July 6, 2015 | By Simon
When it comes to discovering what some of the most creative new uses are for additive manufacturing technologies, one usually only needs to turn to schools with their own 3D printing lab to see what the students have been up to. Whether the applications are for the medical industry, material science or even traditional product development, it is oftentimes the young students themselves who have figured out the most creative ways of using 3D printing to produce any number of different objects.
Among others, industrial design student Basia Dżaman recently completed her graduation project that she completed during her last year of Industrial Design studies at the School of Form in Poznań.
Using Rhino to design and model her components, Dżaman focused on creating a new fully-working technology that allows users to create their own carbon fiber structure that’s built around supporting structure with the aid of a KUKA robot.
Known as a pioneer in the robotics and automation industry, KUKA Robotics is one of the leading manufacturers of robotic systems and offers a wide range of robotic systems for a number of different automation tasks. For her project, Dżaman designed the tools for existing KUKA robots so that existing manufacturers can utilize their existing systems with her new technology.
The machine operates by first drilling guide holes into a support structure (in this case a piece of sturdy wood), which allow the handler to install support posts for the material which are based off of the original intended design. Once the support posts have been plotted and installed by the handler, a different tool head is added for feeding the fiber materials through based on parameters set by the program. During the feeding process, the carbon fiber is also coated with resin that is placed in a holding reservoir so that the finished sewn structure dries as a solid carbon fiber part once it has been ‘sewn’.
According to Dżaman, the resulting stitches used for the demonstration purpose are taken from a Polish traditional handcraft called "snutki”, however any pattern can be used. To create custom shapes using the 3D printed tool head, parameters within a program can be customized to create different outcomes based on different input points and constraints.
Although we’re yet to see what the finished pieces of the project look like and what Dżaman might have in mind for the technology’s applications, the project is without a doubt an excellent example of how we can use tools that are widely available to today’s makers to further expand what’s possible with robotics as we move into an automated future.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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