The Mesh Mould technology could fundamentally alter future construction with concrete by combining formwork and reinforcement into one robotically fabricated construction. The two-metre high construction robot In situ Fabricator plays a central role in the process. It moves autonomously on caterpillar tracks even in a constantly changing environment. A steel wire mesh fabricated by the robot serves both as formwork and as reinforcement for the concrete. Thanks to the dense structure of the steel wire mesh and the special composition of the concrete mix, the concrete stays inside the grid and does not pour out.
The result is a double-curved, load-bearing wall that will characterise the architecture of the DFAB HOUSE project at the Empa and Eawag NEST research and innovation construction site in Dübendorf.
Project credits:
The In situ Fabricator is a collaborative research project of Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich and the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich.
Mesh Mould is collaborative research project of Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich, the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, the Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zurich and the Institute of Structural Engineering, ETH Zurich
More information: www.dfabhouse.ch
© NCCR Digital Fabrication, 2018
Video by schwarzpictures.com
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