3D printing’s new challenge: Solving the US housing shortage

A 3D-printed home by Icon in Austin, Texas. It’s part of a new generation of startups that wants to disrupt the way houses are built by automating production with industrial 3D printers. — Courtesy of ICON via AP

A new generation of startups wants to disrupt the way houses are built by automating production with industrial 3D printers.

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, uses machines to deposit thin layers of plastic, metal, concrete and other materials atop one another, eventually producing three-dimensional objects from the bottom up. In recent years, 3D printers have mostly been used to create small quantities of specialised items such as car parts or prosthetic limbs, allowing consumers or businesses to produce just what they need using the machines at home or work.