Giant 3D printer starts spitting out a house

Forget machine parts and iPhone cases, the Dutch are thinking much bigger by using a 20-foot-tall 3D printer to create whole rooms that can be assembled into unique, customized houses.

Till now, 3D printing has been used to create relatively small items -- everything from iPhone cases to prosthetic fingers to aircraft parts and alien shoes. But none of those projects are a match for the full-size house Dutch architects have begun building in Amsterdam using a 20-foot-tall 3D printer.

The project, known simply as the "3D Print Canal House," uses a super-sized version of the popular in-home 3D printer made by Ultimaker. Dutch architectural firm Dus commissioned the machine when it decided to take the scale-model rooms it was already 3D-printing and turn them into the real thing.

"We bought a container from the Internet and we transformed it into one of the biggest printers on this planet," said Dus co-founder Hans Vermeule in a video (below) about the project.

The printer is called KamerMaker, which means "room builder," and that's exactly what it does -- construct a series of rooms that can be basically snapped together to form an entire house.
 
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