In Melbourne’s outer suburbs, a giant robotic crane 3D printer towers over a concrete house being built.
The multi-storey, liveable home, printed with AI-powered 3D construction technology will be the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere, with every aspect of the project home-grown in Sydney and Melbourne. And to put his money where his mouth is, the boss is going to move in!
The robotic crane 3D printer is an unusual sight in a quiet residential street in Melbourne, Victoria. But it’s no ordinary crane, it’s LUYTEN’s cutting-edge PLATYPUS X12 Crane 3D Construction Printer. It is AI-powered and is making history by 3D home printing the first multi-storey house in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere.
While previous attempts of using this technology were limited to single storey, standard home prototypes printed in 20-to-24 degrees celsius weather conditions, this house started printing during a Melbourne summer in 35-to-42 degrees celsius heat and frequent storms.
The house design was optimised to introduce features to push 3D printing potential to the limit, such as printing a lift core, and walls with shapes that serve as noise cancelling using the acoustic principle of diffraction.
The AI-powered printer uses reenforced learning algorithms to help ensure the quality of each layer of the print because the concrete layers are not just about aesthetics, they’re structural, and the AI software ensures precision construction.
The multi-story, 350 m2 home will be lived in by Ahmed Mahil, the CEO and global president of LUYTEN. “As the first CEO to live in a 3D printed house, printed by his own company and own company’s manufactured robots, I intend to break the psychological barrier people may have and to smash any doubts in the industry about the future of 3D printed homes,” he said.
3D printing can help deliver faster homes. LUYTEN’s multi-storey home is expected to be finished in five weeks, compared to the usual eight-to-11 months for a build.
3D printing is emerging as an innovative solution to Australia’s housing crisis, and it’s capturing the attention of the Federal and State governments. “We’ve had positive feedback and support from State and Federal governments and late last year we had the Minister for Industry and Science, Hon Ed Husic, visit our 3D construction printer robot factory in Melbourne,” said Ahmed.
LUYTEN are also proud to be working alongside renowned international engineering firm Bollinger + Grohmann on the certification of the groundbreaking home, ensuring structural integrity, safety, and optimal performance of the printed structure. They’re also collaborating with the University of New South Wales ARC Centre for Next-Gen Architectural Manufacturing’s research and design expertise for the design of the home.
By combining their strengths, the group will be setting a new standard for 3D printed homes.
