Tooling · Robotics · Digital fabrication · 2024
Robotic Fabrication
Taking direct-to-textile printing out of the build volume.
To explore 4D printing at an architectural scale, a custom 3D printing system was developed around an ABB 2400 industrial robot at Lund University.
The setup combined a robotic arm with a custom-built extrusion attachment, allowing thermoplastic to be deposited directly onto stretched textiles. This expanded the process beyond desktop-scale experiments and enabled the investigation of larger, continuous textile structures.
The fabrication system became an important part of the research itself: rather than treating the printer as a fixed tool, the machine, material and textile were developed together as a new fabrication process.
Credits
Design, fabrication and programming: Anton Tetov Johansson and Amelia Vey Henry.