—in Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu province. “The mansion’s furniture and decorations also were made on a 6.6- by-10-meter tall printer, which uses an ‘ink’ composed of glass fibers, steel, cement, hardening agents and recycled construction waste to build one layer at a time for builders to assemble. The apartment building took a day to print and five days to assemble.” Retailers—including Home Depot—are joining engineers, architects, designers and others in exploring the possibilities 3D printing may bring to the construction industry.
http://www.constructiondive.com/news/how-will-3d-printing-alter-the-building-industry/383498/