3-D printed homes by Habitat for Humanity
By Kate King | Wall Street Journal
A Walmart Supercenter’s new expansion is one of the largest 3-D printed commercial real-estate projects in U.S. history. Its bumpy road to completion illustrates the new technology’s promise and shortcomings.
The retail giant added the 8,000-square-foot space to its Athens, Tenn., location to hold items customers buy online for pickup or delivery. Walmart, which has more than 200 other additions like this in the pipeline, wanted to see if 3-D printing could get the job done faster and more cost-effectively.
But working outdoors in Tennessee’s summer heat and high humidity proved to be a problem for this budding technology. The job finished weeks behind schedule after construction crews contended with finicky material and clogged hoses. The cost of building by 3-D technology also was roughly the same as traditional construction.
