DIGITAL FABRICATION

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DIGITAL FABRICATION

> ROBOTISM was a ten-day workshop held in December 2019 at the University of Tehran, focused specifically on computational design and robotic fabrication as well as prototyping. A KUKA KR6 robot with a KRC2 controller was used in this workshop to produce prototypes and the final productions of the studio. In the end, the ultimate result was exhibited at the University of Tehran campus.

*/ By [ DC houce /]

*/ Location [ university of tehran | Fall 2019 /]

*/ Contribution to the project [ idea developer scripting with grasshopper (Partial)

Simulation ad getting G-codes

Robotic Fabrication Process (Partial)

> Process

After teaching the KRL Syntax at the beginning of the workshop and elaborating on how to generate G-Codes, the workshop continued with exercises in small groups to learn the concept of paths in robot simulation in the first part of the workshop. For the first exercise, students were asked to draw continuous curves with specific patterns in grasshopper 3d and define the motion path of the robot; after generating the G-Codes they started to light painting by using a simple LED as a tool that was placed on the robot’s head. Groups produced corresponding G-codes to make the robot follow the specified paths and print the pattern with the light.

> In the next exercise, each group was asked to design a structure making use of wooden pieces with specific sizes and numbers, and assemble it with Pick and Place technique, making sure that it could maintain its stability throughout the assembly without the need for screwing or gluing.

> Final product

Form Finding: After performing introductory tasks by the teams and getting acquainted with practical challenges viz properly defining planes to prevent collision of the robot arm with its surroundings, and installation of pneumatic gripper and air pump, students embarked on designing a pavilion on a scale of one to one. The major restriction to be considered in designs was the amount of available material, 40 square meters of -18mm plywood. All of the proposals were assessed by the jury, and eventually, one of them opted for the final project. Modifications were also made to finalize the design.

> Initial Experiments with Robots

The final design had to be prepared for the assembly process. Given the limitation of the robot’s reach to 1.6m and the conditions of the site, we decided to halve the arch, and also split each half into 4 and 5 sections respectively, making a total of 9 sections. Two methods were proposed for the connection of wooden pieces; utilizing a glued roller to which each wooden piece would be rubbed by the robot and placed at its position...

> or using a collaborative human-robotic fabrication technique in which someone would use a pneumatic nail gun to fasten objects together after being placed by a robot. Considering some practical issues and time constraints, the latter was preferred.

> the fabricated sections in the workshop space were transported to the campus and assembled over two hours.