First use of $400,000 used to purchase two (we think) concrete 3D printers back in in February 2020
“Now they tell me a 3D printer can do my job?”
The following is a short history of this project.
Two years ago, January 31, 2020, Yavapai Community College announced that it was launching the Nation’s first 3D concrete construction program. The program features emerging technology of 3D printing to construct houses. The Community College believes that by using 3D concrete printers, consumers will save an enormous amount of time and money to construct a house. It is thought that the 3D printer would print the interior and exterior walls of homes using a special concrete mixture.
The program was approved and the budget altered to include this purchase unanimously by the District Governing Board at its January 27, 2020 Executive Session.
Early estimates suggest the printers can have the foundation, interior, and exterior walls completed for a medium-sized home in 3-5 days. After roofing, electrical, plumbing, and other services are installed, it is surmised that these 3D printed homes could help alleviate Yavapai County’s attainable housing shortage.
At the time of the January 2020 announcement, the decision was made to use the machine(s) in an experimental program set to open at the Chino Valley Center by the fall 2020. That was two years ago. Also, when the initial announcement was made, the College indicated it would use the machine(s) to build a small manufactured home owned by the College that was in need of repair.
Eleven months later, in December 2020, the Community College announced it had decided to construct up to three houses to showcase the ability of its recently purchased 3D concrete printers. The project was to go forward at the Chino Valley Agribusiness Center Property in Chino Valley. Although Third District Governing Board representative Paul Chevalier raised questions at the time about the use of the machines on the Verde Campus (there are or were supposed to be two of them: a big one and a little one), so far, the College has not indicated it intends to use the machines in any program at that site. The Community College began in December 2020 preparing to provide electrical, data, and water services to the construction site at the Chino Valley Center to support the construction.
Start up company in Sedona? Although little is known about exactly what is going on, information coming to the Blog indicates that the Community College has been working with a small start-up company in Sedona to create and patent the kind of cement that will go into the manufacturing process. The work has been carried on at the Career and Technical Education Center located at the Prescott airport. There is apparently, although no one at the Community College has confirmed this, an agreement of some sort about the patenting and development of the concrete mix between the start-up and the Community College. The details are “hush hush.”
January 2022, the Community College announced student registration had opened for the first class to be taught to use the 3D printing machinery to build a concrete house at the Chino Valley Center. The class is “CBT250 – Introduction to 3-D Concrete Printing.”
Note that Phoenix Channel 15 ran a story on January 5, 2022 about the Community College’s effort. You may view the Channel 15 report by clicking here.