Realization of Topology Optimized Concrete Structures Using Robotic Abrasive Wire-Cutting of Expanded Polystyrene Formwork

Growing living and multifunctional mycelium composites for large-scale formwork applications using robotic abrasive wire-cutting

“…Hot-wire cutting is limited to thermally cuttable materials, whereas mycelium materials are composed of flammable lignocellulose fibers. Odico addressed these disadvantages by developing a diamond-threaded abrasive wire that rotates on electrically propelled flywheels [23], which not only increases the production speed but also allows for cutting solid materials.…”

Topology optimization in concrete construction: a systematic review on numerical and experimental investigations

“…The BESO-based plugin Ameba of Grasshopper for Rhinoceros (no further details which version) is used for toolpath planning in the context of robotic additive clay manufacturing. Søndergaard et al (2013), on the other hand, propose a combined integrated design, optimization and fabrication method for space-frame truss structures in the course of an autonomous digital process.…”

“…A different approach was chosen by Søndergaard et al (2019), who propose a method to industrially manufacture topology-optimized ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) structures using robotic abrasive wire cutting of spatially advanced polystyrene formwork systems and CNC milling of timber or EPS. Their work is especially directed towards large-scale structures, thus sounding out practical boundaries.…”

Ice Formwork for High-Performance Concrete: A Model of Lean Production for Prefabricated Concrete Industry

“…Unexpectedly, the development that did occur affected not the material side of the system but the method of mechanical processing. Aspiring to cut down the lead time, the company contracted for fabrication of the formwork managed to produce the required geometry not with the CNC milling, but with robotic hot-wire cutting (RHWC) [2]. While this helped to reduce processing time by approximately 90%, it still required processing of 4500 m 3 of EPS foam to produce the formwork required for the in-situ concrete constructions used in the project [3].…”