A giant 3D printer, which is big enough to make a house, has been unveiled at the University of Maine.

The university says it has beaten its record for the world's largest polymer 3D printer - with the new printer four times bigger than the previous machine.

The Factory of the Future 1.0 (FoF 1.0) can print objects 96ft (29m) long - approximately the length of a blue whale.

But experts say, despite the breakthrough, most of us will continue to live in homes made of bricks and mortar. Large 3D printers, such as that unveiled in Maine, are more like to be used to make parts of houses rather than full homes, says Dr Eujin Pei, who is an expert in additive manufacturing at Brunel University.

He says they can be used for historical restoration, "not to print a house, but sometimes to print decorative parts, or sometimes to restore some parts."

They may become useful after natural disasters to manufacture parts of destroyed buildings, he told the BBC.

Maine University says it hopes the printer can be used to make affordable housing, as well as bridges, boats, and wind turbines.

It can print up to 500 lbs (227kg) of material per hour.

While 3D printers often print using plastic, the university hopes to include more sustainable materials and prioritize recycled polymers.

Maine is also home to large forests - and the hope is to use residual wood from sawmills as material to feed into the printer.