3D PRINTING WITH 6-AXIS INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS

ROBOTIC FABRICATION WORKSHOP

London // 2nd and 9th May 2015

Workshop Objectives

Schedule

Robots.IO presents a series of workshops that focus on learning through making, with digital fabrication at its core, through the use of IO robot simulation plug-in for Rhinos Grasshopper .

In these workshops, participants will engage in 3D printing using Robots.IO in-house robots, in order to generate their personal designs, which they can later keep.

Participants will be introduced to robotic fabrication and will investigate approaches to generate forms through digital parametric design and physical prototyping.

The fabrication process of this workshops will speculate on the advantages of using 6-axis robotic arms to extend what is possible in conventional 3D printing. Robotic control and material intelligence will be combined to allow a new way of free-form 3D printing.

This workshop is appropriate for professionals and students.

09:30 - 10:00 Introduction to facilities

10:00 - 11:30 - Introduction to robotics and Grasshopper

12:00 - 13:30 - Introduction to the IO plugin basic functions

13:30 - 14:30 - Lunch (provided)

14:30 - 16:30 - Designing with the IO plugin and 3D Printing with the robots

16:30 - 18:00 - Designing with the IO plugin and 3D Printing with the robots

18:00 - 18:30 - Presentation of outcomes

18:30 - .... Drinks

Robots.IO and RoboFold

Robots.IO Timeline

Robotic curvedfolding

RoboFold made a big impact in the world of architecture and design when it debuted in 2008. It was the first time that a sheet metal forming process had been introduced that could match the promise of mass-customisation offered by the rapidly evolving CAD (Computer Aided Design) design tools.

Although RoboFold initially focused on the larger automotive market, it is the more specialist design and architecture markets that have found immediate use for the technology due to its novel aesthetic and their ability the quickly develop dedicated design capabilities within their existing CAD platforms.

RoboFold operates from a base in London, where their own production facility is situated. They are well positioned to focus on the provision of design development and panel production for architects and designers. RoboFold also runs the www.curvedfolding.com social network promoting to exploration of the geometry of folding in CAD software.

Robots.IO is an industrial robotics software development company, offering robotic consultancy expertise and developing bespoke robot simulation software. Robots.IO uses the IO software to build robust industrial solutions for a broad range of clients, in manufacturing, medical, entertainment, architecture and design. The IO plugin makes it possible for professionals and academics to create their own robotic solutions.

Robot software should be intuitive for users who are new to robots and the Grasshopper software platform. The Robots.IO mission is making robot simulation software that allows first time robot users to easily progress from interacting with a simple interface on day one, to more complex tasks like building their own plug-ins for IO with our API. The software is built around an interactive timeline, which shows gives a literal translation of the robot movements and its limit-errors into a simple linear timeline, so a path can be checked for validity in the software, and then uploaded and run right first time.

Who we are

GREGORY EPPS is the founder of RoboFold and Robots.IO. He is one of the first people to appropriate robotics for applications in design and architecture. He graduated from the Innovation Design Engineering joint masters at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London.

Gregory is involved in both industry and academia. His clients vary from Zaha Haddid Architects, Foster and Partners, to Joris Laarman and BMW and he has taught at over 100 workshops globally and given lectures internationally, including Smart Geometry, 60SME, the Architectural Association DRL, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, IaaC, Bartlett, ETH Zurich and many more.

Gregory is the co-organiser of the Shape to Fabrication conference and was previously Chair of the Workshops for the Advances in Architectural Geometry.

FLORENT MICHEL

- CTO- MA Industrial Computer Science- IO system architect and lead developer for 4 years.

Florent started at RoboFold developing the robotics system and is now in charge of delivering the software at Robots.IO. He has built the software from its origins as a GH definition, into a robust industrial solution. The software continues to rapidly evolve, adding new features for milling, welding and other industrial requirements.

VINCE HUYGHE

- Head of Applications- MA in Advanced Architecture, IaaC- MSc AdaptiveArchitecture and Computation, Bartlett

Vince is an experienced roboticist, having developed multiple 3D printing systems using Universal Robots as part of his thesis and as an assistant to students. He is also co-developer of the Scorpion plugin, which he continues to work on. He is in charge of Applications and steering the direction of the development of the IO plugin at Robots.IO.

EVA MAGNISALI

- Workshop coordinator- M.Arch Design Research Laboratory, Architectural Association (AADRL)- Master of Architecture and Engineering, National Technical University of Athens

Eva is an architect registered in Greece. Her thesis at AADRL proposed a way to develop a process of actively bending architectural forms by integrating industrial robotic arm technology into the construction process with the aim to apply the system to large-scale architectures. Her current interests include generative and parametric design, digital fabrication, material computation and the implementation of robotics in architecture. She has organized and participated in a plethora of international conferences, exhibitions and workshops, and is a member of the International Union of Architects (UIA). Eva is in charge of the educational program of Robots.IO, coordinating workshops and events.

Research Agenda

REFERENCE PROJECTS1. MeshMould, SEC Singapore ETH Centre, ETH Zurich , 2012-2016, ETH Research Project2. The Bartlett GAD/RC4 2014 // Team Filamentrics: Nan Jiang, Yiwei Wang, Zheeshan Ahmed, Yichao Chen3. Sci-Arc ESTm 2014/Testa Studio // Glusion // Students: William Hu, Haleh Olfati, Jasmine Park4. Sci-Arc ESTm 2015/Testa Studio // Multi-Texturing Extrusions // Students: Daniela Atencio, Rishabh Khurana, Ana Zapata, Ken Zhu5. Filament Sculptures // LIA6. Digital Future Shanghai Summer Workshop 2014 // Robotic Extrusion // Design Team: SHI Ji, LIU Xun, LUO Ruihua, CUI Yuqi7. Endless chair // Dirk van der Kooij

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Additive manufacturing, known as 3D printing, has revolutionized the way we perceive fabrication by providing the possibility to turn electronic data into physical objects. Yet, conventional 3D printing methods of sequential deposition of 2D material layers, face several limitations that prevent them from becoming a mass production process.

In order to overcome these difficulties and enable a new way of free-form 3D printing, 6-axis industrial robotic arms have started to be used instead of smaller 3D printing devices.

There is a plethora of advantages of this innovative approach, including:

- Variation of shapes that may be fabricated, taking advantage of the ability to control the orientation of the end-effector / extruder or part.- Ability to fabricate large-scale objects without the cost associated with a dedicated 3D printer.- Fast 3D printing becomes possible through the generation of space-frames.- Robots are multi use, and can combine other processes with 3D printing e.g. milling for re-shaping

Workshop Format

DIGITAL SIMULATION

Each participant will generate digitally the prototype that he/she will later 3D print, using Rhino and Grasshopper for the design and documentation processes.

With the aid of the tools of Robots.IO plug-in, the robotic movement will be simulated and visualized in a digital environment, prior to the actual physical 3D printing. Robotic possibilities and limitations will create feedback concerning the initial design, which will be re-adjusted to satisfy the fabrication requisites.

ROBOTIC ARM CONTROL

Using the Robots.IO plug-in, parameters such as the speed of the robotic arm, its acceleration, or the orientation of the extruder, will be tweaked in order to experiment with the materials intelligence and produce a series of unexpected alterations to the initial design.

The control of the physical 6-axis robotic arm will be used to inform and enhance every designed protype beyond its digital representation.

3D PRINTING

After achieving robotic control both digitally and physically, the designed prototypes will be 3D printed using the in-house 6-axis robotic arms.

According to the settings selected in the previous stages, material intelligence will compute the final form. The outcomes will be explicitly guided but never fully predicted, leaving the final call to each participant to modify his/her design.

Fees

STUDENT PRICING

125 plus VAT per person.Includes materials & lunch.

PROFESSIONAL PRICING

175 plus VAT per person.Includes materials & lunch.

Max 12 people per workshop.

Payments via the Robots.IO online shop using PayPal or invoiced in advance.

Pre-requisite software installationRhino 5 software

Grasshopper plug-in

IO plug-in

www.rhino3d.com/download/rhino/5/latest

www.grasshopper3d.com/page/download-1

http://robots.io/wp/download

A trial version of Robots.IO software will be distributed at the event if required.

RECOMMENDED GUIDES :

Participants should have experience with Rhino and Grasshopper software prior to at-tending the workshop.

A large collection of rhino tutorials (video and PDF guides) for beginners. If you are new to Rhino we recommend starting with Rhino level 1 & 2 traininghttps://www.rhino3d.com/learn

Offcial Rhino reseller and provider of training for the ukhttp://www.simplyrhino.co.uk/rhinotraining/rhinotraining.html

Introductory grasshopper videos by its creator David Ruttenhttps://vimeo.com/channels/basicgh

A nice range of grasshopper tutorialshttp://designreform.net/learning/grasshopper

Workshop Packages

Contact us directly for more info:

Email: support@robots.io

Call: +44 (0) 20 7737 7760

Are you interested in hosting your own workshop? Or do you want to purchase a 6-axis robotic 3D printer? Robots.IO can offer you a variety of options:

OPTION 1 : WE RUN A WORKSHOP AT THE ROBOTS.IO FACILITIES

You commission a workshop: In this scenario, we supply the equipment and staff, and you manage the enrolment. A single fee is required from you.

OPTION 2 : WE RUN A WORKSHOP AT YOUR FACILITIES

We come to your space and run a workshop: You provide the facilities and manage enrolment. We will bring our robots and give the tutorials to the participants. A single fee is required from you.

OPTION 3 : BUY A ROBOTS.IO 3D PRINT PACKAGE

This is designed by our in-house experts. The system is safe, tested, and supplied with a calibrated robot in a sturdy aluminum safety cell on wheels so you can just un-pack and turn it on. The IO plug-in will communicate directly with the robot, and the package comes with example Grasshopper definitions to for various control strategies.

Location

ADDRESS

RoboFold,UNIT 38,Mahatma Gandhi Industrial Estate,Milkwood Road,Herne Hill,SE24 0JF,London, UK

Copyright 2015 Gregory Epps . Copyright 2015 RoboFold Ltd . All right reserved. Robots.IO is a trading style of RoboFold Ltd Leaflet design: Eva Magnisali

NEAREST STATIONS:

Loughborough Junction: 5 min walkHerne Hill: 10 min walkBrxton Underground: 15 min walkMake sure you are on Milkwood Road, and NOT Shakespeare Road, as there is a railway seperating the two locations.

CONTACT DETAILS:

general enquiries: events@robots.iooffice: +44(0) 20 7737 7760mobile: +44(0)7811 451 519

SUPPORTERS: