Three dimensional (3D) printing is taking the world by storm.\u00a0 President Barack Obama recently said that \u201c3D printing technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything.\u201d[1]\u00a0\u00a0 News and scientific publications have dubbed it the \u201csecond industrial revolution.\u201d[2]\u00a0\u00a0 3D printing used to be limited to manufacturing smaller items, such as cups, model cars, or guns.\u00a0 Some, however, envision 3D printing on a grander scale.\u00a0 Research institutions and architectural firms are developing technology that may allow the fabrication of whole buildings, or large components thereof, by printing in the not too distant future.\u00a0 This, they hope, will be implemented by the industry as a whole, significantly reducing the time and money needed to complete a construction project.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a03D Printing Technology<\/span><\/p>\n 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is a fully automated process for making three-dimensional, solid objects from digital designs.\u00a0 The process begins by digitally modeling a blueprint of the object that is to be printed in a design program.\u00a0 The design program then \u201cslices\u201d the object into layers and sequentially sends this information to the 3D printer.<\/p>\n Once the 3D printer has the information, it builds the object by making repeated passes, each time depositing a thin layer of material onto material previously deposited.\u00a0 Each layer is deposited according to a \u201cslice\u201d of information from the digital model.\u00a0 The material is applied in such a way that each layer fuses to the last.\u00a0 The material and precise method of application will vary depending on the item being printed and the technology being utilized.\u00a0 For example, 3D printers use plastic, paper, rubber, and metal, among other materials; these materials are added by spraying, extruding, or fixing them in place with a laser or electronic beam.\u00a0 The end result is a three dimensional object as designed by the digital model.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0Developments for the Construction Industry<\/span><\/p>\n Building on the general concept of 3D printing, innovators are working on technology that they hope will make it possible to print whole structures.\u00a0 Currently such technology is nascent, with progress largely being made at universities and innovative architectural firms.<\/p>\n Leading the charge in the United States is Behrokh Khoshnevis, a engineering professor at the University of Southern California. Khoshnevis has developed a particular iteration of 3D printing called Contour Crafting.\u00a0 Contour Crafting is implemented with a Contour Crafter \u2013 an extruder connected to a computer-controlled gantry on rails.\u00a0 The rails are placed on either side of a foundation, and the extruder, moved by the gantry, then applies layers of quick-setting concrete.\u00a0 The concrete is applied so as to form hollow walls, and additional concrete is added to fill the wall in varying amounts depending on whether the wall is loadbearing.\u00a0 The Contour Crafter is also able to install conduits for plumbing and electrical wiring, as well as leave spaces in which workers will later install windows and doors.<\/p>\n Using Contour Crafting, Khoshnevis reports that he has created walls that are six feet high, by adding layers of concrete six inches high and four inches thick. The walls have a compressive stress of 10,000 pounds per square inch. This technology, Khoshnevis projects, will be able to print a 2,500 square foot house in less than a day.[3]<\/p>\n On the other side of the Atlantic, research institutes and architectural firms are also searching for ways to use 3D printing in the building process.\u00a0 A Dutch firm named Universe Architecture is planning on building a 12,000 square foot, M\u00f6bius strip shaped home by 3D printing sections on-site and then assembling them.\u00a0 It plans to use a printer capable of printing structures as large as 6 X 9 meters.[4]\u00a0\u00a0 Similarly, the Amsterdam-based firm Dus Artchitects is in the process of printing a canal house.\u00a0 Dus Artchitects is using a printer housed in a shipping container that makes individual rooms our of plastic and wood fibers.\u00a0 Those rooms will then be assembled on-site by fastening the elements together with steel cabling.\u00a0 Dus Artchitects commenced building in early 2014, and it expects to complete the project in three years.[5]<\/p>\n On the other side of the Pacific, a Chinese company, WinSun Decoration Design Engineering, has also made a splash with its use of 3D printing technology.\u00a0 WinSun, unlike the innovators previously discussed, uses a massive printer \u2013 490\u2019 X 33\u2019 X 20\u2019 \u2013 to print pieces of houses in a factory and then assembles them on-site.\u00a0 WinSun makes the houses using recycled construction material, industrial waste, and tailings which are then reinforced with fiberglass.\u00a0 And, most impressively, WinSun has printed ten houses in less than a day, each measuring 200 square meters and costing less than $5,000.\u00a0 The company even constructed its own 10,000 square meter office in a month using an assembly line of four 3D printers.[6]<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0Advantages and Uses of 3D Printing in the Construction Industry<\/span><\/p>\n The researchers and architects developing 3D printing\u2019s use in the construction industry have identified a number advantages associated with the technology.<\/p>\n a. Building in Non-Traditional Forms<\/span><\/p>\n 3D printing has the ability to overcome obstacles in realizing architects\u2019 and owners\u2019 designs.\u00a0 Thanks in large part to highly sophisticated computer modeling, building designs are growing in geometrical complexity, but current technologies for implementing such designs, such as pouring concrete into forms, are still limited.\u00a0 For example, Universal Architecture envisioned building a house modeled after a M\u00f6bius strip, and its founder believes traditional construction would be ill-equipped to realize his vision.\u00a0 The advent of 3D printing, however, allows for more precise fabrication of such architectural components.\u00a0 Even in more run-of-the-mill construction projects, such as housing developments, 3D printing would increase flexibility in design.\u00a0 Currently, walls consist primarily of flat surfaces joined at ninety degree angles because alternate designs are more difficult to construct.\u00a0 3D printing would remove this impediment, allowing owners and architects to design buildings with more curvature.<\/p>\n b.\u00a0Time and Cost<\/span><\/p>\n If 3D printing allows a house, or ten houses, to be built in a day, there will be an obvious reduction in the time, and hence the money, required for construction.\u00a0 The condensed time frame and automation will reduce the man hours required for each project, both for direct labor and supervision.\u00a0 Less time will also demand less financing costs and overhead.\u00a0 3D printing may replace equipment that is current used, or significantly reduce its demand due to a project\u2019s shortened timeframe.\u00a0 Khoshnevis projects that a house built with Contour Crafting will be one-fifth the cost of a similar house built with conventional construction.\u00a0 WinSun has printed ten houses in less than 24 hours.\u00a0 All such savings have the potential to be boon for the industry.<\/p>\n The printing technology may also reduce material costs and increase flexibility with what materials may be used.\u00a0 On the costs front, there may be waste prevention.\u00a0 3D printing is an additive technology \u2013 it only deposits material where needed in accordance with the digital model.\u00a0 When layering concrete, there are no scraps, as there are with traditional methods for building walls such as wood framing and drywall.\u00a0 Moreover the technology may provide material flexibility.\u00a0 WinSun, for example, plans to use recycled materials that would otherwise end up in landfills.\u00a0 Contour Crafting has also promised some ability to use local materials which would reduce transportation costs.\u00a0 Recognizing this, both the United States Navy and NASA have worked with Khoshnevis to develop the technology.\u00a0 For the Navy, efficient building and use of native materials means that it would be able to build outposts in warzones more quickly and safely.\u00a0 For NASA, the ability to use native materials brings it a large step closer to extraterrestrial construction.\u00a0 Khoshnevis, in fact, has come up with a proposal for a laser that would sinter moondust to form a landing station for future space crafts.[7]<\/p>\n Another benefit touted is the technology\u2019s ability to reduce injuries in the construction industry.\u00a0 Currently, there are approximately 800 fatalities per year in the construction industry in the United States, in addition to many more injuries.[8]\u00a0\u00a0 The automation of large portions of the construction process will dramatically reduce the occurrences of fatalities and injuries by removing workers from the more dangerous aspects of the process.\u00a0 The jobs that will be created by implementing 3D printing will be more technology focused and will shift workers to safer environments, for example to computer programming.<\/p>\n Both in the United States and abroad, affordable housing continues to be an issue.\u00a0 Technological advances that ease the costs of construction, such as 3D printing, can help.\u00a0 One of Khoshnevis\u2019 goals in developing the Contour Crafter is to give more people access to low-cost housing.\u00a0 WinSun aims to do the same.\u00a0 Another particular application of these efficiencies is emergency housing.\u00a0 With the increased speed of construction, 3D printing may be used to build houses when natural disasters have destroyed the existing housing stock.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0Potential Problems with 3D Printing in the Construction Industry<\/span><\/p>\n 3D printing enthusiasts paint an exciting picture of low-cost, fast, and safe construction.\u00a0 Yet, from the industry\u2019s perspective, companies will need to determine how these technologies will change the industry and what legal issues will need to be ironed out in order for them to be utilized.<\/p>\n a.\u00a0Reduction in Workers<\/span><\/p>\n As with the automation of any process, if 3D printing buildings becomes reality, the technology will take the place of a portion of the current labor force.\u00a0 By removing studs, siding, and drywall from the construction process, there will need to be fewer boots on the ground with hammers in hand.\u00a0 While workers will still be needed to do other finish work, a number of workers performing shell construction will be displaced by the technology.<\/p>\n Khoshnevis argues that the technological advances will act to shift the kind of work to be done in the construction industry rather than simply reduce the workforce.\u00a0 There will be an increased demand for workers with skill sets matching the increased utilization of, for example, computer technology.\u00a0 These types of jobs will open opportunities for demographics not normally found in large numbers in construction industry \u2013 such as older workers or women.\u00a0 Yet, automation will yield a net loss in demand for construction field workers.\u00a0 Those affected by the shrinking workforce \u2013\u00a0 individuals and unions alike \u2013 will surely struggle in finding their place in the changed construction industry or in another industry altogether.<\/p>\n b.\u00a0Allocating Risk<\/span><\/p>\n With the automation of a large part of the construction project, the legal elephant in the room is, as always, who will pick up the tab when everything does not go right?\u00a0 This question will need to be answered before architects, contractors, or owners reasonably will embrace these technologies, even if they are available.\u00a0 Few people want to take on a budding technology only to be left with the liability when it does not work out as promised.\u00a0 Therefore, it is necessary to put the technology in the appropriate legal framework and appropriately allocate risk.<\/p>\n One risk to consider are contractual warranties.\u00a0 AIA Document A201, for example, contains warranties assuring the owner that 1) the materials and equipment furnished will be of good quality and new unless otherwise required, 2) the work will be free from defects not inherent in the quality required or permitted, and 3) work will conform with the requirements of the contract documents.\u00a0 And, if the project is for residential construction, there are statutory warranties.\u00a0 In Minnesota, for example, Minn. Stat. \u00a7 327A provides certain statutory warranties for homeowners.\u00a0 For goods sold by commercial suppliers or manufacturers, the Uniform Commercial Code\u2019s (\u201cU.C.C.\u201d) warranties are applicable.\u00a0 These include warranties of fitness for a particular purpose and merchantability, and, if provided, other express warranties.<\/p>\n Similarly, parties to a construction contract utilize indemnity for allocating liability.\u00a0 Construction contracts contain indemnification provisions and flow-down clauses which funnel liability down the contractual chain.\u00a0 In the absence of such clauses, the common law will often still allow recovery if one is forced to pay for the mistakes of another.\u00a0 These warranty and indemnity concepts can be applied to 3D printing, though the nuances for each particular technology and building method need to be worked out.<\/p>\n If the component pieces are printed off-site and sold to the owner, as in WinSun\u2019s vision, there should be little difference between 3D printing and any other form of manufacturing.\u00a0 The printed component will arrive and be incorporated into the structure, just as any other manufactured component.\u00a0 If the component fails, the owner may be able to recover from the manufacturer based on the U.C.C. warranties (building components are generally \u201cgoods\u201d covered by the U.C.C.) or its indemnity agreement.\u00a0 The contractor may want to pay special attention to the manufacturer\u2019s express warranties or demand an express indemnity agreement given the novelty of the manufacturing process, but the incorporation of the component into the whole project will be similar to a component manufactured in a more traditional manner.<\/p>\n Similarly, if the 3D printer is used on a much larger scale on the job site, such as Khoshnevis\u2019 vision of printing the structural portions of a house with one large machine, familiar concepts should apply.\u00a0 In effect, the contractor will be using one large piece of construction equipment to complete a large portion of the project instead of smaller pieces of equipment and labor.\u00a0 While this is a large technological shift, it should not be a great leap for the legal concepts undergirding allocation of liability.\u00a0 The contractor is still providing services, namely constructing the building, and the same common law, contractual, and statutory warranties and indemnity provisions may be applied.<\/p>\n Where the points of contention will likely evolve are in the specific allocation of risk between those using the technology and those providing the design, equipment, and materials.\u00a0 All of these elements are currently being developed, but current design-build and integrated project deliver methods should provide useful models to guide parties\u2019 contracts.\u00a0 When implementing such a new technology, the owner, designer, and contractor will want assurances that every part will perform as advertised. And, they will want to account for design, manufacturing, and contracting contingencies and draft contract language that addresses them.\u00a0 This is especially true for 3D printing.\u00a0 The technology itself is still being developed \u2013 the Contour Crafter, for instance, is obviously new and lightly tested \u2013 and any errors will likely occur the highly orchestrated, integrated, and short printing process.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0Conclusion<\/span><\/p>\n The potential of 3D printing technology for the construction industry is significant.\u00a0 If it continues to be developed, it may well revolutionize the construction process, resulting in more speed and less expense.\u00a0 However, as described above, implementing the technology will not be without its challenges.\u00a0 Before incorporating these cutting-edge manufacturing methods, participants should consider how the technology changes their exposure to risk and consult with knowledgeable counsel and insurance professionals.<\/p>\n [1] CBS News, March 2, 2013, http:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/professor-3d-printing-technology-just-beginning\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n [2] Samuel Gibbs, Metal 3D Printing and Six Key Shifts in the \u2018Second Industrial Revolution,\u2019 The Guardian (December 9, 2013, 9:20 a.m.), http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2013\/dec\/09\/metal-3d-printing-key-developments-second-industrial-revolution<\/a>; New Scientist, 3D Printing: Second Industrial Revolution is Under Way, http:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/special\/3D-printing<\/a> (last visited April 24, 2014).<\/p>\n [3] A video of the Contour Crafter performing its basic operations may be viewed here: http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-yv-IWdSdns<\/a>, and the Contour Crafting website may be viewed here: http:\/\/craft.usc.edu\/CC\/modem.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n [4] An article explaining Universe Architecture\u2019s project may be accessed at: http:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2013\/01\/20\/dutch-architects-to-use-3d-printer-to-build-a-house\/<\/a>. And, Universe Architecture\u2019s website may be accessed here: http:\/\/www.universearchitecture.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n [5] The project can be further explored at: http:\/\/www.3dprintcanalhouse.com\/<\/a>. A video for both European projects may be viewed here: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eu0g16SYxtQ#t=151<\/a>.<\/p>\n [6] An article further describing WinSun\u2019s process may be found here: http:\/\/blogs.wsj.com\/corporate-intelligence\/2014\/04\/15\/how-a-chinese-company-built-10-homes-in-24-hours\/?mod=e2fb<\/a>. And, a video may be found here: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SObzNdyRTBs<\/a>.<\/p>\n [7] B. Khoshnevis, A. Carlson, N. Leach and M. Thangavelua, Contour Crafting Simulation Plan for Lunar Settlement Infrastructure Build-Up (2012), http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/pdf\/716069main_Khoshnevis_2011_PhI_Contour_Crafting.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n