Structuring Irregular Aggregates: Project work

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE THE BARTLETT SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE. TUTORS: EMANUEL VERCRUYSSE, TOM SVILANS & VINCENT HUYGHE

ARCHANA CHENTHIL KUMAR, 2018-19

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

Everything we touch, and thereby experience is made by someone or by some machine. These make our lives rich and meaningful. But the way we make them can be toxic and harmful for our planet in many ways, over long terms. This underplays the intelligence and humanity we, as mankind are capable of. With the new technologies, our digital and physical worlds are more linked than ever before. This can transform the way we make or rather, re-make things. The final project is an exploration to understand how design and manufacture have oppurtunities to be thoughtful. A pivotal aspect in all the projects during this course was building a strong skill set for problem-solving in fabrication.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

STRUCTURING

IRREGULAR A G G R E G AT E S Team: Archana Chenthil Kumar, Amir Arsalan Tahouni & Mathew Osborne To explore the affordances of working with Cutoff, Natural Irregular geometries and Remnant material.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

7

Introduction

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

[ motivation ] [ precedence ] [ aim ] [ methodology ]

[ motivation ]

Why working with irregular offcut stone warrants research?

Raw irregular limestone used in the project.

Marble Quarry - Cutting and blasting processes creating chunks of unusable material.

Cultural heritage site of Awwam Temple area, Yemen.

Construction waste at a landfill.

Demolished buildings at bombed site

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

Every year there are tons of construction debris and irregular offcuts, especially concrete and rock rubble, which are discarded to landfills around the world (Puskas, et al., 2014).

Motivation - context Naturally occurring stone and their irregular counterparts - offcut pieces of stones, are one of the most commonly found articles, particularly in construction and demolition sites.

Often regarded as an innocuous material that embodies contextual information, geological time and human history. In recent times, the inherent value of these ‘as found’ materials are disregarded, as they are relegated to a solely superficial purpose such as decoration or is processed into fine material that is homogenized with other materials, which is a rather resource intensive approach (Tam, 2009).

[ precedence ]

9

State of the art in working with irregular materials, stone

Cut structural stone used in architecture.

Rock printing technology. (ETH Zurich)

Aggregate structres. (ICD stuttgart)

“Past civilizations cannibalized their constructions to produce new architectures.�

(Hopkins & Beard, 2005)

Optimally cut repurposed demolition waste. Pre-designed sea wall defence.

(Clifford, et al., 2018).

Cyclopean masonry.

In terms of understanding the process of working with recovered rock, the concept of cyclopean masonry provides a stimulating insight (Clifford, et al., 2018). This paper investigates how an age-old knowledge of stone cutting can help combat construction waste and fuses it with advanced digital techniques.

Aggregate structures.

It has been previously proven that granular aggregates can be designed to meet target properties. However, the major limitation with these stochastic configurations are that, they are constrained in terms of design complexity and can only work successfully with certain aggregate shapes (Dierichs & Menges, 2016) and sizes (Keller & M. Jaeger, 2016).

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

Jammed Vs UnJammed.

Jammed and unjammed architectural configurations in many ways offer a contemporary take on the method of dry stacking. Their stability is largely controlled by friction and load.

[ aim & objectives ]

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

To explore the possibilities in working with natural, cutoff or irregular material. It attempts to explore and conceive a different approach of construction with said material, within the framework of fabrication technology combined with procedural form finding, structural optimization, manufacturing and digital augmentation.

[ methodology]

11

#overall methodology Why?

REALITY CAPTURE

Creaform 3D Scanning

ANALYSIS

Surface curvature Features & character Gripping zones

DESIGN

OPTIMISATION

Indicative Design to inform overal geometry.

Structural stability Positions of elements

FABRICATION

Fabrication methods and techniques in additive

INSTRUCTION

Augmented Reality.

Mobilephone Applications, eyewear.

ASSEMBLY

Sequential Assembly - step by step process assisted by AR

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

With the modern computational tools and digital technologies, it is feasible to control, manipulate and work with the complexities of irregular geometries and thereby, subsequent complex construction, in their full three dimensionality. In order to develop a structurally stable assembly, computational methods are used to generate a robust workflow of mutually symbiotic relationships; between the physical aspects of the stone and technical aspects of manufacturing.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

13

Metrology

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

[ workflow ] [ photogrammetry vs scanning ] [ data analysis ]

[ methodology]

#reality capture through two methods.

Workflow Developing a workflow that aids in a systematic approach to working with these irregular materials is central to the project.

04, ANALYSE 03, CATEGORISE

ASSIMILATION & OUTPUT

INPUT - DATA GATHERING

01, SCANNING

07, AUGMENTATION

EXECUTION

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

Fundamental to the workflow are four processes: Data gathering, Designing, Fabrication and Assembly. Each stage of the workflow is crucial in informing the next stage of the workflow.

00, MATERIAL PALLET

08, ASSEMBLY

05, DESIGN

06, FABRICATE

[ photogrammetry vs scanning ]

15

#reality capture through two methods.

Digital 3D models of real objects can be made through multiple methods. Two primary methods are 3D scanning and photogrammetry.

Creaform 3D scanning

Time taken to generate 3D model: 12-18 mins Accuracy achievable :0.025 mm (0.0009 in) Accuracy used for the project: 0.4 mm

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

This scanning method utilizes an LCD projector and two cameras to map an object’s geometry. The projector projects patterns of light, typically alternating light stripes, onto the surface of the part to be scanned. The cameras of the scanner then record the part’s geometry by measuring where and how the light pattern deforms around the part and creates data points to match.

Multiple scan at multiple angles are then automatically aligned due to the tracking stickers placed around the objects giving the software reference points.

The end result is a polygon mesh.

[ photogrammetry vs scanning ]

#multiple approaches for data analysis.

Photogrammetry This technology uses photographs rather than light to gather data. In order to make the 3D model, multiple photso from different angles are taken.

It has to overlop with each other for the software to line up the photos correctly. On an average 70-100 photos are required for a good model. The software image processes to create a point cloud from the refernce points. This is then used to create a polygon mesh.

Photogrammetry setup

objects to scan. reference points for overlap.

Comparitive performance 3D scanning - Multiple laser crosses and an automatic mesh generation, and real time visualisation enables a significantly faster workflow from the set-up to the scan and then to the file.

- extremely high accuracy, resolution and reapeatable results.

- expensive equipment

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

Photogrammetry - Creates excellent colour and texture map of objects.

- Equipment (camera) of choice - time consuming - lower accuracy

Hand scanner setup tracking stickers black scanning turntable

The ‘Creaform handyscan 14’ is optimal for the workflow and used to scan all the rocks.

Criss-cross light patterns

[ data analysis ]

17

#process between ‘metrology’ and ‘design’ data analysis

With the scanned data of the materials, it would now be possible to run data analysis in order to understand the material and thereby, design ‘for’ and ‘with’ it specifically.

Approach #1.a - Curvature analysis

surface analysis Using the curvature analysis data and search for points on each stone that offer the strongest grippable geometry. This is based on a varying radii of curvature analysis, ranging from small surface roughness to large scale irregularities.

Various curvature analysis radii results

limits

Analysis videos: Link: https://vimeo.com/374640832 https://vimeo.com/374645962

Identifying the rough patches on the surface for a particular fitness value.

This allowed for a model that used these targeted grippable zones.

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

This approach was not very accurate and didnt provide the best results in all cases. This lead to further explorations that utilised optimised systems to find the best possibilities.

[ data analysis ]

#multiple approaches for data analysis.

Approach #1.b - Rock mesh faces

mesh faces The starting point was to breakdown the data of the scanned rock into mesh faces and understanding its characteristics. Gives information regarding the roughness value of each face with respect to the total surface area of the rock.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

Data Categorising It then becomes crucial to understand the material pallet and create a database with the information regarding its size structural integrity, texture, rough surfaces etc. To gain and store this data, a digital library of the pallet can be created using hand scanning. Post scanning and tagging the rocks with the appropriate information, the materials in the pallet can now be categorized into the different groups based on size, texture, shape etc.

Increasing order of face roughness value.

[ data analysis ]

19

#multiple approaches for data analysis - genetic algorithms Approach #2 - Gripping surface & Flat surface

Gripping surface Roughness, flatness, concavity, and undercuts all provide different oppurtunities within this system. Areas with high deviation provide the best friction and therefore offer the best gripping surfaces.

Search radius for gripping surface.

Average vector within the search radius.

Ongoing genetic alogrithm output:average of all the face normals, indicating overal direction.

Ongoing genetic alogrithm output: shows all the face normals.

The face normals are of the rock mesh are unitised vectors indicating the face orientation.

The average normal vector of a selected search radius is used to find the angular difference with all the normal vectors in the radius.

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

Genetic algorithm

[ data analysis ]

#multiple approaches for data analysis through genetic algorithms

Approach #2 - Gripping surface & Flat surface

Optimisation

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

Both these methods indicate orientations for the stones such that the center of masses of a number of stones can then be arranged in a stable form.

While the max deviations provide the best gripping surfaces. The min deviations provide the flattest surfaces of the rocks.

[ data analysis ]

21

#multiple approaches for data analysis through genetic algorithms

Approach #3 - Ridges//Valleys

Role of ridge lines These ridge lines offer good places for joint components but they also offer oppurtunity in the assembly stage. These act as features that can be detected for augmentation.

Procedurally Identifying the ridges on the rock.

An optimisation sequence was used to find the longest/ shortest span that connects the vertice of the ridges or the roughest patchs and also goes through the central zone of the rock.

Approach #4 - Stability//Orientation

Stability An optimisation sequence was used to find the largest triangle that can be fit into the rock that can indicate the most stable orientation of the rock within an assembly.

Optimisation video:

Link: https://vimeo.com/374653006

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

Examples of the optimisation samples

[ data analysis ]

#Understanding shape grammars design

Shape

This trial was to align the ridge lines of the rocks to a designed helical spline that formed a column. This can then be used with an engine such as Karamba to do structural analysis understand its structural stability.

1500 mm Height

With all the analysis on the features of the rock, it was now possible to design with them. Based on the criteria, the rocks could be aligned to any shape, manipulated digitally to understand how they fit within an overall geometry.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

600 mm width

[ data analysis ]

23

The colours indicate the appropriate rock being sent to the appropriate location within the geometry.

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

In these trials, any designed shape can be broken down into parts that require specific performance from the rocks, such as more gripping surface or higher volume etc. The rocks, now categorised into different libraries, based on their analysis for flatness, roughness, volume, geometry etc can then be used to fill in the appropriate zones within that geometry.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

Design Intent was to establish a level datum.

The flat surfaces were procedurally identified.

Citation on Bartlett website: Link: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/architecture/structuring-irregular-aggregation

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

25

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

27

Fabrication process

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

[ subtractive manufacture - timber//stone ] [ subractive manufacture - metal//stone ] [ additive manufacture - pla//stone ]

[ subractive manufacture - timber//stone ]

#Protoype 1 TIMBER//STONE Interface.

1. TYPE OF INTERFACE

Wood being an inherently stronger material was a good option for joint component. The resolution of the surface of the stone was captured on the wood to a high precision, through CNC milling.

Single and double side milled wood that forms a solid joint component on the stone.

2. MANUFACTURE PROCESS

3D model of milled wood sitting with the stone.

Irregular piece of waste wood that was used as stock material for single side milling.

Double side milled wood in the form of a waffled structure. This allows for reduced amount of wood.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

Fusion toolpath (3D pocket machining path) for first pass of rough cut milling with 6 mm end mill.

Fusion toolpath (parallel machining path) for finishing pass milling with 6 mm or 3 mm end mill.

[ timber//stone ]

29 3. RESULTS

Rough pass

Finish pass

Manufacture Single side milling: The 3 axis CNC milling only required two tool changes, a 12 mm end mill for the rough cut and a 6 mm ball nose for the final cut based on the joint.

Results

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

It provided high geometric tolerances while dealing with tight angles and provided good surface finishes. The major drawback for CNC milling with wood was working with undercuts. As the best gripping surfaces had undercuts, this could not be achieved on a 3 axis HAAS machine.

[ subractive manufacture - timber//stone ]

#Protoype 2

Manufacture

2. MANUFACTURE PROCESS

This double sided milling required two setups on the fusion toolpath file. This was done using a 12 mm end mill cutter for the initial roughing pass. The finishing pass was done using a 6 mm ballnose cutter.

Profile of the double side milled wood component.

Quality Aspects of quality: 1. Mesh resolution 2. Tool sizes, tool path 3. Wood texture and grain quality.

4. Undercuts in the geometry.

Fusion toolpath indicating the finishing toolpath (parallel machining path).

Surface mapping resolutions -

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

results depend on the process of manufacture.

Significant variations between subtractive (CNC, robotic milling) and additive manufacture (fds printing) indicate different capabilities and limitations.

[ timber//stone ]

31

3. RESULTS

High resolution that fit very well with the surface of the stone.

Limitations - CNC

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

The major drawback for CNC milling with wood was working with undercuts. As the best gripping surfaces had undercuts, this could not be achieved on a 3 axis HAAS machine.

[ timber//stone ]

#Protoype 3

2. MANUFACTURE PROCESS

Intent Waffled approach to creating smaller wood elements that can include undercuts. The undercuts, to an extent, could be addressed by Kuka KR60.

Manufacture This prototype required a special robotic cell setup, with a jig that allowed for the wood piece to be held.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

Three holes were made on all the small wood elements. These were precisely lined up on the jig for every milling operation, maintaining precise alignment.

JIG development.

The jig was specially made for this robotic milling operation.

Requirements for the jig: - Sufficient height from rotary table to avoid collision between robot and rotary table.

- Central rod for securing the wooden piece.

- Two additional rods to avoid any turning/rotation in the wood while milling.

Robotic fabrication: Link: https://vimeo.com/374643617

[ timber//stone ]

33

Toolpath of the robot. It extends outside the piece to ensure a clean finish on the wood.

3. RESULTS

It captures better undercuts in comparison with 3 axis CNC milling. However, this compromised on the accuracy of the milled surface. Other significant drawbacks were the size of the stock material required in order to accommodate appropriate work holding, this contributed to wastage of wood.

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

Machining review.

[ subractive manufacture - metal//stone ]

#Protoype 1 & 2

METAL//STONE 1. TYPE OF INTERFACE Type of Interfaces.

Aluminum is easy to machine and highly recyclable. Being durable and strong, it reduced the possibilities of chipping or tears with the stone, unlike wood. The prototypes were significantly different from each other because of the type and performance of their interface.

Solid 50mm aluminium rod milled on one side with a 3 axis cnc machine.

Hollow 35mm diameter aluminium pipe milled on both sides with a 4 axis cnc machine.

2. MANUFACTURE PROCESS 3 axis milling

Fusion model indicating both sides of a split joint component that show the alignment holes that is used to align and fix them.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

4 axis milling

Fusion model of the piece held in place on a custom work holding that didnt need any flipping or realignment.

[ metal//stone ]

35

Limitations - #1 A full-scale architectural system would easily require a large number of joint components, this process was not a viable one in terms of material usage and manual labor. The underperformance was also because of the bulk of the rod, which was a lot of material that did not actively engage with the stone in frictional locking.

Most of the hollow components were done in under 90 secs at 90% of the feed rate. This method proved to be very quick and used minimal material.

3. Results - #1 For the solid AL rod, the resolution was detailed and followed the surface profile of the stone. However, without the undercuts the gripping was not tight and caused slippage. The machining took 55 mins per component.

Once the work holder was set up, this method from the CAM diagrams to the execution was very time efficient. It fit better on the stones and overall performed better than the solid model.

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

3. Results - #2

[ subractive manufacture - metal//stone ]

#Protoype 1

Toolpaths for first side/first setup

Manufacture - #1 A milling arrangement with two alignment holes was setup.

Since the joint was split into two halves and put together with the alignment holes. Both parts needed to be milled.

Work holding was crucial here.

Even the slightest variation of alignment caused assembly failure.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

Toolpaths for second side/ second setup

Machining paths: Scallop, Parallel, Ramping Tool sizes: 6 mm end mill cutter, 3 mm ballnose cutter Machining time: 55 mins per piece

[ subractive manufacture - metal//stone ]

3-axis CNC machining

37

Solid Aluminium rod 50 mm Dia.

5 mm dia. hole for piece alignment.

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

Custom workholder setup

[ subractive manufacture - metal//stone ]

#Protoype 2

Toolpaths for two perimeters in both ends of the tube.

Machining paths: 3-axis rotational milling Tool sizes: 6 mm 45 degree V - cutter Machining time: < 90 seconds per piece Fusion toolpaths for mapping the profile:

Manufacture - #2 A milling arrangement with four alignment holes was setup.

Since it was a single piece, both separate toolpaths were executed in one go without any setup change. Work holding was crucial here. The pieces could not exceed the size of the workholder length as this increased chances of inaccuracy and reverberation.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

Same setups for various pieces:

[ subractive manufacture - metal//stone ]

4-axis CNC machining

39

Stone curvature profile mapped as an outline. piece held in place with four M4 bolts.

Aluminium Jig to hold the pieces in place.

Wall thickness of tube - 1.85 mm. The machining strategy was altered so as to mill exactly what was required to cause an interlock, which was the undercuts. The zig-zag pattern was mapped along the perimeter of the tube using a 4 axis HAAS cnc machine. Done with a 6 mm 45-degree cutter and a work holder that allowed for both sides of the tube to be milled without any flipping or realignment to match the profiles.

Aluminium Jig shows the profile edges of the pieces milled.

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

Manufacture - #2

35 mm dia. Aluminium tube of 1.8 mm thickness.

[ additive manufacture - pla//stone ]

#Protoype 1,2 & 3

PLA//STONE Type of Interface.

1. TYPE OF INTERFACE

Fusion filament fabrication method is a material melting additive manufacturing method that is widely used for thermoplastics. By this method, the parts are made by a movable nozzle which deposits repeated layers that adhere to previous layers and bonds upon solidification.

3D printed Voronoi joint component for reduced material.

This 3D printed + steel rods joint component was designed for a specific criteria of adding height and using minimal 3D printing.

2. MANUFACTURE PROCESS

Fitting accuracy and strength

The mechanical interlocking of the joints showed unprecedented behavior. The parts have high contour resolution and fit precisely on the surface of the stone.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

3. Manufacture All samples were printed with the Ultimaker Cura with an extruder diameter of 0.4mm and PLA filaments of 2.85mm diameter. They were printed with a raster gap (or layer thickness) of 0.2mm, at a printing speed of 100 m/s.

PLA allowed a certain amount of flex or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;giveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which allowed forcing it into undercuts that then formed secure joints.

Depending on the requirement of the final design intent and the number of stones available. The joint components can be customized.

[ additive manufacture - pla//stone ]

41

Intent Another experiment was a nodebased approach that allowed for very specific small liaisons on the surface of the stone. This was based on a system of having the forces meet at the central node through square rods, providing a different aesthetic language Node based approach: Link: https://vimeo.com/374644785

Limitations Infill density has to be very high increasing printing time.

And despite a voronoi set up to reduce material, since it was FFF printing, material was lost on support structures.

3. Results

The main variables that affect its performance are build orientation, layer thickness, air gap, raster angle, material type and manufacturing speed

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

The voronoi configuration was set up to reduce the material build up and test its strength against a similar solid fill part.

It proved to be equally strong.

[ additive manufacture - pla//stone ]

#Protoype 3

Pictures of work in progress of three legged arch model structure.

Intent and parameter based design experiment. Optimised with a specific target behaviour of the final overal structure.

13 stones 29 connections

3. Manufacture

430 mm

50 mm

variable length

From the different valuable qualities of the tests, a final model was developed that used metal rods to reduce the use of 3D printed material as well as to internalize within the overall design, parameters like increasing distance between stones etc. The rods helped achieve target height.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING PROCESSING IRREGULARITY IRREGULARITY

670 mm

[ pla//stone ]

43

Possibilities The in-between spaces can serve multiple applications that include, design intentions such as spanning larger distances with smaller number of stones.

3. Results

4. Outlook

Failure

While strong connections with high densities are printed they take long printing hours and are sometimes not uniform. For the purpose of spanning square profile rods would work better as it would avoid a rotational effect.

1. Lack in appropriate scaffolding lead to difficulties in being able to build 2. The metal rods with the circular profile caused smalled rotational effect on the joints, which caused deviations as we built up.

3. Cumillative errors as we built up lead to misalignment of pieces.

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

Max deviation with a slight undercut can help achieve a strong fit that can stay tight on the surface of the stone.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

45

Assembly process

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

[ guidance system ] [ material sorting ] [ connection placement ] [ sequential assembly ] [ app development ]

[ guidance system ]

#Augmented reality (AR) for design & construction

CONCEPT OF NOTATION - 3D DIGITAL GUIDANCE SYSTEM

Augmented reality

function 1: MATERIAL SORTING

function 2: CONNECTION PLACEMENTS

As eictatene vel ipsum quatendio odis nihillu ptatiorit re mo ommos inis

Attaching the axle, bearing and bearing housing

function 3: SEQUENTIAL ASSEMBLY

function 4: VISUALIZATION

As eictatene vel ipsum quatendio odis nihillu ptatiorit re mo ommos inis

Attaching the axle, bearing and bearing housing

Within this project, it was quickly evident that assembly by reference to a 2D diagram was a tedious process. It multiplied the complexities as the structures got larger with more connections.

A 3 dimensional guidance system was required for easy assembly.

New form of notation

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

A change from the traditional way of notation. A paradigm shift to a 3 - Dimensional notation to intuitively understand materials with its characteristics. A 3D digital guidance in design and construction through Augmented Reality, which enables digital layers that can aid and simplify the process of assembly.

[ guidance system ]

#how can the irregularity aid augmentation?

AUGMENTED REALITY

47

Augmentation is developed for recognition and tracking of every element. Each stone acts as a unique model target that can be recognised by shape and features by the pre-existing 3D scanned data.

Rock specific data - the information is embedded in the material.

unique silhouette for each stone.

What?

Picking the right stone.

Recognizing the correct stone from a collection and highlighting it. Thereby, aiding in the sequential assembly of the structure.

unique collection of ridges and valleys on each stone.

How?

unique collection of viewing recognition range, angle and orientation.

unique position within a structure.

User and design specified data - the information is embedded by the designer and our requirement.

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

The system distinguishes between the stones purely by their visual appearance. This implies that every guiding view must be different and their recognition range and angle is recorded.

[ material sorting ]

#how can the irregularity aid augmentation?

Irregularity - An Advantage Same rock viewed in different orientations. All the different orientations provide a different rock profile and show different features on that face. This gives ample data for the augmentation to use.

Irregularity - An Edge This sort of recognition would not be possible with a standardised building material such as bricks.

This can aid very customised assemblies that serve very specific performance criteria.

Augmented reality pipeline: 3D scanned model

Designed with Rhino + Grasshopper

UNITY + VUFORIA

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

(Software used for augmentation)

Mobile device or eyewear

[ material sorting ]

49

#how augmentation works here? #Function 1

step [ONE] - MATERIAL SORTING How? The most suitable method for AR in this project is the marker based approach. Unity enables apps built using Vuforia Engine to recognize and track particular objects in the real world based on the shape and features of the object.

Aspects Key features:

AR protoypes: Link: https://vimeo.com/374641586

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

•Strong defining corner points •Profile of stone.

•Prominent ridge lines and valleys lines.

[ connection placement ]

Area of maximum standard deviation used for optimization. Finding the right amount of undercuts.

Grippable strength:

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

Vertex area of high curvature.

Can work for ball-socket type connections.

Grippable strength:

Strong features such as highly defined ridge lines and valleys provide data for Augmented reality tracking and recognition.

Recognition strength: Stone profiles provides distinctive outlines that inform the data for Augmented reality Guide views for user ease.

Recognition strength: Corner ridge lines provide vertexs for grippable zones.

Grippable strength:

[ connection placement ]

#Custom Application development #Function 2

51

step [TWO] - PLACEMENT Prototype 1

Prototyping AR applications Initial developments Initial prototypes indicating the connection placements by augmenting coloured dots to highlight the position of the connection, through the mobile application.

AR prototype 1: Link: https://vimeo.com/374781597

The different colours were to indicate different connections.

Prototype 2 Further developments This was straightforward when the system contained information regarding one stone and its subsequent connections.

AR prototype 2: Link: https://vimeo.com/374642112 The next stone is augmented. For built structures this meant digital and physical models can be cross checked for accuracy.

The black colour overlapping the tracked stone could be avoided in further developments. This was due to lack of occlusion.

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

The second prototype replaced the dots with the actual connections. Highlight the exact geometry of the connections, immediate context etc. This offered a better guidance in slotting the connections onto the surface of the rock.

[ connection placement ]

STEP THREE

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

STEP TWO

STEP ONE

[ app development ]

53

#UI and app development for an interactive guidance system for construction

Database development Custom database for a specific assembly.

Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 89 Step Step Step 89 Step N

Step 4

Step 3

Step 2

The second prototype replaced the dots with the actual connections. Highlight the exact geometry of the connections, immediate context etc. This offered a better guidance in slotting the connections onto the surface of the rock.

Step 1

Further developments

tracking data tracking data for rock 1 for rock 2

tracking data for rock N

(Specific #1) (Specific #2) Guideview Guideview surface features surface features angle/ angle/ orientation orientation recognition recognition distance distance

(Specific #N) Guideview surface features angle/ orientation recognition distance

Augmentation Augmentation data for rock 1 data for rock 2

Augmentation data for rock N

(Specific #1) (Specific #2) • Number of joint • Number of joint components components • Joint component • Joint component numbers numbers • Component • Component geometry geometry • Connection • Connection position position • next rock in • next rock in assembly assembly

(Specific #N) • Number of joint components • Joint component numbers • Component geometry • Connection position • next rock in assembly

Model explanation

With or without a guideview?

Advanced 360 allows the software to train the target model from all angles thereby eliminating the need for a guideview. This would seamlessly track the rock from all directions. However, it requires large amounts of information and decreases the performance of the application. This a new feature that requires further development.

Model used in this workflow Advanced database allows you to train a database containing multiple target models (rocks) each with one or more guide views.

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

With assemblies that had multiple rocks, the correct information for each specific tracked rock need to be called.

This required a database that can appropriately store and call the data in a sequential manner.

[ app development ]

Guide View of the second rock in this assembly process. Once the camera aligns the correct rock face to the guide view, next layer of information will be augmented.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

PAGE 1

Choose the assembly for instructions.

ASSEMBLY 1

ASSEMBLY 2

ASSEMBLY 3

[ sequential assembly ]

#app interface and adequate info for assembly #Function 3

55

PAGE 2

Displays the level/step in the construction of the assembly.

Guide View of the stone to be tracked.

Previous and Next buttons moves through the steps in the assembly.

Display Information regarding the assembly. â&#x20AC;˘ Total number of stones. â&#x20AC;˘ Total number of connections.

step [THREE] - SEQUENTIAL ASSEMBLY Sequential assembly These structures have a clear sequence of forces to attain and maintain stability. This makes it a straightforward sequential process of assembly.

The database integration for the application was built using C# coding. It allowed a seamless sequential calling of the appropriate information.

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

App logic

[ app development ]

#how would that outcome look?

Outlook The app can include more information such as geolocations, multiple guideviews for a specific rock. While currently this is a module for mobiles, it can be published for digital eyewear, making its easier assembly.

step [FOUR] - VISUALISATION OF ITERATIONS

Scope The output would track the features to help visualize the overall architecture scale model in the context it was intended, by simply referencing to a CAD model and environment. This would facilitate more freedom in design exploration.

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

EXPERIENCE Key features can provide a scannable element for viewers to envision various structures in a space.

It can allow visualisation of large scale structures prior to assembly stage, by scanning any appropriate tracking material. This could enable a feedback loop during the design phase.

[ app development ]

57

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

Digital guidance system used to assemble this prototype. Also enables a check for discrepancy between digital and physical model.

[ photogrammetry vs scanning ]

#outlook The substitution of concrete with natural stone in the AEC industries can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 90%.

Throughout the worlds quarries there lies a large quantity of unusable, fractured and irregular stone fragments brought about through the explosive and selective nature of extraction processes. The project questions the necessity of discarding a material with such low embodied energy in an age of advanced digital tools. By exploring new applications of 3D scanning and parametric design workflows we have begun to develop a methodology that affords the freedom of high precision and precise control over such a non-standard material resource. Through a systems-engineering approach we define a series of procedural methods capable of processing, classifying and cataloguing an array of topological features into a library of scanned objects and optimal orientations.

As each construction unit is unique in form, they require a digital notational system to assemble without construction drawings. An augmented reality application was created to process digital 3D models and their defined sequential construction logic. The app then uses computer vision techniques to detect and recognize the unique silhouette and surface features of an individual unit to instruct its placement within the system. This workflow can be extended and adapted to any irregular material and that opens up many other opportunities.

#applications

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

Its potential applications can range from reusing discarded materials to very site specific interventions such as in heritage or environmentally sensitive sites. Contextually engaging assemblies that were built with immediately available on-site materials would be feasible with this approach. It offers the possibilities of rebuilding cities that have been victims of disaster or terrorism.

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

59

Arch Prototype [ results ]

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

[ results ]

ARCHANA C.K | PORTFOLIO | 2018 - 2019

[ results ] 61

DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE | PROCESSING IRREGULARITY

Thank you.

Archana Chenthil Kumar