Macrofabrication with Digital Materials: Robotic Assembly

Abstract

Rapid‐prototyping processes are being extended to increasingly large scales, including 3D printing from gantries, and robotic arms for cutting, milling and winding. These all use designs that are digital, but materials that are not: they are continuously deposited or removed. Neil Gershenfeld, Matthew Carney, Benjamin Jenett, Sam Calisch and Spencer Wilson of the MIT Center for Bits and Atoms explore the implications of the use of digital materials, reversibly assembled from a discrete set of parts with a discrete set of relative positions and orientations, for applications on scales ranging from aerostructures to geoprinting. Here, they discuss the production of the parts, the modelling of structures made with them, and their automated assembly.

Reconfigurable Modular Chain: A Reversible Material for Folding Three-Dimensional Lattice Structures

“…A previous work on sequential folding or modular assembly [16] was mainly inspired by deoxyribonucleic acid origami at the nanometer scale [17]. In order to design materials that possess good weight/load ratios and reconfigurability, recent efforts have been mainly focused on origami folding of 2D sheets [18,19] or robotic assembly of discrete materials [20,21].…”

Fabricate 2017

“…The last chair, which made use of the OcTree subdivision logic, was strong enough to withstand up to 80kg of load. Gershenfeld et al, 2015). These materials are able to be assembled quickly into complex and structurally efficient forms.…”

“…The second project, INT (Claudia Tanskanen, Zoe Hwee Tan, Xiaolin Yi and Qianyi Li) proposes to make this discrete approach physical, suggesting a fabrication method based on robotic discrete assembly. This discrete design and fabrication framework aligns itself with research into so-called digital materials -material organisations that are physically digital (Gershenfeld et al, 2015). The suggested methods aim to establish highly complex and performative architectural forms without compromising on speed and cost.…”

“…However, these attempts to automate construction have had little impact and are caught in a conflict between complexity and speed (Gershenfeld et al, 2015). Neil Gerschenfeld argues the need for digitising not just the design but also the materials (Gershenfeld et al, 2015). In this context, The Centre for Bits and Atoms has developed the notion of digital materials -parts that have a discrete set of relative positions and orientations…”

“…(2014). However, these attempts to automate construction have had little impact and are caught in a conflict between complexity and speed (Gershenfeld et al, 2015). Neil Gerschenfeld argues the need for digitising not just the design but also the materials (Gershenfeld et al, 2015).…”