This research presents a cooperative heterogeneous multi-robot fabrication system for the spatial winding of filament materials. The system is based on the cooperation of a six-axis robotic arm and a customized 2 + 2 axis CNC gantry system. Heterogeneous multi-robot cooperation allows to deploy the strategy of Spatial Winding: a new method of sequential spatial fiber arrangement, based on directly interlocking filament-filament connections, achieved through wrapping one filament around another. This strategy allows to create lightweight non-regular fibrous space frame structures. The new material system was explored through physical models and digital simulations prior to deployment with the proposed robotic fabrication process. An adaptable frame setup was developed which allows the fabrication of a variety of geometries within the same frame. By introducing a multi-step curing process that integrates with the adaptable frame, the iterative production of continuous large-scale spatial frame structures is possible. This makes the structure’s scale agnostic of robotic reach and reduces the necessary formwork to the bare minimum. Through leveraging the capacities of two cooperating machines, the system allows to counteract some of their limitations. A flexible, dynamic and collaborative fabrication system is presented as a strategy to tailor the fiber in space and expand the design possibilities of lightweight fiber structures. The artifact of the proposed fabrication process is a direct expression of the material tectonics and the robotic fabrication system.

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The Cluster of Excellence Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture at the University of Stuttgart brings together various disciplines to jointly develop amongst other things a better understanding of processes in the manufacturing and construction domain. One of the cluster’s aims is to create new solutions for the construction of lightweight fibrous structures using coreless winding of lightweight fiber composite systems. For this purpose, a precise geometry and an understanding of the fibers’ behavior during the production process are of major importance. The fibers’ production process is monitored by repeatedly scanning the fibers during different stages of the process using a terrestrial laser scanner. In order to determine the geometry of the fibers’ axes as well as their cross-sections, two different strategies are used. The first strategy focuses on the segmentation of several straight lines between two intersection points. For the comparison of the individual fabrication steps, the positions of the intersection points are contrasted. For the cross-sectional areas of the fibers, orthogonal planes of intersection are then defined and all points within a predefined area are projected onto this plane. Then the area is calculated using a convex hull. In the second strategy, the fibers‘ main axes are represented by best-fitting B-spline curves. The borders of the cross-sections of interest are also approximated by best-fitting B-spline curves, forming the basis for the final determination of the cross-sectional areas. In this case study two epochs are analyzed with a deformation of the size of around 1cm. For both epochs the cross-sections are calculated in cm steps.

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