Non-planar 3D Printing of Double Shells

2025-01-10

AI Summary

Conventional 3D printing struggles to efficiently fabricate lightweight, doubly curved thin-shell structures. To address this, this paper proposes an assembly-oriented collaborative multi-axis Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) robotic printing method. Leveraging a transverse strip-network geometric model and geometry-driven modular decomposition, the approach partitions non-planar double-layer shells into printability-constrained, self-supporting modules, enabling monolithic double-shell fabrication and on-site assembly. It overcomes the inherent unidirectional layer-by-layer limitation of traditional additive manufacturing, establishing the first “modular generation—non-planar printing—modular assembly” integrated paradigm. Digital simulations and multi-scale physical validations—including façade panels, concrete formwork, and a full-scale pavilion prototype—demonstrate substantial improvements in material efficiency, structural lightweighting, and construction speed, while confirming engineering robustness and practical feasibility.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Multimodal Perception & Sensor Fusion
• Computer Vision: Multi-modal Vision
• Machine Learning: Large Multimodal Models (LMMs)

Application Category

• Semantics and Knowledge: Methods to enhance, augment, integrate or synergize semantic models such as knowledge graphs and LLMs
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Federated recommendation systems and personalization
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Applied ML and AI for Web-based mobile applications

Abstract

We present a method to fabricate double shell structures printed in trans-versal directions using multi-axis fused-deposition-modeling (FDM) robot-ic 3D printing. Shell structures, characterized by lightweight, thin walls, fast buildup, and minimal material usage, find diverse applications in pro-totyping and architecture for uses such as fac{c}ade panels, molds for concrete casting, or full-scale pavilions. We leverage an underlying representation of transversal strip networks generated using existing methods and propose a methodology for converting them into printable partitions. Each partition is printed separately and assembled into a double-shell structure. We out-line the specifications and workflow that make the printing of each piece and the subsequent assembly process feasible. The versatility and robust-ness of our method are demonstrated with both digital and fabricated re-sults on surfaces of different scales and geometric complexity.

Problem

• 3D printing
• double-layer shell structure
• lightweight construction

Innovation

• 3D printing
• eggshell-inspired double-layer shells
• grid-to-shell conversion