Black Buffalo 3D, a construction 3D printing company based out of New Jersey, is gearing up to 3D print a minimalist home design in Fort Worth, Texas on May 29 and 30th. Notably, the company is turning the build into a live event, inviting people from the additive and construction industries to witness its NEXCON 3D printing solution construct a code-compliant home.
The structure itself was designed by Boxer Properties and is called “LoMa” (short for low maintenance). The vision of the design was to build a home that is both affordable in terms of construction and maintenance. Black Buffalo 3D’s ability to 3D print structural walls from proprietary cement inks is vital to realizing the LoMa goal.
Black Buffalo 3D’s NEXON gantry system
As Andrew Segal, Founder of Boxer Properties, wrote on LinkedIn: “The future is printed houses made out of concrete using printers like the ones made by Black Buffalo. They should last 1000 years. Even if abandoned, they should be able to be put back in service very quickly and cheaply. It’s critical that the roof is also made of concrete. A fully concrete house, free of any plaster products or structural wood, becomes essentially fireproof, mold proof, wind proof, and essentially able to recover from flooding almost immediately.”
Manufacturing on Demand
The construction on the house will begin on May 29th at a site in Southside Fort Worth. Notably, the structure will be the first in the world to integrate 3D printed load bearing walls approved by the ICC-ES, a leader in providing technical evaluations and certifications for code compliance. “The property was selected to make the home accessible on a corner lot to increase awareness of code compliant 3D construction,” explains Black Buffalo 3D. “It will serve as a fully permitted and owner-occupiable showcase for disaster recovery, preparedness and functional design.” In fact, the company has revealed that once the build is complete, a select number of event attendees will actually be able to stay in the 3D printed home.
The scale of the NEXCON system can be adjusted by adding more tracks
Black Buffalo 3D’s NEXCON solution is a scalable 3D printing platform capable of printing structures up to three stories tall. The system is based on a modular gantry design that features extendable tracks for an adjustable build volume and a nozzle that can print at the OSHA-recommended rate of 9.8 inches per second (about 250 mm/second). According to the company, the NEXCON 3D printer can 3D print an entire 1,000-square-foot build in under 20 hours.
In addition to the upcoming 3D printed LoMa home, Black Buffalo 3D is also involved in a number of other construction 3D printing initiatives. In 2023, the company partnered with Innova Homes Limited in Trinidad and Tobago to 3D print a series of homes and train local students and construction workers to use the large-scale 3D printing technology. The company also successfully 3D printed two homes in December 2023 through the Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg project in Newport News, Virginia. The homes are designed for low energy consumption and disaster resilience.
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Author: Tess Boissonneault
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