Here at 3D Rapid Print, one of the fastest growing 3D Printing companies in the Thames Valley, we like to keep abreast of the latest innovations in 3D printing.
On August 16th 2021, construction technologies company ICON of Austin, Texas announced that it had collaborated with the Texas Military Department (TMD) to 3D print a training barracks at the Camp Swift Training Center in Bastrop (also in Texas). Proclaimed by ICON as “the largest 3D printed structure in North America,” the 3,800-square-foot building is intended to house up to 72 soldiers or airmen at their primary facility while they train for missions. ICON also claimed that the building’s inhabitants would be the first soldiers in the world to live in a 3D printed barracks.
To commemorate the building’s unveiling, TMD and ICON held a ribbon cutting ceremony the same day as ICON’s announcement, where they were joined by Government Officials and TMD members. ICON intends for soldiers in training to start living there somewhen in autumn 2021. (Incidentally, despite ICON also referring to the structure as “the first-ever 3D-printed Barracks,” precedent for 3D printed barracks traces back at least as far as August 2017.)
However, this would not be the first time that ICON had done 3D printing work for the U.S. Armed Forces. In July 2020, ICON announced that it had trained 8 marines in using its 3D printing technology to build what it referred to as “a Vehicle Hide Structure” at Camp Pendleton in Southern California. Originally intended to be finished within 48 albeit non-consecutive hours of 3D printing, ICON proclaimed that it was done in 36 with almost no time necessary for troubleshooting. The resulting structure measured 26ft long, 13ft wide and 15ft tall.
3D printing is an amazing tool. It can grow your small business or start a mini revolution in an industry. Explore what it can do for you when you contact us today.
Disclaimer: Featured image of “Clarence Barracks, Portsmouth” is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 70 years or fewer. It is also in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1926.
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