Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

HTTPS

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means you have safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

  • Environmental Topics
  • Laws & Regulations
  • Report a Violation
  • About EPA
Contact Us

Grantee Research Project Results

2014 Progress Report: 3D Printing Sustainable Building Components for Façades and as Window Elements

EPA Grant Number: SU835547
Title: 3D Printing Sustainable Building Components for Façades and as Window Elements
Investigators: San Fratello, Virginia , Speer, Leslie , Straubing, Cassandra , Wright, Shannon , Wagner, Molly , Leroux, Victoria , Molkenbuhr, Deanna , Velazquez, Angelica , Murri, Stephanie , Binni, Anyssa , Everling, Marissa , Shirazi, Shaharyar
Current Investigators: San Fratello, Virginia , Speer, Leslie , Straubing, Cassandra , Wright, Shannon , Binni, Anyssa , Everling, Marissa , Wagner, Molly , Leroux, Victoria , Molkenbuhr, Deanna , Velazquez, Angelica , Murri, Stephanie , Shirazi, Shaharyar , Scarpello, Biaggio , Bowles, Carolyn
Institution: San Jose State University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Phase: II
Project Period: August 15, 2013 through August 14, 2015
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 15, 2013 through August 14,2014
Project Amount: $89,940
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet - Phase 2 (2013) Recipients Lists
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Challenge Area - Sustainable and Healthy Communities , P3 Challenge Area - Chemical Safety , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities

Objective:

We are designing and fabricating three prototypical wall/ curtain systems using our own 

  1. wood flour recipe with the Z CORP 3D printer,
  2. wood filament in the Fused Deposition Modeler (FDM) and
  3. recycled wood-based paper in the MCOR printer.

The three wall systems (2 as window and façade elements or curtain walls and 1 as load bearing wall) will be installed in a public venue where mechanical, structural, chemical and optical properties of the walls will be measured over time. 

Progress Summary:

WOOD FLOUR WALL – Sawdust Screen

We have tested the 1. Wood flour recipe not only for compressive strength and strain but also now for tensile strength. 

Tensile Strength Data (avg): Thickness =.112” ; Width = .490”

Equipment used: M200 (courtesy of Kimball)

Displacement reading: 63 lbs.

Yield 1,148 PSI (as a point of reference MDF has a tensile strength of 2000 psi)

Figure 1

Figure 1. photo of sample testing

Strategies for connecting the load bearing wood based units into larger surfaces continue to be explored in the full-scale prototypes. Flanges and integral holes for connecting parts have been incorporated into the design and screws, washers and nuts are being used to make mechanical connections. 

Figure 2

Figure 2. Photograph of 3d printed flange with connecting hardware

The sawdust screen is a freestanding wall that is installed at 1661 20th Street in Oakland, CA. We are currently observing it to see how it performs over time. 

Figure 3. 

WOOD FILAMENT CURTAIN – Cell Veil

We have developed a 3D printed curtain using the wood filament. The wood filament has proved to be incredibly difficult to work with. There is a 75% failure rate using the material as it frequently clogs the hot end of the printer. Therefore, we do not recommend using this material for largescale applications.  Ultimately, because of the frequent failure with the wood, we reverted to using PLA –soybean or corn based plastic – to finish the curtain. Because of the excessive print failure we were unable to control the height and depth of each finished cell therefore we will not be able to evaluate the curtain for it’s thermal performance. We also have had difficulty simulating the thermal effects of such a detailed design using commercially available software such as ecotect. Therefore, we will be collaborating with Dr. Luisa Caldas, Professor of Architecture at the University of California Berkeley, this spring. Dr. Caldas is responsible for the development of computational tools and workflows to integrate sustainability in complex architectural concepts. She is the author of GENE_ARCH, a generative design system that integrates Energy Plus, Radiance, Daysim and Evalglare as simulation engines, and uses Pareto Genetic Algorithms for search and generation.

Figure 4

Figure 4.

3.  Recycled Paper Curtain – Wall Paper

We have developed multiple designs for both 3D printed curtains and 3D printed walls using the recycled paper and have printed full-scale prototypes of each design as a way of testing the potential for printing modular units. Thus far the Mcor printer has a success rate of 86% when prints are less than 2” high.  When prints exceed 2” the success rate reduces dramatically primarily because of paper feed errors and nonrecoverable controller errors. Of 40 test prints approximately 22 have printed successfully and 19 of those were less than 2” high.  Of the remaining test prints that exceeded 2” only 3 have finished printing for a success rate of 16%. 

Dr. Fritz Yarborough, Director of the Packaging Program at SJSU has kindly agreed to test the compressive, tensile and burst strengths of the paper prototypes in both orientations and we intend to have those results in January 2015. 

Figure 5

Figure 5. 3d printed physical prototypes

Future Activities:

The design of mass customized façades elements, as pursued in phase I of the grant, results in passive heating and cooling, which would decrease energy consumption and expenses to the building. The window façade elements decrease the building’s interior heat gain. The monetary, environmental, and health impacts affected by the regulation of building temperatures is cause for great concern. This window façades would reduce the need for expensive and wasteful heating and cooling systems and provides for healthier, natural environments for people. Our goal at the end of the phase II is to be able to quantify and qualify, through testing and empirical research, the success (or failure) of the wall systems, we are currently taking measurements and intend to show the results of the empirical testing at the end of the research period.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 3 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

3D printing, wood, glass, additive manufacturing, passive solar design, reduced energy consumption, ecotect

Relevant Websites:

3D Print JSU - GitHub Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract
  • Final Report

  • P3 Phase I:

    3D Printing Sustainable Building Components for Facades and as Window Elements  | Final Report

    Top of Page

    The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.

    Project Research Results

    • Final Report
    • Original Abstract
    • P3 Phase I | Final Report
    3 publications for this project

    Site Navigation

    • Grantee Research Project Results Home
    • Grantee Research Project Results Basic Search
    • Grantee Research Project Results Advanced Search
    • Grantee Research Project Results Fielded Search
    • Publication search
    • EPA Regional Search

    Related Information

    • Search Help
    • About our data collection
    • Research Grants
    • P3: Student Design Competition
    • Research Fellowships
    • Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
    Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
    Last updated April 28, 2023
    United States Environmental Protection Agency

    Discover.

    • Accessibility
    • Budget & Performance
    • Contracting
    • EPA www Web Snapshot
    • Grants
    • No FEAR Act Data
    • Plain Writing
    • Privacy
    • Privacy and Security Notice

    Connect.

    • Data.gov
    • Inspector General
    • Jobs
    • Newsroom
    • Open Government
    • Regulations.gov
    • Subscribe
    • USA.gov
    • White House

    Ask.

    • Contact EPA
    • EPA Disclaimers
    • Hotlines
    • FOIA Requests
    • Frequent Questions

    Follow.