Factory of the Future 1.0 (FoF 1.0) 3D printer The University of Maine
The University of Maine has smashed its own world record by creating the largest polymer 3D printer, paving the way for the future of sustainable manufacturing.
In 2019, they unleashed the first record-breaking 3D printer that constructed a 600-square-foot house made of recyclable materials.
Built to meet a demand for more affordable housing, the state of Maine needs another 80,000 homes over the next six years with a shortage of manpower to make it happen.
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The bigger and better Factory of the Future 1.0 (FoF 1.0) 3D printer is here to help its predecessor reach this goal of providing more for less.
The FoF 1.0 3D printer will build affordable housing
The university, with a longstanding relationship with the US government, wanted to demonstrate that a 3D printer could print a home with a lower carbon footprint – as the construction industry produces about 37% of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations Environment Program.
The FoF 1.0 prints four times faster, which means that it can print a bio home in about 80 hours. A single-story bungalow, for example, could take a few months to build, but this printer can complete the project in less than four days.
The goal wasn’t to build a cheap house, but rather to build one that people wanted to live in, said Dr Habib Dagher, the Director of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center at the University of Maine.
Present for the official unveiling of the FoF 1.0 were representatives from the US Department of Defense, Energy, the Maine State Housing Authority, as well as other stakeholders who plan to put this Factory of the Future 1.0 3D printer to good use.
The FoF 1.0: The future of manufacturing and defense
The thermoplastic polymer printer can print objects as large as 96 feet long by 32 feet wide by 18 feet high — consuming 500 pounds of material per hour.
Its applications range from industries to national security — meaning, if they need to build ships fast, they have the technology to do so.
Though, typically, it takes years to build military ships, in WWII, the US manufactured the Liberty ships in 42 days. These large-scale 3D printers could feasibly meet that speed and maybe surpass it if needed.
The applications of the 3D printer, however, are far-reaching.
“UMaine and the Advanced Structures and Composites Center possess the innovation, capacity, and workforce to support the future needs of the Department of Defense in advanced manufacturing,” said US Sen. Susan Collins. “This is a great day for our University, our State, and our Nation.”
Because the FoF 1.0 is so much more than a printer. It can switch functionalities between “additive manufacturing, subtractive manufacturing, continuous tap layup, and robotic arm operations.”
It’s both a computer and a manufacturer that the Office of the Secretary of Defense and US Army Corps of Engineers helped to design and build.
The FoF 1.0 stands to revolutionize a variety of industries. That includes affordable housing, public works such as bridge construction, and ocean and wind energy. And it’s all recyclable.
“You can basically deconstruct it, grind it up if you wish, the 3D printed parts, and reprint with them, do it again,” Dr Dagher said.
FoF 1.0 sits at the center of a new research center in Maine
With two immensely powerful machines, the University of Maine can develop biobased, locally sourced feedstocks, print affordable homes, and meet national security demands quickly.
