Robotic Fabrication of Sustainable Hybrid Formwork with Clay and Foam for Concrete Casting

Abstract

This paper presents a hybrid formwork fabrication method utilizing additive manufacturing with clay on top of curved foam surfaces robotically fabricated with hot wire. The primary focus of this study is to develop a relatively efficient and highly sustainable formwork manufacturing method capable of producing geometrically complex modular concrete building components. The method leverages fluidity and recyclability of clay to produce uniquely shaped, free-form parts of the mold, and reduces overall production time by using foam for shared mold support/enclosure. A Calibration and tool path generating method based on computational modeling to integrate the two systems are also subsequently developed.