It's hard to use printers to build houses. This startup says it's found a solution — by creating a 3D printed home starter kit.

prototype of Phoenix next to a printed building
On Tuesday, construction-tech startup Icon announced a collection of new 3D printing tech: a multi-story printer, a "low-carbon" concrete printing mix, a digital catalog of home designs, and an AI home designer.Icon
  • Roadblocks stand between startups and their promise of cheaper and quickly built 3D printed homes.

  • Construction-tech startup Icon's new collection of products could alleviate some of these issues.

  • Icon unveiled a multi-story printer, a "low-carbon" printing mix, a catalog of designs, and an AI designer.

Over the last few years, several new startups have promised to build better homes using less labor, time, money, and materials — all with the help of a piece of technology: a 3D printer.

But amid this quest to alleviate the US housing crisis, the nascent 3D printing construction industry has continued to face major roadblocks.

A construction-tech startup in Austin now says it has the solutions.

On Tuesday, Icon announced four products that could help solve for 3D printing construction companies' biggest pain points: a multi-story printer, a "low-carbon" concrete mix, a digital catalog of designs, and an AI printed-home designer.

No, printed homes aren't something out of "The Jetsons." They're real — and already here.

the BioHome3D by the University of Maine's ASCC
The University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center 3D-printed a bio-based tiny home in 2022. Brittany Chang/Business Insider

In the last few years, startups — and even colleges — have unveiled 3D printed dwellings around the US.

In Virginia, Alquist, a 3D printing construction company, has built three Habitat for Humanity houses using a 3D printer.

In Texas, Icon is now working with construction giant Lennar to build the world's largest printed neighborhood.

And in Maine, a state university is now scaling up its manufacturing space to increase its production of fully recyclable printed dwellings.

Startups like these say robotic 3D printers could alleviate the US's ongoing housing crisis.

Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin. The exterior of the home is made of layered printed concrete that hold up the wooden roof. The shaded area is the car park.
Icon is responsible for projects like a luxury printed home in Austin.Brittany Chang/Business Insider

But their lofty goal of mass-producing affordable homes still faces some big problems, including an underdeveloped workforce, the tech's inefficiencies and limitations, and the sky-high cost of materials and printers.

On the latter note, most construction printers extrude a cement mix. However, concrete is far from being environmentally friendly.

But a solution to some of these issues is now in sight, Texas-based Icon says, thanks to its new group of products.

Icon's 100-home 3D printed community
Icon and its "first permitted 3D printed home" were launched six years prior. Pictured is a rendering of its 100-home community.Icon

Think of it as a 3D printing home starter kit — starting with Icon's new printer, Phoenix.

Many 3D printed family homes — including Icon's previous builds — are single-story, with the only printed components being its walls.

The rest of the house has to be built traditionally.

Phoenix, which Icon plans to deploy in 2025 or 2026, could change this.

prototype of Phoenix next to a printed building
Phoenix is set to be able to print buildings up to 27 feet tall. Icon says the tech's prototype, pictured above, printed a building of this height in 400 hours.Icon

The "six-degree robotic arm" can create a multi-story building's foundation, walls, floors, and roof structures without stopping, Melodie Yashar, Icon's vice president of building design and building performance, told Business Insider.