Gansu farmer develops 3D printer, plans to build greenhouse
On October 10, 2016, a rhythmic "squeak, squeak, squeak" of machinery rang out in Wumiao Village, Chengchuan Township, Jingning County, Gansu. That day, 38-year-old farmer Wu Bingrong officially began using his invented mobile 3D construction printer to "print" a house for his own family.
Half a month passed, and the neighbors were amazed to discover that a wall 18 m long, 30 cm thick and 1 m high had truly risen up...
"3D construction printing is extremely hot right now. Not only is the quality reliable, but it can shorten the construction period by 50%-70% and reduce labor by 50%-80%... In addition, as a brand-new construction method, its biggest highlight is environmental friendliness," Wu Bingrong said. Gansu is a major agricultural province, and modern agriculture is developing at just the right time. I will apply this technology to modern agriculture, printing greenhouse walls, which is of milestone significance.
From 300,000 to 30 million: deciding to develop a 3D construction printer
Why would a farmer step into the "high-end, precise and advanced" field of 3D construction printers? This story starts with building a house.
Just after the spring of 2014, Wu Bingrong discussed with his parents and decided to renovate the family's old home, but after calculation, the 400 sq m courtyard would cost at least 300,000 yuan. During that period, Wu Bingrong, who was focused on figuring out how to save money on building a house, was deeply attracted while online by a news report that "a company in Suzhou used a 3D printer to print a villa." The report said, "A villa printed with 3D printing costs only two-thirds of one built by manual labor."
After seeing the information, Wu Bingrong was thrilled. He immediately boarded a train to Suzhou, found the company, and visited the "printed" villa on site.
When he inquired about using 3D technology to "print" a house for himself, he was told the franchise fee would be more than 30 million. From 300,000 to 30 million, reality played an enormous joke on this passionate farmer. Returning disappointed, Wu Bingrong made a major decision in his life: to develop a 3D construction printer himself.
Entering "crazy learning" mode, upgrading the "printer" generation after generation
After returning from Suzhou, Wu Bingrong devoted all his time to learning. Through the internet, he read a large amount of literature in six areas: electronic circuits, mechanical manufacturing, automated control, 3D printing, cement and building materials, and robotics. From the first generation in September 2014 to today's fourth-generation 3D printer, Wu Bingrong overcame problems such as failed print shaping, how to print walls, and machines being bulky. Wu Bingrong told the reporter that today's 3D printer has many advantages: "First, it is small and compact, and can print giant buildings on site by moving itself; second, a computer designs a three-dimensional model of the building, and the printer directly prints it into shape, eliminating the production step for building materials such as bricks and shortening the production cycle; third, house building is highly automated, reducing labor intensity; fourth, the cost is low, and the building raw materials are ordinary cement and fine sand; fifth, the appearance and shape can be designed freely, and landscape buildings of different shapes can be printed. But the fourth-generation small mobile 3D printer has only one nozzle and can print only 2 sq m of wall per working day, so the efficiency is relatively low."
At present, Wu Bingrong is developing more advanced small mobile 3-nozzle and 6-nozzle printers, "hoping this technology can be realized as soon as possible, so that the broad masses of farmers can enjoy the fruits of scientific and technological development early."
(Reporter Li Xiaoguang, Correspondent Wang Xiongxiong)