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Japanese railway shelter replaced in less than 6 hours by 3D-printed model (arstechnica.com)

submitted 5 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

16 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Hatsushima is not a particularly busy station, relative to Japanese rail commuting as a whole. It serves a town (Arida) of about 25,000, known for mandarin oranges and scabbardfish, that is shrinking in population, like most of Japan. Its station sees between one to three trains per hour at its stop, helping about 530 riders find their way. Its wooden station was due for replacement, and the replacement could be smaller.

The replacement, it turned out, could also be a trial for industrial-scale 3D-printing of custom rail shelters. Serendix, a construction firm that previously 3D-printed 538-square-foot homes for about $38,000, built a shelter for Hatsushima in about seven days, as shown at The New York Times. The fabricated shelter was shipped in four parts by rail, then pieced together in a span that the site Futurism says is "just under three hours," but which the Times, seemingly present at the scene, pegs at six. It was in place by the first train's arrival at 5:45 am.

Love the kicker of "Concrete Examples." chef's kiss

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

No? Sorry rather clueless about the practical aspects of that. But for electrical why is it not viable to just have channels you can push cables through? Do you mean because of corners?

Generally I was only thinking of simpler structures though like tiny houses or 1-2 room bungalows so it shouldn't be too complex wiring or plumbing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

When you're renovating a structure, often the existing circuits and piping systems (for which you've suggested channels) must be relocated or modified. Since the channels are created by additive manufacturing, you can't relocate or significantly modify them without cutting them away.

When you fill a space with expanding foam insulation, it fully encapsulates the wiring and piping. Often you can't actually see them anymore and you may not even be able to tell they're there. If you wanted to move something, you have to cut open the foam and dig it out. There will be foam everywhere and it will take hours to get all of the foam off.

It would be much, much, much easier to not use channels and to use the tried-and-true method of evenly spaced studs/compartments and filling the spaces with fiberglass insulation. Foam is such a headache in electrical that my former boss refused to work on new builds and renovations that used it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

Well yeah moving channels would be kinda impossible. I imagine while designing the house you'd plan for the electrical wires and 3D print clean channels you can slide wires or flexible piping through. You could also have extra channels near the floor and in the middle and vertical channels.

This would really only be good for lightweight structures that don't need much load bearing, like tiny houses or RVs or huts or bungalows. Maybe structures on house boats / catamarans.

Instead of renovating, just melt it all down to recycle it and 3D print a new house haha.