Exciting news from Zachary Schoch's Keystone studio:
For Immediate Release LOS ANGELES, California – May 28, 2014... The future of the built environment is 3D printed. The m_Wall, showcased at the Maker Fair 2014, was printed in only two pieces and stands over 6 feet 4 inches tall (1.9 meters). Printed with the Euclid Robot 3D printer using both black and clear ABS plastic, the m_Wall is extremely strong with a single pass print thickness of over 1/4 inch (6.35mm). The wall is created from two 5 hour prints making for a total print time of only 10 hours. And yes, that is fast, well compared to most printers.
In order to print architecture, it needs to be created using less expensive methods than those of ‘traditional’ 3D printing. Time is money, and now architectural scale 3D printing is economically feasible as demonstrated by the m_Wall due to the high speed and inexpensive plastic pellet based Euclid Robot 3D printer. Because time has a direct corollary to cost, Bot Laboratory constantly strives to drastically reduce print times.
Designed using Grasshopper 3D, all of the motion and extrusion data required to print the m_wall was completely scripted inside of Grasshopper using a custom script developed by Zachary Schoch. This process takes the place of the traditional ‘slicing’ step. It has the advantage of allowing the designer to not only design the form of what they want, but to also design the nature of how it is created; for instance, the ability to use print layers that are at funny angles or print layers that are curved and non-planar, or to directly script the path of the machine in order to create a geometry instead of the traditionally reversed geometry first process.
The Bot Laboratory is now accepting custom printing inquiries. Located in Los Angeles California, USA. www.BotLaboratory.com Zachary Schoch, proprietor.
Zachary Schoch is a Roboticist, Inventor, Designer and founder of Bot Laboratory where he is pushing the limits of 3D printing and robotic fabrication. Through a careful fusion of his diverse backgrounds in mechanical engineering, race car design, and architecture, Zach has designed and developed the Euclid Robot 3D printer, a large scale Cartesian machine that 3D prints a huge variety of plastics using inexpensive pellets. By leveraging custom scripting and a mega 3D printer, Zach is able to design and print elements at spatial and architectural scale. Through exploring the potential of machines and their impact on architecture, Zach seeks to revolutionize the way we create and build space.