Responsive Spatial Print (2018-10)¶

Additive manufacturing processes are typically based on a horizontal discretization of solid geometry and layered deposition of materials, the speed and the rate of which are constant and determined by the material stability criteria. New methods are being developed to enable three-dimensional printing of complex self-supporting lattices, expanding the range of possible outcomes in additive manufacturing. However, these processes introduce an increased degree of formal and material uncertainty, which require the development of solutions specific to each medium. This paper describes a development to the 3D printing methodology for clay, incorporating a closed-loop feedback system of material surveying and self-correction to recompute new depositions based on scanned local deviations from the digital model. This Responsive Spatial Print (RSP) method provides several improvements over the Spatial Print Trajectory (SPT) methodology for clay 3D printing of spatial lattices previously developed by the authors. This process compensates for the uncertain material behavior of clay due to its viscosity, malleability, and deflection through constant model recalibration, and it increases the predictability and the possible scale of spatial 3D prints through real-time material-informed toolpath generation. The RSP methodology and early successful results are presented along with new challenges to be addressed due to the increased scale of the possible outcomes.