Printed Farms, Wellington is a Florida based start-up, which has just completed the 3D printing of the first 3D printed building in Florida, a 71 m2 (784 sqf) storage unit, using a giant BOD2 printer measuring 15*12,5*10 meters (50*42*33 ft) in the width, length and height. The finished building was reinforced with rebar, completed with an ICF platform system, and signed off by a structural engineer. Next steps on the way will be two intercoastal villas in Florida, now in the permitting phase. With the BOD2 printer from COBOD Printed Farms is capable of producing 180 m2 (2.000 sqf) floors on 3 storys, for a total of 540 m2 (6.000 sqf). 

Printed Farms mission is to make 3D printing standard for use in small scale as well as large scale construction projects, in an effort to bring hurricane and flood resistant green buildings to Florida, the fastest growing State in USA.

Fredrik Wannius, co-founder at Printed Farms said, “The construction industry is the world’s largest industry and one that has not been impacted by a technology revolution. We are here to change that. With our large BOD2 printer we can build safer homes, at competitive rates. Using COBOD’s 3D construction technology and BluePrintz, our innovative building method, we are aiming to significantly reduce the cost of building and getting ready to put the system in the hands of contractors”.

In the US, the 3D construction printing market has been characterized by many promises, but far fewer actual deliveries. Most of the US based printer companies are still in the prototyping stage and have yet to launch their first commercially available 3D construction printers. After COBOD made Europe’s first 3D printed back in 2017 using their first generation printer, they developed the BOD2 printer, which they began shipping in January 2019. 

Henrik Lund-Nielsen, Founder and General Manager of COBOD, commented: 

In the BOD2 printer, we have a market ready product proven over more than two years, which have made record projects in Europe including the 3D printing of the first three story commercial apartment building in Germany. The BOD2 printer was also used to print the world’s first concrete windmill tower for GE, so we are very confident, that this printer will satisfy the needs of the US market” 

COBOD, which in 2020 took Europe, Africa and India by storm by announcing that various of their customers using the BOD2 construction printer had finished the 3D printing of Europe’s first two story (link) and three story (link) 3D printed buildings, the first 3D printed buildings in Africa (link) and the first two story 3D printed building in India (link) now targets the US for 2021.  COBOD is already known in the US for their cooperation with GE Renewable Energy on the 3D printing of record tall concrete windmill towers (link). COBOD now adds Printed Farms in Florida to the by now quite long list of customers, which also include PERI (link) and LafargeHolcim  (14Trees) (link) both very active in the US market.

Henrik Lund-Nielsen, concluded: 

“We are very pleased to have sold the BOD2 printer, which Printed Farms used for the 3D printing of the first 3D printed building in Florida. This is surely not the last building, which will be 3D printed by a printer delivered by us. We are seeing a strong interest from the US market and have 3 more printers on the way to the US this year. The US is short of affordable quality housing and we have the technology to deliver precisely that in a fast and economical way using much less labor, than alternative methods”.