The team fabricated floor trusses from recycled plastic bottles using large-scale industrial 3D printing and assembled them into a plywood-topped structural floor system. Load tests revealed the plastic trusses supported over 4,000 pounds, surpassing relevant U.S. housing safety standards. The printed components weighed approximately 13 pounds each, lighter than equivalent wood trusses, and were produced in under 13 minutes apiece.
Ongoing work aims to expand beyond floor trusses to additional framing components, targeting modular home construction with increased sustainability. While test results are promising, adoption depends on further validation, cost competitiveness, and large-scale manufacturing capabilities.
Source & further reading
Your future home might be framed with printed plastic ↗Source published 2026-02-03. This report was prepared with AI assistance from the linked primary-source material. Claims and limitations should be checked against the original announcement or research.