How much does a construction 3D printer cost?
One of the frequently asked questions in the google FAQ on 3D printing houses is how much a 3D printer for houses costs actually is. Well, I’m a simple man so I decided to answer this question for you guys. Be aware though, there are many extras you have to consider before building your own 3D printed houses, such as materials, land and many more. So, if you want to buy a 3D construction printer you’ll have to realize it is not that cheap…. It still might be worth to look into, so I am going to answer your question: How much does a construction 3D printer cost?
The price for construction 3D printers ranges from under 50 000$ for the cheapest model from the company MudBot to 1 000 000$ and more for the bigger models of established companies such as COBOD. The price varies greatly depending on size of the printer, technology, patents involved and other factors. Most companies also offer payment plans to make the printers more affordable to small scale businesses as well as individuals.
MudBots costs
The MudBots 3D printer for houses costs the least from all construction 3D printers, at least from those I am aware of. The 6×6 square meter version costs only 48 337$. This printer version takes around 4 months to produce and was first presented at the World of Concrete 2019 in Las Vegas were especially the low price left fans of the field speechless.
In order to know the price of the bigger versions, you need to log in to an account at the website. The biggest version of the printer can even print houses in the size of 100x50x10 square meters, obviously for this one you have to reach a little further into your pockets. So the question how much a 3D printed for houses costs can get a surprising answer, if you look into the cheaper models like this one.
COBOD costs
The danish company COBOD (construction of buildings on demand) is undoubtetly a world leader in the technology of the 3D printed house. There newer model, the BOD2 has already done some amazing things, but for the quality the price is also a little bit higher. The smallest version, way smaller than aforementioned MudBots, starts already at 180 000$, while bigger versions reach close to 1 000 000$. Also,you can book extra delivery, assembly, workshop
and other things one might need before the 3D printer is ready to operate. In my opinion the price is justified though, since COBOD has presented amazing projects with their award-winning printer. The question how mucha construction 3D printer is, obviously doesn’t seem that easy anymore when you see the range between the first two models.
Apis Cor costs
How much is an Apis Cor printer? Apis Cor is a russian startup which has gained great notoriety by building one of the biggest 3D printed buildings. Its construction printer is an interesting robotic arm, which is fixed in the middle and can build and print around it. The official price as yet to be released, but we know some things… Appearantly, printing one square meter costs 27€ in material, while the house costs around ten times as much when completed. Even when we subtract a usual margin from this, the printer itself still seems to be more on the expensive site, even if not completely away from the known models.
ICON
ICON has recently been discussed a lot in the media for their collaboration with the non-profit “New Story”, by building houses for the homeless in south america. The video has up to date over 4 million views´and has lead to ICON being one of the companies talked about in 3D printed construction. Their newest printer model is the vulcan II, which is their first commercially available model. You might ask, considering all the publicity they’ve had, how much is an ICON 3D printer?
The ICON vulcan II costs upwards of 250 000$, but at the moment they are having trouble meeting the demand in this recent industry.
Future price development of the 3D printer for houses
Since the industry is rapidly growing and more and more companies want a construction 3D printer the demand is rising exponentially. On the other hand, the companies producing the 3D printers have trouble keeping up with the growing demand since it usually takes months to build on of these enormous machines. My estimation is, as soon as more and more companies will produce the 3D construction printers, the costs will drop since some healthy competition is established and the demand is met. Until then, we are going to keep seeing these prices, which might not even seem high at first, but as supply will rise they will get even lower.
Extra costs construction 3D printer
Now, before you clear all of your savings to get you just the right amount of money to buy your own construction 3D printer, you might want to keep in mind extra costs for the construction 3D printer. This too is part of the question how much a construction 3D printer is. Extra costs you have to consider are:
– the shipping to your location
– the assembly of the 3D construction printer
– the storage space where you are going to leave enormous device
– training for you to learn how to operate it
– printing materials
– software to operate it
…
Conclusion: How much is a construction 3D printer?
As a conclusion, I think it’s safe to say that 3D printers are insanely cheap compared to what they can do. This is not going to stay like this for too long, the supply is getting more and more and the printers will become even cheaper. After some time though, the housing market is going to adaot and houses will simplybe cheaper in my opinion. As of now you can get a small, cheap 3D printer starting at around 50 000$, a small high quality one starting a little below 200 000$. For big and good printers you might have to pay up to 1 000 000$, which is still not too expensive considering they can build an almost unlimited number of houses with great quality.