3D-printed homes in KZN a first for SA

KWAZULU-NATAL will soon be the staging ground for a country-first as the government advances plans to print 3D homes. The pilot project is expected to begin between April and May.

While the conventional means of building a foundation will be followed, the entire house will be 3D-printed directly on site.

Refilwe Lediga from 3D Printcrete and Robotics said: “We partnered with the National Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) who have a working relationship with the Human Settlements Department of KZN. We received funding from them.”

Departmental spokesperson Thabang Setlhare confirmed the project and partnership.

Tshepang Mosiea, DSI director of science and technology for sustainable human settlements, is managing the project. Funding has not been disclosed.

Lediga earned his Master’s in engineering from the University of Johannesburg focusing on 3D printing. He is now pursuing a doctorate.

“It has been a thought that I have pondered for the last decade. Now it has become a reality. Normal 3D printers are smaller and use materials like plastic.

“These are metres long and use concrete to print the structure, besides the roof,” he said.

The country’s first printer is being imported from the Netherlands and subsequent printers will be manufactured locally.

The concept mainly stayed in the research domain with the Universities of Johannesburg (UJ) and Stellenbosch being key players.

While conventional building comprises contractors and workers working laboriously for weeks, sometimes months, a 3D printer takes between eight to 12 hours a unit.

Barnard Manne from the National Science and Technology Forum said the advanced manufacturing industry was taking charge in developing new technologies to forge ahead with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

In his open letter last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated: “We are looking at how to harness new technologies for development, such as using 3D printing to build houses.”

The Department of Human Settlements said it had a backlog of 1.9 million incomplete low-cost houses, with an estimated cost of R300 billion to the taxpayer.