Cable-Suspended Robotic Contour Crafting System

Abstract

This paper introduces a new concept for a contour crafting construction system. Contour crafting is a relatively new layered fabrication technology that enables automated construction of whole structures. The system proposed here consists of a mobile contour crafting platform driven by a translational cable-suspended robot. The platform includes an extrusion system for laying beads of concrete as well as computer-controlled trowels for forming the beads as they are laid. This system is fully automated and can be used to construct concrete structures rapidly and economically. The novel attributes of this system enable significant improvements over other proposed contour crafting systems, including easier portability, lower cost, and the potential to build much larger structures. This paper presents the kinematics and statics of the proposed system, and uses the reachable workspace of the robot as well as the corresponding cable tensions to approximate the maximum size structure that can be built using this manipulator.