In recent years, Kentucky and the Appalachian regions have faced devastating losses from tornadoes, floods, and even hurricanes. Natural disasters that seem to now regularly exceed predictive weather models. In response to these challenges, Somerset Community College (SCC) decided to speed up the use of AM within the construction industry.
According to Andrew Clapper, C3DP Project Manager, a member of the SCC team. “SCC was the first institution in the nation to develop a statewide additive manufacturing certificate program.”
The institution aims to employ AM to construct resilient homes capable of withstanding future floods and tornadoes.
Eric Wooldridge, Director of KCTCS Additive Manufacturing Center at SCC, emphasized the importance of rebuilding with resilience in mind. “If we are going to rebuild, why not utilize technologies and materials that can endure floods and mitigate concerns often associated with mold and contamination? Why not move toward building structures that can make us feel safe and can last well over a century?”
SCC’s foray into this innovative technology has garnered funding from the USDA and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). While experts at SCC acknowledge that fully integrating this technology into existing residential building codes and standards will take time, it is already being successfully implemented in other states and countries.
Wooldridge continued, “Additive manufacturing, whether big or small and using plastics, metals or concrete is the application of choice for people that want to get things done. A technology that vastly reduces the barriers for people to try new things and to push the envelope,” Wooldridge stated. “Our mission here at SCC, as it always has been, is to pave the way for people to replicate and scale what we are doing. To find ways to put this technology in every school and community and give them the power to innovate. Because that is not only what Kentucky needs, but also our nation and our world.”
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