12-m-high printer builds mud huts in poor regions
The Big Delta 3D printer is designed to build huts fast and cheaply from easily accessible materials such as mud in order to relieve the housing shortage in poor regions of the world.
The number of people in the world is rising much faster than the number of homes, particularly in poor, urban areas. So, the Italian company WASP is developing a method to provide homeless people throughout the world with a roof over their heads cheaply and fast. Boasting a height of 12 m and a diameter of 6 m, Big Delta is one of the largest 3D printers in the world.
Delta printers typically consist of a circular printing area at the centre and three arms stretching from the three surrounding supporting columns and moving the print-head in circles. With circular motions, the printer adds layer by layer of material, building simple mud huts. The printer can use accessible materials close to the construction site such as clay, mud, and soil. The scientists behind Big Delta were inspired by ancient Italian construction methods, by which soil is strained and mixed with water and plant fibres into a powerful material. Big Delta can print a mixture of mud and soil, which is held together by plant protein.