In Maine, the world’s largest 3D printer—capable of printing objects as large as 96 feet long by 32 feet wide by 18 feet high—has been unveiled at University of Maine. The hope is the mammoth printer will boost the ability of the university’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center to 3D print habitable houses using sustainable resources.
The center had successfully 3D printed a house in 2019, but the latest printer iteration allowed it to 3D print an even larger home, dubbed FoF 1.0. Building materials included the state’s abundant forestry resources and biobased polymers.
“FoF 1.0 opens up new research frontiers to integrate these collaborative robotics operations at a very large scale with new sensors, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence to create born-certified systems that meet high quality standards,” according to ASCC Executive Director Habib Dagher said in a press release statement.