Programming Material Intelligence
37
alludes to the potential for buildings to be more in tune with the fluctuating climate by automatically self-shading, self-ventilating, and self-stiffening in
response to environmental changes [11]. At the same time, when used at increased
size and thickness, wood can be employed as a self-shaping mechanism for the
manufacture of curved timber components and larger structures [4,6].
The structural properties of wood specific to shrinking and swelling can be
adjusted through densification, delignification, or chemical treatment. As a natural material, however, its stark anisotropic behavior within a sheet stock cannot
be fully customized [3,5]. Tailoring the direction of hygroscopic actuation can
be achieved by combining multiple boards into larger parts, but there are limits
due to the existing structure of the material [14,15].
Meanwhile, 3D-printing has enabled the tuning of material properties and
functionalities through the manufacture of compliant mechanisms with tailored
internal substructures. 3D-printed mechanical metamaterials with a range of
functions, from elastic patterns [9] to double curvature [7] to thermally actuated
mechanisms [1], have been researched; but existing literature shows that these
laboratory prototypes lack the scale, high swelling force, and actuation speed
necessary for some building applications.
Macro-Scale Self-shaping Biohybrid Components. We introduce an integrative approach to adaptive structures, which harnesses the scale and actuation strength of wood bilayer actuators as well as the functional programming
of varying stiffnesses and elasticities (of defined magnitudes and anisotropies)
that extrusion-based 3D-printing enables. Utilizing industrial robotic arms, 3Dprinting has already been proven at larger scales [13,16]; it is also possible to
3D-print a working quadcopter drone with an embedded motherboard and other
electronic components [8]. But in place of electronics and digital control, we
encode movement in the physical material and fabrication logic.
Through iterative investigations, we assessed the effect of meso-scale [2] functional patterns on macro-scale objects, and explored the tectonic integration
between natural and synthetic parts. Finally, we deployed our additive fabrication strategy at full scale, producing meter long components with thicknesses
up to 8 cm which are capable of autonomous, shape-changing behaviors.
2 Results
2.1 Functional Patterns for 3D-printing
We formulated a method for producing designed material behaviors within
a macro-scale object, in which desired material properties are encoded into
the physical matter through meso-scale 3D-printed functional patterns. Using
fused filament fabrication (Tec 4 3D-printer, FELIX, Utrecht, Netherlands), we
extruded functional patterns at 0.1 mm precision and created a catalogue of
functional patterns for stiffness (out-of-plane bending) and elasticity (in-plane
37
alludes to the potential for buildings to be more in tune with the fluctuating climate by automatically self-shading, self-ventilating, and self-stiffening in
response to environmental changes [11]. At the same time, when used at increased
size and thickness, wood can be employed as a self-shaping mechanism for the
manufacture of curved timber components and larger structures [4,6].
The structural properties of wood specific to shrinking and swelling can be
adjusted through densification, delignification, or chemical treatment. As a natural material, however, its stark anisotropic behavior within a sheet stock cannot
be fully customized [3,5]. Tailoring the direction of hygroscopic actuation can
be achieved by combining multiple boards into larger parts, but there are limits
due to the existing structure of the material [14,15].
Meanwhile, 3D-printing has enabled the tuning of material properties and
functionalities through the manufacture of compliant mechanisms with tailored
internal substructures. 3D-printed mechanical metamaterials with a range of
functions, from elastic patterns [9] to double curvature [7] to thermally actuated
mechanisms [1], have been researched; but existing literature shows that these
laboratory prototypes lack the scale, high swelling force, and actuation speed
necessary for some building applications.
Macro-Scale Self-shaping Biohybrid Components. We introduce an integrative approach to adaptive structures, which harnesses the scale and actuation strength of wood bilayer actuators as well as the functional programming
of varying stiffnesses and elasticities (of defined magnitudes and anisotropies)
that extrusion-based 3D-printing enables. Utilizing industrial robotic arms, 3Dprinting has already been proven at larger scales [13,16]; it is also possible to
3D-print a working quadcopter drone with an embedded motherboard and other
electronic components [8]. But in place of electronics and digital control, we
encode movement in the physical material and fabrication logic.
Through iterative investigations, we assessed the effect of meso-scale [2] functional patterns on macro-scale objects, and explored the tectonic integration
between natural and synthetic parts. Finally, we deployed our additive fabrication strategy at full scale, producing meter long components with thicknesses
up to 8 cm which are capable of autonomous, shape-changing behaviors.
2 Results
2.1 Functional Patterns for 3D-printing
We formulated a method for producing designed material behaviors within
a macro-scale object, in which desired material properties are encoded into
the physical matter through meso-scale 3D-printed functional patterns. Using
fused filament fabrication (Tec 4 3D-printer, FELIX, Utrecht, Netherlands), we
extruded functional patterns at 0.1 mm precision and created a catalogue of
functional patterns for stiffness (out-of-plane bending) and elasticity (in-plane