Additively Manufactured Wall Partition

Wall Prototype #1: FGF Additive Manufactured Assembly
A prototypical wall system comprised of fused granulate fabrication (FGF) additively manufactured (AM) thermoplastic panels is being developed for interior and exterior cladding and interior partition applications. In contrast to industry-available systems, AM panels are able to be realized with exceptional geometric variation, offering opportunities for spatial adaptation, structural stiffening and aesthetic exploration. This work-in-progress research is determining suitable manufacturing methods to deliver high-strength, high-quality parts while ensuring manufacturing time and material quantities are kept to a minimum. For this prototype, a multi-agent algorithm was developed to produce an organization of ridge-like elements that creates a nuanced and varied aesthetic effect that relates to a corresponding method developed for structural applications in other additively manufactured materials.   A custom manufacturing software was also required that could determine variable robotic toolpath velocities and corresponding material extrusion rates relative to variations in a manufactured part’s geometry.

Design: Robert Stuart-Smith Design
Fabrication & Research: Autonomous Manufacturing Lab, University of Pennsylvania 

Project Lead: Robert Stuart-Smith
Project Team: Renhu (Franklin) Wu, Yiming Huo, Shunta Moriuchi, Nicholas Sideropoulos, Simone Yang