Small 3D Printers / Large Scale Artifacts - Computation for Automated Spatial Lattice Design-to-Fabrication with Low Cost Linear Elements and 3D Printed Nodes

Abstract

The presented process enables users to design, fabricate and assemble spatial lattices comprised of linear stock materials such as round section timber, aluminum or acrylic dowels and complex 3D printed joints. The motivation for the development of this application is informed by the incredible availability of low cost 3D printers which enable anyone to produce small scale artifacts; deploying rapid prototyping to achieve larger scale artifacts than the machine's effective work envelope is a challenge for additive manufacturing; and the trend in the design computing world away highly technical specialized software towards general public applications.