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Contour Crafting

Contour crafting is a construction technology developed by Behrokh Khoshnevis that uses computer-controlled equipment to rapidly construct buildings with minimal human labor. It works by depositing quick-setting concrete or other materials in layers to form walls, which are then topped with floors and ceilings installed by the same machine. The process aims to significantly reduce construction waste and time compared to traditional methods. NASA and others have explored using it to construct habitats for living and working in space.

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64 views

Contour Crafting

Contour crafting is a construction technology developed by Behrokh Khoshnevis that uses computer-controlled equipment to rapidly construct buildings with minimal human labor. It works by depositing quick-setting concrete or other materials in layers to form walls, which are then topped with floors and ceilings installed by the same machine. The process aims to significantly reduce construction waste and time compared to traditional methods. NASA and others have explored using it to construct habitats for living and working in space.

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Ionuț Stănculea
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Contour crafting

3 References

Contour crafting is a building printing technology being


researched by Behrokh Khoshnevis of the University of
Southern California's Information Sciences Institute (in
the Viterbi School of Engineering) that uses a computercontrolled crane or gantry to build edices rapidly and
eciently with substantially less manual labor. It was
originally conceived as a method to construct molds for
industrial parts. Khoshnevis decided to adapt the technology for rapid home construction as a way to rebuild
after natural disasters, like the devastating earthquakes
that have plagued his native Iran.[1]

[1] Annenberg Foundation Puts Robotic Disaster Rebuilding Technology on Fast Track. University of Souther
California School of Engineering. November 14, 2005.
Retrieved May 8, 2012.
[2] Automated Construction using Contour Crafting Applications on Earth and Beyond PDF
[3] Caterpillar Inc. Funds Viterbi 'Print-a-House' Construction Technology. USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
August 28, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2010.

Using a quick-setting, concrete-like material, contour


crafting forms the houses walls layer by layer until topped
o by oors and ceilings set in place by the crane. The
notional concept calls for the insertion of structural components, plumbing, wiring, utilities, and even consumer
devices like audiovisual systems as the layers are built.[2]

[4] Singularity University Semester Completion and


Projects. NextBigFuture. August 28, 2009. Retrieved
October 21, 2014.
[5] Home, Sweet Home. University of Southern California.
March 24, 2004. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
[6] House-Bot. The Science Channel. December 30, 2005.

History

[7] Colloquium with Behrokh Khoshnevis. Massachusetts


Institute of Technology. Retrieved January 13, 2010.

Caterpillar Inc. provided funding to help support Viterbi


project research in the summer of 2008.[3]

[8] NASAs plan to build homes on the Moon: Space agency


backs 3D print technology which could build base. TechFlesh. 2014-01-15. Retrieved 2014-01-16.

In 2009, Singularity University graduate students established the ACASA project with Khoshnevis as the CTO
to commercialize Contour Crafting.[4]

4 External links

In 2010, Khoshnevis claimed that his system could build a


complete home in a single day,[5] and its electrically powered crane would produce very little construction material waste. The Science Channel's Discoveries This Week
program in 2005 reported that, given 37 tons of material waste and the exhaust fumes from construction vehicles during standard home construction, contour crafting
could signicantly reduce environmental impact.[6]

Contour Crafting website


ACASA website

Khoshnevis stated in 2010 that NASA was evaluating


Contour Crafting for its application in the construction
of bases on Mars and the Moon.[7] After three years, in
2013, NASA funded a small study at the University of
Southern California to further develop the Contour Crafting 3D printing technique. Potential applications of this
technology include constructing lunar structures of a material that could be built of 90-percent lunar material with
only ten percent of the material transported from Earth.[8]

See also
D-Shape
1

5 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

5.1

Text

Contour crafting Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contour%20crafting?oldid=652104095 Contributors: Jeq, Khalid hassani,


A2Kar, 4v4l0n42, Mindmatrix, GregorB, CharlesC, YurikBot, Bovineone, Tony1, SmackBot, Alex earlier account, Chris the speller,
N2e, Cydebot, NuclearWarfare, Addbot, Timurite, AnomieBOT, HRoestBot, Tom.Reding, ZroBot, , Ego White Tray, Virtualerian and Anonymous: 9

5.2

Images

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5.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

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