Spatial winding: cooperative heterogeneous multi-robot system for fibrous structures

  • PDF / 2,905,214 Bytes
  • 11 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
  • 66 Downloads / 211 Views

DOWNLOAD

REPORT


ORIGINAL PAPER

Spatial winding: cooperative heterogeneous multi‑robot system for fibrous structures Rebeca Duque Estrada1   · Fabian Kannenberg1   · Hans Jakob Wagner1 · Maria Yablonina1 · Achim Menges1 Received: 22 June 2020 / Accepted: 8 September 2020 © The Author(s) 2020

Abstract This research presents a cooperative heterogeneous multi-robot fabrication system for the spatial winding of filament materials. The system is based on the cooperation of a six-axis robotic arm and a customized 2 + 2 axis CNC gantry system. Heterogeneous multi-robot cooperation allows to deploy the strategy of Spatial Winding: a new method of sequential spatial fiber arrangement, based on directly interlocking filament-filament connections, achieved through wrapping one filament around another. This strategy allows to create lightweight non-regular fibrous space frame structures. The new material system was explored through physical models and digital simulations prior to deployment with the proposed robotic fabrication process. An adaptable frame setup was developed which allows the fabrication of a variety of geometries within the same frame. By introducing a multi-step curing process that integrates with the adaptable frame, the iterative production of continuous large-scale spatial frame structures is possible. This makes the structure’s scale agnostic of robotic reach and reduces the necessary formwork to the bare minimum. Through leveraging the capacities of two cooperating machines, the system allows to counteract some of their limitations. A flexible, dynamic and collaborative fabrication system is presented as a strategy to tailor the fiber in space and expand the design possibilities of lightweight fiber structures. The artifact of the proposed fabrication process is a direct expression of the material tectonics and the robotic fabrication system. Keywords  Robotic fabrication · Multi-robot system · Carbon fiber reinforced polymer · Long-span structures · Space frames · Spatial winding

1 Introduction

1.1 Spatial structures

This research presents a cooperative heterogeneous multirobot fabrication system for the Spatial Winding of filament materials. The research focuses on the development of a robotic system that leverages the capacity of filament materials to be formed into space frame arrangements. This further expands the existing design space of filament structures in the context of architecture.

The term space frame has been closely tied to large-span industrial buildings. Per definition, a space frame is “a structural system assembled of linear elements which are arranged so that the loads are transferred in a three-dimensional manner” (Elfawal 2014). These structures are minimal in their materialization, yet highly efficient and lightweight. With the Industrial Revolution the production of iron and then steel rapidly increased. These high-strength materials allowed to construct more lightweight structures with increased span and greater height (Chilton 2000). At the end of the 19th century Alexander Graham Bell d