Abstract
The paper details the computational toolkit for print-path synthesis and execution that was used in the physical realisation of an arched, bifurcating, unreinforced masonry footbridge spanning 16 m, composed of 53 3D-printed concrete blocks. The printed concrete filaments of every block were placed in layers that are orthogonal to the expected, compressive force flow, resulting in the need for non-parallel, inclined print-path planes, thus also resulting in non-uniform print-layer heights. In addition, the bridge’s global structural logic of stereotomic masonry necessitated the precise coordination of the interface planes be- tween blocks. Approximately 58 km of print path, distributed over 7800 inclined layers, were generated and coordinated such that the resulting print paths meet printing-related criteria such as good spatial coherence, minimum and maximum layer thickness, infill patterns etc. We describe a schema based on Function Representation (FRep) for inclined-plane print-path generation, and its full implementation for practical and large-batch production. We also implement specific extensions to generate the infill print paths typically needed in 3D concrete printing.
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Bhooshan, S., Bhooshan, V., Megens, J., Casucci, T., Van Mele, T., Block, P. (2023). Print-Path Design for Inclined-Plane Robotic 3D Printing of Unreinforced Concrete. In: Gengnagel, C., Baverel, O., Betti, G., Popescu, M., Thomsen, M.R., Wurm, J. (eds) Towards Radical Regeneration. DMS 2022. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13249-0_16
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