SUPPORT FOR GREATER CHATTANOOGA IS PROVIDED BY EPB FIBER OPTICS, BLOOD ASSURANCE AND CHAMBLISS
STARTUP GROUP.
IF YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK YOU KNOW, THE ODDS OF SUCCESS ARE SLIM.
BUT GREAT IDEAS, INNOVATION AND HARD WORK CAN TURN DREAMS INTO REALITY.
I’M JAMES CHAPMAN, THIS IS THE LEAP.
SOMETIMES, INNOVATION STARTS WITH A ‘WHAT IF…?’
I WAS AN ARCHITECT FOR 15 YEARS IN MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA.
I WAS WORKING AT A MID-SIZED FIRM UNTIL AN IDEA STARTED.
HE WAS READING SOME ARTICLES ON SOME OF THE OTHER PEOPLE WHO WERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT,
ALRIGHT HOW DO WE 3D PRINT STUFF THAT IS BIGGER THAN MACHINE PARTS OR YODA HEADS?
HE STARTED THINKING ABOUT: ALRIGHT, 3D PRINTING IS REALLY GOOD AT CREATING SHAPE.
WHY DO ANY MORE WITH IT THAN THAT?
WHY TRY AND MAKE 3D PRINTING INTO WHAT OTHER CONVENTIONAL BUILDING METHODS ALREADY DO VERY
WELL?
WHY CAN’T YOU JUST MERRY THE TWO?
AND SO HIS FIRST SKETCH WAS JUST THIS KIND OF- YOU KNOW IT ALMOST JUST LOOKED LIKE THE
WALL OF A CAVE.
BRANCH IS BASICALLY 3D PRINTING BUILDINGS.
AND WHAT WE DO IS COMBINE 3D PRINTING WITH CONVENTIONAL CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS TO ENABLE
A NEW WAY TO CONSTRUCT BUILDINGS, THAT REALLY HAVE NO GEOMETRIC LIMITATIONS.
SO IT OPENS UP A WIDE ARRAY OF POSSIBILITIES FOR DESIGN AND BUILDING AND ARCHITECTS.
THE VISION IS TO LOOK AT HOW THINGS ARE MADE IN THE NATURAL WORLD AND THEN BEGIN TRANSLATING
THAT INTO HOW WE CAN MAKE THINGS IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, WHETHER IT BE WALLS OR OTHER
THINGS.
THE FIRST REALIZATION OF LIKE HOW IT ACTUALLY BEGAN TO WORK IS- THIS WAS A 3D DOODLER, IT’S
A 3D PRINTING PEN, AND SO I DREW THIS LITTLE PIECE, AND THEN SUPPORTED IT AND THEN WEIGHTED
IT UP WITH BOOKS AND THIS LITTLE HALF OUNCE PIECE OF PLASTIC- IS STRONG ENOUGH TO BE ABLE
TO HOLD THOSE BOOKS, EIGHTEEN POUNDS OF BOOKS AND SO- THE CRAZY THINGS IS, THAT’S ALL
I HAD WHEN I LEFT THE FIRM.
YES.
AND SO I LOOK BACK AT THAT AND I’M LIKE OH MY GOSH, YOU REALLY WERE CRAZY.
THEY SAY THAT ENTREPENURSHIP IS TAKING THAT LEAP OFF THE CLIFF AND THEN BUILDING THE PLANE
ON THE WAY DOWN.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU GUYS HAD SOME OF THOSE SIMILAR EXPERIENCES.
THE FIRST STEP TO SOLVING THOSE CHALLENGES WAS JUST TO DIVE IN AND NOT SPEND TOO MUCH
THINKING ABOUT ‘AM I SMART ENOUGH TO DO THIS, DO I KNOW THE RIGHT PEOPLE?’
IT WAS MORE LIKE, WELL, WE FIGURE IT OUT AS WE GO ALONG.
AND THE RISK PAID OFF.
IN 2015, BRANCH WON THE ‘INVESTOR’S CHOICE AWARD’ AT GIG TANK’S DEMO DAY, AND THEY’VE
SUCCEEDED IN DEVELOPING THE LARGEST FREE FORM 3D PRINTER IN THE WORLD.
I’M SURE THAT THIS GUY HERE PLAYS A HUGE PART IN BRANCH AND WHAT YOU GUYS DO, RIGHT?
TELL ME ABOUT THIS GUY.
RIGHT, SO IT’S A REALLY BIG INDUSTRIAL ROBOT AND SO IT’S A 12 AND A HALF FOOT ARM ON
A 33-FOOT TRACK, GIVING IT A PRINT ENVELOPE OF 25 FEET WIDE BY 58 FEET LONG, SO IT IS
PLENTY CAPABLE OF DOING ANYTHING THAT WE NEED IT TO DO.
ALRIGHT SO TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE CAPABILITIES THAT THE MACHINE HAS,
WHAT CAN IT DO?
WELL THE MACHINE IS REALLY ONE TOOL THAT WE USE TO GET TO THE END RESULT.
AND SO WHAT WE DO IS WE MAKE A SCAFFOLD LIKE THIS THAT IS 3D PRINTED, AND WE USE THE MACHINE
TO DO THAT.
INSTEAD OF ASKING HOW MUCH YOU CAN 3D PRINT, WE’RE ASKING HOW LITTLE YOU CAN 3D PRINT,
AND THEN USE OTHER ECONOMIC CONTRUCTION MATERIALS TO MAKE THE STRENGTH AND FUNCTION OF A NORMAL
WALL ASSEMBLY.
SO IN THIS CASE IT INCLUDES SPRAY FOAM INSULATION AND CONCRETE, INTERIOR FINISH LIKE SHEET ROCK,
EXTERIOR FINISH LIKE A STUCK-O TYPE FINISH, AND SO ITS SOMETHING THAT- ONCE IT’S ALL
TOGETHER IT FUNCTIONS AS A REAL WALL.
IT’S THIS THAT ALLOWS FOR THE GEOMETRIC FREEDOM OF A COLUMN LIKE THAT, AND SO WHAT
WE START WITH IS JUST THAT PLASTIC- IS CARBON FIBER REINFORCED PLASTIC AND THIS PIECE THAT
WEIGHED ABOUT A POUND AND A HALF SUPPORTED FIFTEEN HUNDRED POUNDS, JUST ON THE PLASTIC.
BUT ONCE YOU ADD THE SPRAY FOAM, A PIECE THAT WAS A SIMILAR SHAPE TO THAT, SOMETHING THAT
WEIGHED I THINK 28 OUNCES HELD UP SIX THOUSAND POUNDS.
WOW.
SO IT’S ALMOST THREE TIMES AS STRONG AS WOOD STUD CONSTRUCTION.
SO THE CONCEPT FOR THE BUSINESS IS THAT WE BUILD THINGS LIKE THIS IN MODULES AND FIT
THEM TOGETHER LIKE BIG LEGOS ON SITE.
AND IT DOESN’T HAVE TO NECESSARILY BE JUST A WALL, WE CAN DO CEILING ASSEMBLIES, WE’VE
BEEN APPROACHED BY AREOSPACE COMPANIES TO DO WINGS
THIS DEFINITLEY HAS POTENTIAL FOR THINGS BEYOND ARCHITECTURE.
IT’S REALLY ANY LARGE OBJECT WHERE HAVING A REALLY COMPLEX SHAPE IS IMPORTANT
TELL ME WHAT WE HAVE HERE BEHIND US.
TELL ME ABOUT THIS BODY OF WORK BEHIND US.
SO THESE ARE A SERIES OF WALL PANELS THAT WE PRODUCED FOR THE ENTERPRISE CENTER THAT
ARE A- IT’S A 3D TOPO-MAP AND IT SHOWS ALL OF THE TERRAIN SURROUNDING DOWNTOWN CHATTANOOGA.
ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT CHATTANOOGA IS THE LANDSCAPE THAT WE HAVE HERE, AND SO
I THOUGHT KIND OF PAIRING THOSE TWO ASPECTS OF CHATTANOOGA’S IDENTITY AS A CITY IN THE
SOUTH, BEING INNOVATION AND JUST THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF THE MOUNTAIN RANGES AND THE RIVER.
THE REASON WE MOVED THE BUSINESS HERE WAS ONE, THE ENTREPENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM HERE IS
GREAT, THERE’S A 3D PRINTING COMMUNITY HERE IN CHATTANOOGA THAT’S DEVELOPING BRAND NEW
TECHNOLOGIES, AND THEN JUST THE COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND EXCITEMENT ABOUT WHAT WE’RE
DOING- THAT’S BLOWN US AWAY, I MEAN IT’S REALLY BEEN AMAZING.
SO TALK TO ME ABOUT WHERE YOU GUYS ARE HEADED.
WHAT’S THE VISION, WHAT’S NEXT?
SO THIS IS A PRETTY GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHERE WE STARTED OFF WHICH IS MORE DECORATIVE INTERIOR
PANELS.
WE STARTED OFF WITH THAT BECAUSE IT WAS KIND OF THE LOW-HANGING FRUIT.
AND AS WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OUR MACHINE, OUR SOFTWARE, WE’LL BE GOING THROUGH A PROCESS
OF TESTING THE ACTUAL BUILDING COMPONENTS THAT WE PRODUCE SO THAT WE CAN COMPLY WITH
BUILDING CODES AND ALL THE STUFF THAT’S- YOU KNOW, NOT AS FUN BUT IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT
IF YOU WANT TO SELL 3D PRINTED BUILDINGS.
BRANCH TECHNOLOGY HAS EMBRACED A RAPIDLY GROWING 3D PRINTING COMMUNITY BY HOSTING THE FIRST
EVER DESIGN COMPETITION FOR A 3D PRINTED HOUSE, ALLOWING THE PUBLIC TO SUBMIT DESIGNS THAT
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEIR GROUNDBREAKING TECHNOLOGY.
IF YOU COULD 3D PRINT A BUILDING, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
YOU KNOW WE’RE INVITING EVERYONE TO BE A PART OF THAT AND EVISIONING WHERE THIS TECHNOLOGY
COULD GO.
WE’RE VERY EXCITED TO SEE THE RESPONSE AND CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THE RESULTS OF WHAT DESIGNERS
COME UP WITH.
3D PRINTING HAS REALLY BECOME COMMUNITY- THE WHOLE UH- IT’S REALLY INTER-RELATED WITH
THIS THEME OF INNOVATION- IS THIS 3D PRINTING, DIGITAL FABRICATION MAKERS COMMUNITY, GETTING
PEOPLE MAKING THINGS AGAIN AND SO WE’RE HOPING TO BE A PART OF THAT, AND IN SOME WAYS
LEAD IT IN A DIRECTION IT’S NOT BEEN ABLE TO GO BEFORE.
SO WE HOPE THAT- BY USING 3D PRINTING, BY MAKING CREATIVE FREEDOM AFFORDABLE, PEOPLE
ARE GONNA BE SHOCKED AT THE ARCHITECHT NOT IN NEW YORK OR ROME OR LONDON, BUT THE ARCHITECT
THAT THEY KNOW ACTUALLY HAS TALENT TO BE ABLE TO BUILD STUFF LIKE THAT IF HE’S GIVEN A
TECHNOLOGY THAT’S CAPABLE OF REALIZING IT.