Design and development of urban space products by Large-scale robotic extrusion-based additive manufacturing technology

Abstract

The production of products in additive manufacturing systems through the extrusion of material using robotic arms requires new paradigms ranging from product design, material selection, material processability, communication with the production system, production control, etc. The development of products through these technologies allows the production of solutions of considerable scale and innovation. These applications have been studied, especially for outdoor spaces, precisely because of the scale that production with robotic arms allows. Green areas within urban spaces are one of these outdoor spaces, which provide space for leisure and recreation, which leads to social improvements by gathering people. In this context, this research seeks to create products that improve social interaction within urban green spaces. To achieve this, sustainable products will be developed, through a large-scale robotic extrusion-based system, combining the versatility and design possibilities that additive manufacturing allows, with the associated sustainability of recycled plastic waste. Thus, this paper proposes a methodology for validating recycled materials and to understand the limitations that the material brings to the parametric models created and the challenges for production. For that, two sample-parts were developed. One part allowed to understand the maximum printing angle, and the other provided an understanding of the behavior of the material when the part had corners with different curvatures. Finally, an outdoor product to be placed in the urban space was developed and produced with the production parameters studied.

Keywords: Product Design, Additive manufacturing, Robotic fabrication, Urban spaces, parametric design

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005162