Oct 31, 2016 | By Tess
Fastbrick Robotics, a company based in Perth, Australia, made headlines several months ago for its innovative brick-laying 3D printer robot. The robot, called Hadrian X, is capable of building up houses and structures brick-by-brick at a rate of 1,000 bricks per hour—twice what a human bricklayer does in a day. If the technology seemed promising before, it is really taking off now, as a house built using the 3D printer’s brick-laying materials has received local government and engineering approval.
The house in question was built in Perth by Archistruct Builders & Designers using the same methods and materials used by the Hadrian X’s brick-laying technology. According to Fastbrick Robotics, “the house was built using traditional manual bricklaying methods and received engineering and council approval, demonstrating that the materials the Hadrian X will use are compliant with existing regulatory requirements.” In other words, while the house was built manually, it nonetheless demonstrates the viability of the Hadrian X’s innovative building materials.
The Hadrian X, which is still being readied for the commercial market, is essentially a truck-mounted 3D printer, which instead of extruding filament or cement, builds up houses brick-by-brick, laying them down precisely and rapidly. The bricks themselves are innovative as they integrate interlocking perpendicular joints, meaning that they only require adhesive on their top and bottom. According to Fastbrick Robotics, this not only speeds up and makes the building process more materially efficient, but also increases the thermal efficiency and strength of the building structure.
Archistruct Builders & Designers, the building company which received approval for the new brick method, has signed a deal with Fastbrick Robotics to build the first 10 homes using the Hadrian X bricklaying 3D printer robot. This means that we will soon see the world’s first 3D printed home built by the Perth-based company and its Hadrian X robot.
The Hadrian 105
As Fastbrick Robotics continue to develop and ready its much anticipated Hadrian X brick-laying 3D printer robot, it has also been recognized for its first-generation system, Hadrian 105. While not as advanced as the X, Hadrian 105 has successfully demonstrated that it can 3D print 225 bricks per hour, about half a day's work for a human bricklayer.
As the company expressed about its upcoming technology, “The accuracy achieved by the Hadrian X in building from a 3D CAD file will provide significant time and cost savings, by allowing other trades to manufacture components of the new structure in parallel with the bricklaying, rather than having to wait to measure the brickwork.”
According to the company, the Hadrian X can expect to be commercial ready within the next year. Now, with government and council approval, there is little doubt that the innovative additive manufacturing technology is steadily moving forwards.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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