Real estate revolution: 3D printers to make homes 40% cheaper

When in 2013 the news spread that the first firearm had been manufactured with a 3D printer, the world was put on alert. But this initiative was not carried out by a group of specialists, but by a young student of advocacy and defender of the carrying of arms in the United States.

This construction was achieved with only 16 pieces and a manual assembly. Little by little, and with a controversial presentation, 3D printers left their place of "toy factories" to be a serious thing.

"We know that technology advances much faster than we expect. So, being one step ahead of the technological developments, we hope and believe that we can take advantage of the criminals too, "said Victoria Baines, director of prevention and strategy at Europol. And he was not wrong.

From that moment, 3D printers took a new role in the industries. They no longer served -only- to print small pieces of decoration, but instead they began to fit together as a tool to transform the way of producing.

"2013 was a year of breakdown because industries began to realize that they could transform themselves by getting spare parts in an economical and fast way", explains to iProUP Nicolás Berenfeld, co-founder of Trideo, a company that offers 3D printing service for companies and individuals.

"It was the fact that it changed people's perspective on what can be printed, especially with functional objectives. This opened the conversation even if it was a delicate issue, "he says.

With the rise of printers, Berenfeld joined in 2014 with engineers Simon Gabriac and Laurent Rodriguez to create this company that, initially, wanted to spread about the range of possibilities. But they saw that the business was on the other side.

From there, they put the focus on the sale of equipment manufactured by themselves, with opensource models and from their homes based on online plans available. "At that time it was difficult to bring the components to assemble them, but we were able to start generating our project because we saw that there was a latent demand," adds Berenfeld. And there they began to feel the business: the services for the industry.

Think big
With its base of operations in Buenos Aires, the founders of Trideo discovered how what they saw as an opportunity to spread a disruptive technology could be a big business. "We saw a growing interest in SMEs and the industrial sector, not only to print small things, but to prototype for design studios, foundry pieces that serve to make models," says Rodriguez.

With this plan in motion, other options began to appear, such as the possibility of manufacturing spare parts for large machinery. This development has its particularities: if the components do not require a mechanical or thermal resistance, from Trideo they are able to solve problems -in time and money- to the companies. Unlike the traditional ones, which can take up to two months to be manufactured, the pieces in 3D can be from one day to the other and in quantity.

It does not matter that they have a shorter service life, in business what is worth is time and money: "If you can make it in a plant or hire a printing service that makes you 20 of one, you are covered in the future" , says Gabraic. To achieve this, the firm has two ways of working: with 3D models delivered by the client or with complex models.

Also, the possibility of personalization that these printing tools deliver allows to expand the market to limits that years ago were unthinkable. Even for the Internet of Things (IoT) industry, where elements are developed as no other factory generates by the incipient market.

With 10 employees and 40 kg of plastic used per week, Trideo seeks to form its own "print farm", where up to 10,000 products are produced per customer.Your house, in 24 hours

But manufacturing spare parts is not the only utility of 3D printers. At the global level, a trend started that is gaining more and more strength for the same principles: save time and save money.

Newlink Capital is an Argentine company that pursues innovation in real estate. This firm has a group of five ventures that seek to transform the industry from technological developments. Among its solutions, the license to operate the first 3D printer for real estate stands out.

"We saw how investors can take advantage of their investment opportunities to democratize the real estate market," says CEO and founder, Damian Lopo, to iProUP, adding: "Our main objective is to see how to solve the ever present housing problem, and that people can have their house fast and cheap. "

In this path of innovation, technology and disruption, the company made a simple equation: the longer it takes, the higher the costs.

But how does it work? Unlike the large cranes that already operate in China to build houses, Newlink patented the first "onsite" printer (on site and transportable) in the world to work in Argentina.

With the promise of rapid construction, this platform allows you to create the base of the house (openings, floors, walls, partitions and roof) in just 24 hours. In the traditional process, this demands about 10 or 15 people of labor and 30 days of construction.

"With this tool, it is 80% faster and 40% cheaper, with only two operators," says the CEO.

The goal is set in Argentina: the housing deficit reaches 3.5 million homes (70% is qualitative due to overcrowding, lack of infrastructure and services, among others, and the remaining 30% is quantitative, that is, of new housing), according to Alejandro Besuschio, executive director Fundación Vivienda Digna.

"Innovation is useful if you create things that people can use. That's why the idea is that everyone can have their house without financing from banks or the State, but by crowdfunding. The key is to articulate financial mechanisms and tools that interact ", adds the CEO.

With tentative date for December 2019, the machine can build houses up to 132m2 of a single "run", but with the versatility of the designs in 3D printers. "We use technology to solve a central problem in the country," Lopo concludes.

It was a challenge
With promises to revolutionize the market, 3D printers are now a reality. Although its impact still goes unnoticed on a macro scale, these innovative tools have already begun to transform the industry from custom, economical and fast production designs.

Argentina already has its references, although there is a long way to go: "It has to mature but every time there are more companies that are interested and understand this technology and see how to take advantage of it," Berenfeld explains, adding that "the key is to maximize the use to provide solutions that transform the productive processes ".

In turn, the impact on the labor market will lead to transformations in different directions, where specialization in the understanding of this technology will be crucial. "Many times you think about how robotization leaves people without work. But you have to look at it from the other side: using the 20 people required to make a single house can be transformed into 10 teams that create 10 houses at the same time. The challenge is not to hire fewer people, but to multiply the tools to have a greater impact ", concludes Lopo.

The technology is already on the table. It is a matter of time to see how different industries adapt to the changes and challenges that the new industrial revolution brings.

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