---
title: How 3D Printing Is Changing CRE Construction Practices
description: 3D printing can turn digital data into objects made of almost any material imaginable. The technology is big news for real estate construction.
image: https://connect.regencycenters.com/hubfs/External_Post_Images/construction.png
---

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# How 3D Printing Is Changing CRE Construction Practices

[Industry News](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/author/industry-news)

[News Releases](https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog/topic/news-releases) June 1, 2016

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By now you’ve likely heard about 3D printing and tales of how it can manufacture seemingly everything from guns to [livers and ears](http://thediplomat.com/2013/08/chinese-scientists-are-3d-printing-ears-and-livers-with-living-tissue/), but do you really know what it is and how it will impact commercial real estate and construction practices?

3D printing has little to do with a normal everyday printer and more to do with a sophisticated machine that turns digital data into objects made of almost any material imaginable. The technology stands to change many industries and is big news for real estate construction.

### ![Hammer lying down on scrap wood](https://connect.regencycenters.com/hs-fs/hubfs/External_Post_Images/construction.png?width=640&name=construction.png "construction.png")

### Benefits of 3D printing

One reason it’s big news is because the technology largely eliminates construction-site waste, the need for massive storage centers and transportation costs. Instead of having warehouses full of different sized materials that are trucked out to various build sites where they are then resized to fit the exact need, 3D printers print the precise piece needed on site—raw materials are the only thing required.

This translates into 50-70% quicker construction, the near elimination of construction waste and 50-80% less spent on labor costs, according to [WinSun](http://www.yhbm.com/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=lists&catid=67), the Chinese firm behind the world’s first 3D printed apartment building.

*This is an excerpt from an article posted on blog,gethightower.com. For complete article, [click here](http://blog.gethightower.com/how-3d-printing-is-changing-commercial-real-estate-construction-practices?utm_content=28733681&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin).*

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