Meeting in the middle: Hybrid clay three-dimensional fabrication processes for bio-reef structures (original) (raw)

3D-Printed Biodigital Clay Bricks

Biomimetics

Construction materials and techniques have witnessed major advancements due to the application of digital tools in the design and fabrication processes, leading to a wide array of possibilities, especially in additive digital manufacturing tools and 3D printing techniques, scales, and materials. However, possibilities carry responsibilities with them and raise the question of the sustainability of 3D printing applications in the built environment in terms of material consumption and construction processes: how should one use digital design and 3D printing to achieve minimum material use, minimum production processes, and optimized application in the built environment? In this work, we propose an optimized formal design of “Biodigital Barcelona Clay Bricks” to achieve sustainability in the use of materials. These were achieved by using a bottom-up methodology of biolearning to extract the formal grammar of the bricks that is suitable for their various applications in the built enviro...

Digital materialization: Additive and robotical manufacturing with clay and silicone

2016

Through the use of algorithmic design methods and an ever growing variety of digital fabrication tools the complexity of process in the architectural discipline seems to be increasing. As this statement might apply to a variety of different areas of computational design and process management, this perceived growing complexity does not have to be viewed as unnecessary complication of design processes, if palpable and justifiable benefits occur. This paper intends to analyse and investigate the potential arising from digital tools of fabrication, specifically robots and 3D printers, and from open source platforms on exploring and managing complexity while enabling both simplicity of process and simplicity of implementation through emerging open source cultures. Building on this assumptions, this paper explores the professional possibilities generated the implementation of robotics as part of the academic curriculum. The theoretical concept of Machinecraft will be introduced and showc...

3D Claying: 3D Printing and Recycling Clay

Crystals

Clay is of great interest as a 3D printing material thanks to its ease of use, recyclability and reusability. This paper analyses the technical aspects of the whole printing process. The behaviour of 3D printing clay is studied with respect to the environment and its specific application as a temporary or definitive formwork system for cement parts. The study addresses the performance of clay and the loss of its properties and characteristics according to the type of protection, whether it is in direct contact with air or cement, or protected with plastics, metal sheets, or combinations of both. A 3D printing system with various printers and 3D models has been considered, observing a direct relationship between the prototype shape, extrusion process and resulting material. The most important variables in 3D printing have been considered: layer height, line thickness, base definition, total model height, overhang angles, overlap between layers, etc. The main technical aspects have be...

The New Boundaries of 3D-Printed Clay Bricks Design: Printability of Complex Internal Geometries

Sustainability, 2022

The building construction sector is undergoing one of the most profound transformations towards the digital transition of production. In recent decades, the advent of a novel technology for the 3D printing of clay opened up new sustainable possibilities in construction. Some architectural applications of 3D-printed clay bricks with simple internal configurations are being developed around the world. On the other hand, the full potential of 3D-printed bricks for building production is still unknown. Scientific studies about the design and printability of 3D-printed bricks exploiting complex internal geometries are completely missing in the related literature. This paper explores the new boundaries of 3D-printed clay bricks realized with a sustainable extrusion-based 3D clay printing process by proposing a novel conception, design, and analysis. In particular, the proposed methodological approach includes: (i) conception and design; (ii) parametric modeling; (iii) simulation of printa...

Turning disaster into resource through digital fabrication

2017

This investigation aims to develop and establish digital fabrication and design techniques and protocols to process volcanic materials that have caused significant environmental and social damage, using them to reconstruct new and improved structures to replace those destroyed, palliating the negative effects of volcanic eruptions and contributing a new economic resource to affected communities. The study recovers underused material and explore its qualities, recovering lost stonemasonry skills though advanced CNC and robotic

Digital design and fabrication Case study: seashell

2011

Computational aspects of architectural design have revolutionized actual process, and have made a new platform for cooperation that spans across all disciplines. The focus of this study is to understand how the seashell form can be applicable in design process of human architectures. Our approach will show the act of choosing an inspirational natural form and its application into the virtual world, then digitalization, transformation, and evaluation of the form that are suitable for human architecture. 3D model generating would be performed by doing the scan of a selected seashell form. Further action would be to import the object as a tool in the Zbrush application, and continued modeling transformations. This phase would include other parameters that need to be integrated during the architectural design process since architecture usually exists in a radically different environment in comparison with the seashell. Keywords. Complexity; architectural form; generative design; digital design fabrication; rapid prototyping.