COBOD on the true state of 3D printing in construction

The company COBOD recently spoke out on the true state of the construction 3D printing industry, revealing many misconceptions people have about 3D printed buildings. According to the company, officially, no building has been 3D printed in 24 hours only. A milestone that many believed to have been met some time ago by Apis Cor. For COBOD, it all started when the company printed its first building in 2017, named BOD (Building on Demand). Since, it has continued to develop its construction 3D printer and made many improvements to continue pushing the technology. Today, the company believes it is important to put in perspective what different players say they’ve achieved.

Henrik Lund-Nielsen, CEO of COBOD, explains: “During our research we found that many companies had at best “put a gross marketing angle” on their PR, deliberately aimed at creating the wrong impressions by the readers. We hope to be able to set the record straight and create more clarity. We want to assure that potential customers have the correct information and understand the very early maturity stage of this industry. We all believe in the fantastic potential of this industry, but we need to be realistic about what really can be done with the technology for the time being. Otherwise we risk disappointing potential customers and that people distrust our industry and the information about our products and technology, which we really want to avoid.”

COBOD’s 3D printer

In terms of maturity, the industry is the very early stage of adoption for construction. Over the last few years, 3D printing in construction has brought about a lot excitement, which is understandable given the alluring idea of fully 3D printed houses. Up to now, the vast majority of the construction projects have been for demonstration purposes only. The value of these projects comprises a few hundred million dollars, a drop in the ocean when compared to the construction industry’s annual revenue (about $10 trillion globally).