The plastic bottle you just tossed in the recycling bin could provide structural support for your future house.
The plastic bottle you just tossed in the recycling bin could provide structural support for your future house.
MIT engineers are using recycled plastic to 3D print construction-grade beams, trusses, and other structural elements that could one day offer lighter, modular, and more sustainable alternatives to traditional wood-based framing.
In a paper published in the Solid FreeForm Fabrication Symposium Proceedings, the MIT team presents the design for a 3D-printed floor truss system made from recycled plastic.
Read More at: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
On left, the MIT HAUS large format 3D printer system deposits the first layer of a polymer composite 3D printed floor truss. A closeup of a notched joint is seen on right, and the assembled floor system undergoing a bending test with a ~2,000lb concrete block load in the center. (Photo Credit: MIT/Researchers)
