Integrating Parametric Design with Robotic Additive Manufacturing for 3D Clay Printing: An Experimental Study

This paper presents an ongoing work in relation to the development of a parametric design algorithm and an automated system for additive manufacturing that aims to be implemented in 3D clay printing tasks. The purpose of this experimental study is to establish a first insight and provide information as well as guidelines for a comprehensive and robust additive manufacturing methodology that can be implemented in the area of 3D clay printing, aiming to be widely available and open for use in the relevant construction industry. Specifically, this paper emphasizes on the installation of an industrial extruder for 3D clay printing mounted on a robot, on toolpath planning process using a parametric design environment and on robotic execution of selected case studies. Based on existing 3D printing technology principles and on available rapid prototyping mechanisms, this process suggests an algorithm for system’s control as well as for robotic toolpath development applied in additive manufacturing of small to medium objects. The algorithm is developed in a parametric associative environment allowing its flexible use and execution in a number of case studies, aiming to tentatively test the effectiveness of the suggested robotic additive manufacturing workflow and their future implementation in large scale examples.