Modelling Behaviour for Distributed Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

Distributed forms of construction in the biological world are characterized by the ability to generate complex adaptable large-scale structures with tunable properties. In contrast, state-of-the-art digital construction platforms in design lack such abilities. This is mainly due to limitations associated with fixed and inflexible gantry sizes as well as challenges associated with achieving additively manufacturing constructs that are at once structurally sound and materially tunable. To tackle these challenges we propose a multi-nodal distributed construction approach that can enable design and construction of larger-than-gantry-size structures. The system can generate and respond to integrated real-time feedback for parameters such as material curing duration and position awareness. We demonstrate this approach through a software environment designed to control multiple robots operating collaboratively to additively manufacture large-scale structures. We present and report on a novel computational workflow as well as work-in-progress of a digital fabrication environment. The environment combines a centralized system designed to manage top-down design intent given by environmental variables, with a decentralized system designed to compute, in a bottom up manner, parameters such as multi-node rule-based collision, asynchronous motion, multi-nodal construction sequence and variable material deposition properties. The paper reports on a successful first deployment of the system and demonstrates novel features characteristic of fabrication-information modelling such as multi-nodal cooperation, material-based flow and deposition, and environmentally informed digital construction. Figure 1: Flowchart and applet setup mode interface capture of the virtual implementation of a large-scale distributed cable-suspended additive construction platform, Mediated Matter Group – MIT Media Lab.