Yes, we write about 3D printing but we are by no means obligated to only write about 3D printing. We can just as easily cover competing, synergistic or similar technological approaches. Especially when they are as fascinating as the LightVault created by Princeton researchers using robots to deposit glass bricks. And who’s to say that bricklaying is not an additive process anyways?
Two Princeton researchers, architect Stefana Parascho and engineer Sigrid Adriaenssens, used the robots to demonstrate how to simplify construction, even when building complex forms. “We want to use robots to build beautiful architecture more sustainably,” said Adriaenssens, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and the director of the Form Finding Lab.
Manufacturing on Demand
The final, full-scale glass LightVault is displayed at the “Anatomy of Structure: The Future of Art & Architecture” exhibition in London. Photo by CREATE Laboratory, Isla Xi Han & Edvard Bruun
The professors partnered with architecture and engineering firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) to create a striking and unique installation for the SOM exhibition “Anatomy of Structure” in London last March. They used two industrial robots provided by UK-based Global Robots to build a breathtaking vault, 7 feet tall, 12 feet across and 21 feet long, constructed of 338 transparent glass bricks from Poesia Glass Studio.
Much like 3D printed structures, the LightVault reduced resource use in two ways: eliminating the need for forms or scaffolding during construction. It also improved the vault’s structural efficiency by making it doubly curved, which reduced the amount of material required. These were only possible because of the robots’ strength and precision. Such curved structures are not yet possible by using 3D printing (and neither is the use of glass – yet) however a combination of approaches may be possible in the future with collaborating robots applying different technologies and materials.
You can read about the entire project description here.
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Coolest guy ever gets Pikus Concrete to place a 3D printed statue of himself in best friend’s backyard: Jerry and Pikus 3D printed a 6,000 lb statue out of concrete and placed it – with an integrated water fountain – right next to the pool at his best friend’s house. Check out the video above to see the whole process. The mere fact that more and more people like Jerry (or Jay Leno before him), who boasts some 6 million followers on his YouTube channel, continue to find interesting new uses and applications for different 3D printing technologies and processes, is a very positive sign for the future of the AM industry as a whole.
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Author: Davide Sher
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