Giant digital fabrication CNC

#1

Post by nuromancer » Wed, May 30, 2012, 3:46 AM UTC

Giant digital fabrication CNC
uemfab.blog.com

Re: Giant digital fabrication CNC

#2

Post by nitrogen » Wed, May 30, 2012, 6:14 AM UTC

Forget wind turbines -- when can we use this for architectural purposes?

Re: Giant digital fabrication CNC

#3

Post by hexagonal » Wed, May 30, 2012, 7:16 AM UTC

nitrogen wrote: post #2

Forget wind turbines -- when can we use this for architectural purposes?

Machine time for something this big is very expensive: that's why it's used for making molds, which is a fabrication technology that scales up very easily; unlike CNC machining, which doesn't scale at all.

Additionally, surface finish with ±0.2mm X/Y is going to be pretty poor. It won't produce finished parts, you'll need to sand/grind it, or coat it with fiberglass and sand that. It also doesn't mention deflection under load, or feedrate through anything tougher than foam plastic.

Re: Giant digital fabrication CNC

#4

Post by mukaiji » Wed, May 30, 2012, 8:34 AM UTC

If Good Sir Jony Ives at Apple sees this, he's going to trip his knight mind out.

Re: Giant digital fabrication CNC

#5

Post by ZenPsycho » Wed, May 30, 2012, 9:10 AM UTC

hexagonal wrote: post #3

nitrogen wrote: post #2

Forget wind turbines -- when can we use this for architectural purposes?

Machine time for something this big is very expensive: that's why it's used for making molds, which is a fabrication technology that scales up very easily; unlike CNC machining, which doesn't scale at all. Additionally, surface finish with ±0.2mm X/Y is going to be pretty poor. It won't produce finished parts, you'll need to sand/grind it, or coat it with fiberglass and sand that. It also doesn't mention deflection u…

which part of any of that prevents it from being used for architectural purposes?

Re: Giant digital fabrication CNC

#6

Post by bobds » Wed, May 30, 2012, 9:15 AM UTC

nitrogen wrote: post #2

Forget wind turbines -- when can we use this for architectural purposes?

There's a big 3D printer that is very suitable for architectural projects. Check it out:

http://d-shape.com/

Re: Giant digital fabrication CNC

#7

Post by catch23 » Wed, May 30, 2012, 9:40 AM UTC

nitrogen wrote: post #2

Forget wind turbines -- when can we use this for architectural purposes?

CNC is probably less useful for printing houses, it's great for negative molds, but harder when you have overlapping empty spaces. It's more useful to have a 3d printer here -- maybe someday we'll have 3d printers that use concrete foam to create simple prefab homes.

Re: Giant digital fabrication CNC

#8

Post by ktizo » Wed, May 30, 2012, 10:11 AM UTC

hexagonal wrote: post #3

nitrogen wrote: post #2

Forget wind turbines -- when can we use this for architectural purposes?

Machine time for something this big is very expensive: that's why it's used for making molds, which is a fabrication technology that scales up very easily; unlike CNC machining, which doesn't scale at all. Additionally, surface finish with ±0.2mm X/Y is going to be pretty poor. It won't produce finished parts, you'll need to sand/grind it, or coat it with fiberglass and sand that. It also doesn't mention deflection u…

If you can use it for boats and blades, you can use it for prefab panel moulds.

Re: Giant digital fabrication CNC

#9

Post by mbenjaminsmith » Wed, May 30, 2012, 10:46 AM UTC

bobds wrote: post #6

nitrogen wrote: post #2

Forget wind turbines -- when can we use this for architectural purposes?

There's a big 3D printer that is very suitable for architectural projects. Check it out: http://d-shape.com/

They don't seem to be printing houses / buildings with this technology. I wonder how readily it could be applied to that. Imagine setting up a rig on a concrete slab and having a house printed in a week.