An Innovative Construction Process-Contour Crafting (CC)

This paper describes an innovative construction automation approach using a new Layered Manufacturing (LM) process called Contour Crafting (CC), which has been developed at the University of Southern California. In the CC construction process, a precise amount of mortar mixture is delivered to make a concrete mold using robotic techniques. Mortar mixture is added in a layer by layer fashion; then a volume of commercially available concrete is poured with a certain time delay between batches. The CC construction process has great potential in construction automation due to its relative simplicity, low cost, and capability of being easily integrated with currently available automation technologies. This is demonstrated by CC’s unique capabilities and experimental results in fabricating a full-scale concrete wall structure using ordinary construction materials.