3D PRINTING
SIX-AXIS ROBOT
MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC
SIX-AXIS ROBOT TURNS 3D PRINTING INTO AN ART
FORM
A project at the Centre for Fine Print
Research (CFPR) based at the University
of the West of England, (UWE) Bristol UK
is looking at 3D printing from a totally
different angle - where the emphasis is
placed on meaningful expression, rather
than the accurate reproduction of digital
data. A flexible Mitsubishi Electric MELFA
RV-Series articulated arm industrial robot is
at the centre of the project.
Additive Manufacturing (3D printing)
is increasingly being used in the
manufacturing industry for prototyping, low
volume manufacture and for making items
with complex shapes which cannot easily
be reproduced by other means. The main
challenge is posed by complex geometry;
when an object is to be fabricated, the
shape must be broken down into a series
of machine tool paths that will accumulate
material by building up layers in a stable and
reliable way.
For this reason, 3D printing is generally
a very precisely controlled process,
both in terms of the type of movement
(steady acceleration and velocity) and
the deposition of materials. In industrial
applications, material is deposited or
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fused in small quantities. The machines are
accordingly operated in a logical, numerical
way, just as in CNC machining.
Conversely, the Centre for Fine Print
Research (CFPR) project is looking at 3D
printing from the viewpoint of the Arts,
where the emphasis is placed on meaningful
expression. A good analogy to the project
would be the potter's wheel, where the artist
works in direct contact with clay and with an
intimate understanding of the constraints
of working the material and the wheel in
synergy.
Here, the artist is able to express something
with the material, often pushing the material
to its limits, for example by generating
sweeping elegant forms, or revealing new
material qualities, such as translucency. The
CFPR has background expertise in ceramics,
photo-cure resins and thermoplastics,
all of which are being investigated with
the new robotic platform. Previous work
has evaluated the 3D printer as a tool to
manipulate materials, or produce unusual
surface textures, as opposed to simply
using it as a machine that reproduces digital
models at a fine resolution.