3D Manufacturing + Robotics

Here’s an article from Kurzweilai.net that describes a new patent from iRobot to combine 3D manufacturing and robotics.

Class Follow-Up–Some recent articles

 

3D Building Planned

Here’s an article claiming that a first 3D-printed building will be put up in 2014.  It uses the solidified-sand technique we saw in class.  How practicle does it look to you, and why does he need that technique.

 

Thanks to Rita Pauliushchyk’s blog post here’s a company with a competing concrete technology.  Which look’s more promising to you?

 

Driverless Cars

This article from Rocky Mountain Institute discusses the variety of approaches to driverless cars currently being considered.  How many of these do you think would be applicable at a construction site?

Different Sensors

Here’s an article claiming that a “metamaterial” can fucntion as a camera – working at microwave frequencies.  It might help with collision avoidance.

And here’s an article on the sociological vector asking what will be the effect of all these sensors?

Robotics

Here’s an article about a possible early-adopter of the Baxter technology of readily-trained, safe robotics.

Contemporary Manufacturing

 

Most of the components in a building are manufactured in an off-site plant.  The impact of the information technology that makes possible the Intelligent Building concept is probably felt in those plants first. This post provides some illustrations of contemporary techniques, some of which may well extend to the on-site construction of a building or into  its later operation, particularly as BIM model use extends to manufacturing and assembly.

There is clearly a considerable overlap between what we see here and the topics of robotics and Artificial Intelligence.

Numerically Controlled Machines

These machines are not generally adaptive and require extensive planning to make the parts, but they are nonetheless important.

• Making a V8 Engine Block – 10:58 min 2007 – What’s important here is that it’s working with steel.  Some of the newer techniques below don’t (yet) have that ability.
• Step-NC Machining – 8:38min 2008 – While this is aimed at the automotive industry, it’s plausible to extrapolate that a similar approach can be used within the construction industry, either for parts or for on-site construction.

3D Printing – The Hot Topic

• The 3D Printing Revolution – 2012 - 6:11min – An overview looking towards the future of personal printing.  It’s somewhat simplistic, but nonetheless gives a good overview of that level.
• The Future of 3D Printing – 2012 CES – 17:43min – This shows two CEO’s from companies making 3D printers for the consumer market, talking about and displaying their products,
• Cubex 3D Printer – 2013 CES – 1:14min – Shows what has developed in a year for the desktop printer market.
• EOS 3D Printer 2012 – 2:08 min - The two prior videos use only plastics.  This machine uses sintered metal to produce its parts.
• Discovery Channel Covers DShape 3D Printing – 6m x 6m – 6:03 concrete printer – it solidifies sand to make a special form of concrete.
• Printing Titanium bicycle parts – 2012 – 4:07 – Highly complex shape in titanium.  There’s actually a totally (almost) 3d-Fabricated bike (2011)

Flight Assembled Architecture/Architectures volantes

I’ll show in class the 2012 video of quadrocopter assembly of a structure.  The image below is linked to the video.

Here are some (of many) questions to ask about this video

• Does this video have any relevance to “Intelligent Buildings”
• If not – why not?
• If so – what relationship does it have?

Following up on this project to understand it in full detail might be a worthwhile term project for someone.

• If you’re ambitious you might try to replicate some aspect of it as a team project.