Digital Fabrication Manufacturing Lightweight Structure - Essay Example

CNC milling is the most common form of the CNC process of subtractive fabrication that makes manufacturing of complex forms available. Alternatively, CNC milling machines are operated with a set of commands and functions in alphanumeric format; that is using NURBS geometry as a tool for manufacturing parts of non-Euclidean shapes becomes possible and therefore the credibility of complex designs is out of the question. Generally, the most important advantage of CNC milling technology is the availability of producing complex parts with high detail.

There are some drawbacks though, for example, CNC milling is rather slow compared to other fabrication processes. “CNC milling has recently been applied in new ways in building industry – to produce the formwork (molds) for the off-site and on-site casting of concrete elements with double-curved geometry, as in one of the Gehry’s office buildings in Dusseldorf” (Schnabel 2002). Additionally, Frank Gehry used another CNC technology, laser cutting, for steel supports of masonry walls in Zollhoff Towers in Dusseldorf. Returning to examples of implementing CNC milling one may name the production of laminated glass panels with complex curvilinear surfaces (Bernard Franken’s BMW Pavilion, Gehry’s Conde Nast Cafeteria).

Innovative CNC processing technologies (milling, cutting) along with the increasing interest in “new” materials is supported by the attention rising towards shell structures, which conflate the structure and the skin into one element thus creating self-supporting forms: ”The idea of a structural skin not only implies a new material but also geometries, such as curves and folds that would enable the continuous skin to act structurally, obviating an independent static system” (Giovannini 2000)

Research Aim
New materials, especially composites previously used in aerospace, automotive, shipbuilding industries, etc. can be of particular interest to architects when constructing a light-weight structure: “the building skins are beginning to have not only expressive formal qualities but also new tectonic composition” (Kolarevic 2004, p. 52). Put simply, aluminum compositing with steel can be researched for usage in light-weight structures as its key features perfectly suit monocoque and semi-monocoque structures. The reason for using this composite is an excellent stiffness-to-weight ratio. Widely used in the manufacturing of aircraft components aluminum composite can be applied for manufacturing self-supporting structures. Additionally, aluminum contributes excellent thermal and electrical conductivity to the composite while stainless steel contributes superior corrosion and abrasion resistance. Economic savings, as well as engineering advantages, are realised by using the stainless steel aluminum composite.

Aluminum composite with steel implies using the latest CNC technologies in manufacturing. Components made of composite materials are usually formed over CNC-milled molds, “as in boatbuilding to produce boat hulls or large interior components, or in closed molds by injecting the matrix material under pressure or by the partial vacuum, as is done in the automotive industry for the production of smaller-scale components” (Kolarevic 2004, p. 54).

The fusion of structure and skin in monocoque and semi-monocoque structures makes aluminum composite a ‘promising candidate’ for new material implemented in light-weight structures for roof shells turning them into self-supporting structures.

Research design and methodology
Proposed research of aluminum compositing with steel implies developing a greater understanding of its properties and to improve those properties. It also can help find techniques and processes to produce aluminum composite and fabricate components from it that meet the challenges of a particular application, i.e. implementation in roof shells of light-weight structures. That is the research can be classified as one of the core materials (CMR). The expected value of aluminum composite can be computed through the following equation:

Expected value = Benefit x Potential of material x Probability of success in conducting CMR,
where Benefit is defined as the sum of the energy savings, waste reduction, and increased productivity; Potential of material is a measure of the limits of material to satisfy all of the desired properties, and Probability of success in conducting CMR is the probability that CMR will lead to the development of a material with the desired properties that can be produced in sufficient volume and quantities and fabricated into process components (Sherry and Silberglitt 2002). To evaluate the values stated above a group of experts with enough technical knowledge should be contacted to collect and analyze their views (Linstone and Turoff 1975). The data gathered should be used in the formula to evaluate the value of using aluminum-steel composite in roof shells of lightweight structures. Read More