AUTOMATED CONSTRUCTION BY CONTOUR CRAFTING AND

RELATED ROBOTICS

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CONTENTS

• INTRODUCTION

• DRAWBACKS OF CONVENTIONAL CONSTRUCTION METHODS

• CURRENT STATUS OF AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION SITES

• CONTOUR CRAFTING

• FEATURES OF CONTOUR CRAFTING

• FEATURES OF AUTOMATED CONSTRUCTION

• EXTRATERRESTRIAL APPLICATIONS

• ADVANTAGES

• CONCLUSION

• REFERENCES

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INTRODUCTION• Current “cast-in-place” construction process has been used in

the field since Roman ages

• It still remains labour intense

• Problems in the areas of productivity, quality, safety, and

skilled labour shortages

• To address these issues, various types of automation and

robotics technologies have been proposed and implemented

• Require a paradigm shift in process technology

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DRAWBACKS OF CONVENTIONAL CONSTRUCTION METHODS

• Slow

• Labour-intensive and inefficient

• Wasteful and emission causing

• Corruption prone

• Costly and always over budget• hazardous

source: http://blog.willis.com/2012/05

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CURRENT STATUS OF AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION SITES

• Since 18 years, construction automation and robotics have

been implemented in the United States, Japan and China

• Japanese and Chinese construction companies have their own

research centers with sophisticated equipments

• Single task robots that replace activities are mainly used

• Introducing robots at construction sites has contributed to

productivity, safety, and quality improvements

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CONTOUR CRAFTING

• Type of 3D printing technology

• “Addictive fabrication” technology using computer control

• Building layer by layer till 3D model is completed

• Combination of extrusion and filling processes

• Uses CAD-CAM

• Able to do automated plumbing, electrical network etc..

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CONTOUR CRAFTING (contd…)

A CC machine for fabricating concrete wall source: http://www.rapidreadytech.com

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A CC MACHINE Source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tKlPqvV83gY/T5BhWyTTOA

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APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION SITES

Construction of conventional buildings using CC source: http://3dprint.com

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APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION SITES (contd…)

• Robotic system is installed at the site

• Colony of houses with different designs can be constructed on

a single run

• Conventional structures can built by integrating the CC

machine

• Foundation needs to be constructed conventionally

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APPLICATION IN CONSTRUCTION SITES (contd…)

Construction of adobe buildings using CC source: https://calearth.org

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FEATURES OF CONTOUR CRAFTING

• Design Flexibility: allows to design structures with functional

and exotic architectural geometries

• Multiple Materials: multiple materials can be fed through CC

nozzle whose quantity can be controlled

– hence building structures containing varying amount of

different compounds in different regions is possible

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FEATURES OF CONTOUR CRAFTING (contd…)

• Utility Conduits: utility conduits may be built into the walls of a building

structure precisely as dictated by the CAD data

Complex wall section source: http://www.truelook.com/blog/category/construction-corner/

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FEATURES OF CONTOUR CRAFTING (contd…)

• Paint-Ready Surfaces : Regardless of the choice of materials,

the surface quality in CC is such that no further surface

preparation would be needed for painting surfaces

– Indeed an automated painting system can be integrated

• Smart Materials: elements such as strain sensors, floor and

wall heaters can be built into the structure

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FEATURES OF AUTOMATED CONSTRUCTION

• Automated Reinforcement: robotic modular embedding of steel mesh reinforcement into each layer may be devised

• Advanced materials such as fiber reinforced mortar can be used

Automated reinforcement in CC source: http://www.truelook.com/blog/category/construction-corner/

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FEATURES OF AUTOMATED CONSTRUCTION (contd…)

• Automated tiling: robots can be used to spread the adhesive

material and place tiles accordingly– This robotics system can be attached to the CC structure

Automated tiling source: http://www.truelook.com/blog/category/construction-corner/

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FEATURES OF AUTOMATED CONSTRUCTION (contd…)

• Automated plumbing and electrical work: presence of conduits in

the walls makes it possible to automate plumbing and electrical

works

source: http://www.truelook.com/blog/category/construction-corner/

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source:http://inhabitat.com/12000-square-china/winsun-3dprint-mansion2/

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Buildings constructed using CC source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2615076

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EXTRATERRESTRIAL APPLICATIONS

• Ability to construct support less structures

• Ability to use in-situ materials

• The lunar regolith, may be used for the construction of

landing base on the moon

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EXTRATERRESTRIAL APPLICATIONS (contd…)

Model of construction of lunar base using contour crafting source: http://sservi.nasa.gov

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CONSTRUCTION COSTIf Automated by CC Portion Due To

Short project length 20% - 25% Financing

No wastage of materials 25% - 30% Materials

less labour 45% - 55% Labour

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COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

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COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

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ADVANTAGES

• Economical

• Environmental friendly

• Great architectural flexibility

• High speed of construction

• No wastage of materials

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CONCLUSION

• Application in low income housing

• Emergency shelter construction

• Construction of structures with exotic architectural designs

• High speed and efficiency

• Promising new method in construction industry

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Source: http://www.fastcodesign.com/3043245

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Source: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/tourism/vision-for-dubais-museum-of-the-future

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Source: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/tourism/vision-for-dubais-museum-of-the-future

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REFERENCES1. B. Khoshnevis and G. Bekey, “Automated Construction using Contour

Crafting – Applications on Earth and Beyond,” Proceedings of the 19th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, Gaithersburg, Maryland (2002) 489-494. 14

2. B. Khoshnevis, innovative rapid prototyping process makes large sized, smooth surfaced complex shapes in a wide variety of materials, Materials Technology, 13:2 (1998) 52-63.

3. B. Khoshnevis, R. Russell, H. Kwon, & S. Bukkapatnam, Contour Crafting – A Layered Fabrication Technique, Special Issue of IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, 8:3 (2001-a) 33-42.

4. B. Khoshnevis, S. Bukkapatnam, H. Kwon, H., & J. Saito, Experimental Investigation of Contour Crafting using Ceramics Materials, Rapid Prototyping J., 7:1 (2001-b) 32-41

5. C. Balaguer, M. Abderrahim, S. et.al, Future Home: An Integrated Construction Automation Approach, IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine (2002) 55-66.

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THANK YOU