Fabricating Wood-Like Textures on Multicurved 3D Printed Architectural Elements

Desktop three-dimensional printing (3DP) with the fused filament fabrication technique is widely employed for the manufacture of small-scale horizontally layered elements with a uniform striated appearance. What remains a challenge is developing printing processes that can automate the construction of more complex large-scale elements with a distinct fluid surface esthetic for architectural design applications. To address this challenge, this research explores the three-dimensional (3D) printing of multicurved wood-plastic composite panels that have the appeal of natural timber. It compares six-axis robotic technology and its ability to rotate the axes to print smooth curved layers in complex shapes with a large-scale, gantry-style 3D printer that is predominantly used for creating fast, horizontally aligned linear prints typical of 3D printing toolpathing. The prototype test results demonstrate that both technologies can produce multicurved elements with a timber-like esthetic.