Arizona housing developer making 3D printed homes wants to help Ukraine's infrastructure
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. - Since the war in Ukraine began, we've highlighted several different defense companies in Arizona that have helped send products to the front line.
This one is different though.
A home builder in our state is finalizing a defense contract with Ukraine.
‘This is the future of construction’
Behind the sheets of drywall in beautiful new homes in a Casa Grande neighborhood stands concrete walls that were 3D printed.
Interestingly enough, that might be the secret to warfare in Ukraine.
"This is the future of construction. Robots are going to build the world going forward," Russell Varone with Diamond Age said.
It's fast. Their record is 58 days from foundation to keys.
The process by Arizona-based Diamond Age creates a surprisingly strong home.
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"What we do better than anyone else is create resilient concrete structures that are incredibly robust," Jack Oslan with Diamond Age said.
Robust enough to survive a category 5 hurricane, and now, maybe a war zone.
Diamond Age announced it's now working with the Ukrainian government to get its 3D printers over there and create strong buildings – fast.
"Our technology can help immediately with military structure. Barracks, bunkers, ammo, depots," Oslan said. "Ultimately, it can transition into the reconstruction of their community housing."
It's fast and only getting faster.
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A team designs the home and guides the computer. A laser shoots at the spout to position it correctly to the millimeter.
They've built 27 homes in Arizona like this.
"In the future, we'll build 100% of the house with robots, and we'll take the same amount of people on the job site and just build a lot more houses. It's not about job replacement. It's about building more houses," Varone said.
Using less manpower to build more can help in war-torn Ukraine. Not just now, but in the future when neighborhoods need to be rebuilt," Varone said.
"Getting their citizens housed, their economic development back up and running," Oslan said. "We're excited in being able to help people get back to work in Ukraine."
We might start seeing these 3D printers in Ukraine some time in 2024, but Diamond Age says it's still working out a lot of the details on how this will work.