Tenn. startup uses freeform 3D printer to build full-size walls

While 3D printing technology has gone from novel to practical in many realms, the construction industry has been a little slow in adopting it and using it in a meaningful way.

Branch Technology, a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based startup, is going all-in on 3D printing. According to 3DPrint.com, the company is the first to successfully construct full-size building walls using the technology.

It took the world’s largest freeform printer, one that has an arm that prints objects in open space, to make the lightweight yet incredibly sturdy lattice structures.

Branch’s focus right now is to make interior walls and art installations, but eventually the company plans to make load-bearing and exterior walls, and entire buildings.