Smart Branching: An Experimental Method for Heterogeneous Branching Networks using Non-planar 3D Printed Clay Deposition

Clay extrusion 3D printing with 6-axis industrial robots and ceramic firing pipelines has inspired designers’ reflection on material properties, design methodologies, automatic manufacturing, and logistics of fabrication. It brings the potential for innovative industrial bespoke production of architectural components. Plasticity and malleability are merits to the creative freedom of the form, yet they also pose technical challenges. The goals of the research are designing specifically printable geometries at a durable scale and optimizing methodologies for fabrication to ensure both quality and efficiency. Through the design and fabrication of a 1.3m-high physical prototype sampled from our facade proposal, we developed a relatively automated project pipeline. It aims to achieve the generative and evolutionary design and a non-planar clay deposition method for tubular branching components.

Li, C., Yuan, M., Han, Z., Faircloth, B., Anderson, J., King, N., Stuart-Smith, R. “Smart Branching: An Experimental Method for Heterogeneous Branching Networks using Non-planar 3D Printed Clay Deposition”In M. Akbarzadeh, D. Aviv, H. Jamelle, & R. Stuart-Smith (Eds.), ACADIA 2022: Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Conference of the Association of Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA): Hybrids and Haecceities, IngramSpark, 2023, 90–97.

The paper is available for download on the Cumincad website here.

The Autonomous Manufacturing Lab (AML) explores the integration of robotic manufacturing and construction within architectural design. The AML aims to reduce the environmental and economic costs of design and production while enhancing their cultural and aesthetic impact. The lab's integrative methods for generative design and manufacturing are developed as semi-autonomous systems, exploring possibilities for artisanal-like craftsmanship to be scaled to large production volumes. This approach provides greater specificity and enhanced aesthetic character in design responses compared to traditional automated methods, whilst also reducing material use and waste within bespoke design and production processes. The AML's research enhances design and production capabilities across diverse manufacturing methods and materials by developing industrial and mobile robot fabrication techniques, multi-agent systems, AI/machine learning computational approaches, and applications of real-time sensor and computer vision technologies. This multidisciplinary research includes the development of Aerial Additive Manufacturing, recently published in Nature, which demonstrates the world’s first in-flight additive manufacturing by cooperating drones, representing a rapidly deployable form of collective robotic construction.

University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design
The Weitzman School of Design prepares students to address complex sociocultural and environmental issues through thoughtful inquiry, creative expression, and innovation. As a diverse community of scholars and practitioners, we are committed to advancing the public good–both locally and globally–through art, design, planning, and preservation.

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Smart Branching: An Experimental Method for Heterogeneous Branching Networks using Non-planar 3D Printed Clay Deposition

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