ICON announces its Titan 3D-printing construction system for builders and construction companies
Texas-based 3D-printed construction and architecture pioneer ICON announced the commercial rollout of new machines, described as a “multi-story robotic construction system.” The Titan is designed to build at “lower cost and with greater speed and quality.” Builders and construction companies can reserve a machine with a deposit of $5,000 and purchase one for a lean $899,000.
The Titan’s boom serial arm can build up to 27 feet tall with an extrusion speed of 16 inches per second (Casey Dunn/Courtesy ICON)
Since ICON’s 2018 debut, the novel printing technology has seen major contracts with US Army and Martian application development with NASA. However, their aspirations with Titan seem to be much more far-reaching, and its deployment democratized. CEO Jason Ballard said in a statement on the release of the machine, “After nearly a decade of research, development, and field operations, we believe it’s time to put these technologies directly into the hands of other builders.”
Titan precedes ICON’s previous 3D construction machine, the Vulcan. As previously reported by AN, the Vulcan printer was used to build 3D-printed homes in Austin and an expansive single-story barracks structure in Bastrop, Texas. The Titan, however, marks a jump in speed and efficiency: at 27 feet tall, it requires only two operators to maintain a single 2,500-square-foot printing area. Using ICON’s proprietary printing material, Reinforced Formcrete, the machine can print a home in under seven days. In 2022, the Vulcan I took three weeks to print something of a similar size, utilizing lavacrete as its material.
“It is clear to me that this is the way to cut the cost and time of construction in half while making homes that more faithfully express the quality, values and hopes of the people who live in them,” Ballard said.
ICON plans to deploy Titan to print homes for the unhoused at Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ Community First! Village in Austin, as well as a 60-plus-unit development designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group. In addition to residential endeavors, the Titan is also slated to construct a 35-foot-tall,3D-printed church in Texas designed by Overland Partners.
Conceptualization of BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group home development (Courtesy ICON/BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group)
Per ICON, builders who have booked Titan are also developing plans that include reconstruction efforts from California’s wildfires and other high-impact housing initiatives. Customer training for the machine is expected to begin sometime later this year, with Titan deployment slated for early 2027.
