3D printed homes

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced recently that it will be releasing the 14th edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) on September 20, 2021. It will be providing “new data and analysis on the pulse of global innovation and allowing innovation actors and policy-makers to benchmark the innovation ecosystem performance of more than 130 economies.”

In last year’s edition, we rose four (4) notches higher in the GII to no. 50. This is the country’s highest ever (previously, we were ranked no. 54). With 131economies included in the survey, that means we belong to the top 50%. 

Admittedly though, when compared with our Southeast Asian neighbors, we pale in comparison.  Singapore (8), Malaysia (33), Viet Nam (42) and Thailand (44) are way ahead of us. Nevertheless, we must embrace the leap that we had.

As expected, last year’s survey was topped by the high income economies. These were Switzerland (1), Sweden (2), United States of America (3),United Kingdom (4) and Netherlands (5).  This is not surprising though.  Innovations require huge amount of money in research and development (R&D) and these economies are awash with it. Moreover, apart from the willingness of these governments to help finance innovations, these countries’ business sectors can well afford their R&D initiatives.

True enough, while our country is so messy, as usual, amid ridiculous overpricing of medical supplies (like face masks and face shieldsthat we can’t even manufacture ourselves), other countries are into innovations totally unimaginable even decades ago.  One of these innovations is so relevant to us because of our acute need for it. It deals with innovative ways in in building houses. 

History tells us that the construction of our shelter has evolved, whether it be on materials or technology. From the very ancient shelters like caves to structures made of wood and nipa shingles, most of us are now sleeping under galvanized roofs. Technology (building-wise) has evolved too. We’ve seen pre-fabricated slabs that are assembled on site with the use of cranes.  Due to its weight issues, others have manufactured lightweight walls and roofs that are screwed with each other. Something that is easy to dismantle and can be conveniently transferred to another location when necessary. 

Today, however, another innovation has come in building houses. Called “3D printing”, anyone who has seen or tried using a desktop printer can easily relate to it. More so, if one is using a software named CAD or computer-aided design.

This technology uses CAD and a printer. 3D printing (or additive manufacturing), according to Wikipedia, is the “construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model.” The key though are the materials that are “deposited, joined or solidified under computer control to create a three-dimensional object.” Materials added together could include plastics, liquids or powder grains” that are poured through the printer layer by layer.

This technology has evolved through the years. It was used then for the production of prototypes, thus, was referred to as rapid prototyping at that time. Today, it is being used in bigger structures, like houses. The breakthrough though is in the printer (a robotic one). Using the same concept, according to Sculpteo (a French company that specialized in 3D printing in the cloud), “the rails are arranged to let the robotic arm move; and within the limits of the rails, the arm will build the house layer by layer by extruding concrete material from the nozzle.”In simple terms, instead of an ink that comes out from the nozzle of the printer, it will be concrete material. 

Just like any innovation, there are always pros and cons to it. There are least three advantages though. Building cost will certainly be low. As the printer does majority of the work, it will be really fast, therefore, saves a lot of time. Since computer-aided, it offers infinite design possibilities. 

Undeniably, there are disadvantages too. As the printer does most of the task, there will be a substantial reduction on human labor. Just like some printers that don’t work in some inks, materials can be a huge challenge too.

However, despite these disadvantages, this technology’s viability in the country is worth a good study. For one, according to the study of the University of Asia and the Pacific, the country needs more than 6 million housing units by 2022 and about 12.3 million by 2030. 

Probably, it is all worth it.