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3D solid model printers aren’t new, but they’re also generally pretty small. Otherwise seeming like replicators (from Star Trek, not Stargate), they can “print out” a solid object much like an inkjet printer prints out text or images, creating layer by layer of an object until it’s done. More after the clicky thingie…

Now, the University of Southern California has creating a program called CRAFT (Center for Rapid Automated Fabrication Technologies) to create larger scale, real-world objects such as boats or even whole buildings.

Imagine a 2,000 square-foot house being “printed” in a single day…not the entire house, mind you, but the general structure of it, complete with plumbing & electrical. What’s even better is that the system should be able to create any solid object that can support its own weight (not need any additional support elements), not just ones that are square-ish.

That means you could create a CAD drawing of a donut shaped house, and as long as it would support its own weight, you could live inside one of Homer Simpson’s dreams come true.

CRAFT has just received some funding from construction equipment giant Caterpillar to continue their R&D efforts.

CRAFT via Gizmodo