<
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/12/3d-printing-the-new-technology-comes-into-its-own>
"Nori bricks, which were first fired in the Lancashire town of Accrington in
1887, quickly became legendary as the hardest brick ever produced. Their
strength, derived from the chemical properties of the local clay, enabled
megastructures to rise up around the world, including the Blackpool Tower in
1894 and the Empire State Building in New York in 1930. Their name is said to
be a cock-up from when they meant to write “iron” on the works’ chimney.
This year a different, though equally pioneering, construction material is set
to bring attention to the town, which is 20 miles north of Manchester and whose
most recent claim to fame is being trash-talked in a 1989 advert for milk. On
Charter Street, on a patch of disused land owned by the council, there are
plans to build 46 net-zero-carbon homes, ranging from single-bedroom apartments
to four-bed houses, all occupied by low-income families or military veterans.
The homes will be made not from Nori bricks, but from 3D-extruded concrete.
When the development is complete, potentially in late 2023, it will be the
largest printed building complex in Europe.
“My grandad actually used to work at the brick factory,” says Scott Moon,
born-and-raised in Accrington, whose company, Building for Humanity, is behind
the Charter Street project. “When I was young he used to take me in there at
night and I used to ride on the back of the forklift. So, bless him, if he
could see us now, about to start concrete-printing houses in Accrington…”
You remember 3D printing – also known as additive manufacturing – right? You
probably read an article around 2012 that predicted how every home would soon
have a 3D printer that we would use for all manner of ingenious tasks. OK, well
that didn’t happen. “Nobody’s going to be making bits for their washing machine
when it breaks,” says Richard Hague, professor of additive manufacturing at the
University of Nottingham. “People making handles for their saucepans when they
drop off? No one’s going to do that and you’d be mad if you did. You can just
order stuff from Amazon quicker and get it delivered the next day.”
But while home usage of 3D printers has not taken off, stealthily the
technology has been inveigling its way into our lives in other ways. Almost all
– 99% plus – custom hearing aids are now 3D printed in acrylic resin, and have
been for years. Additive manufacturing is widely used in dentistry: teeth
aligners, which are increasingly taking the place of traditional wire braces,
would be almost impossible without 3D printing. Adidas and Nike use the
technology in their shoes. There are 3D-printed parts on all new aircraft and
in a growing number of cars."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-global-malaria-lgbtq-warriors-river-albania/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
