Gabriella Perry Selected Works
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
Robotics and Additive Manufacturing Instructor
2
Undergraduate Thesis
3
Design Study: Printing Potential
4
Customized Contour
5
Design Robotics
6
Helsinki Music School
7
Virginia Beach: Design by Choice
Robotics and Additive Manufacturing Instructor
Design Study: Printing Potential
Undergraduate Thesis
Design Robotics
Customized Contour
Helsinki Music School
Virginia Beach: Design by Choice
Custom High Tech Pre-Fab Housing
AI Acoustics
End Effector Design + Application
Precision Scanning
Applications of 3D Printing
Large Format 3D Printing
Instructor Experience
ROBOTICS + ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING INSTRUCTOR
Fig. 4
Fig. 2 During the Fall 2019 semester, I was the teaching assistant for Introduction to Robotics in Architecture, Design, Art, and Construction. This class was a webbased lecture with Dr. Nathan King, a professor working for Autodesk in Boston. I was present for students as a co-instructor to help them progress their research projects and to teach them to use our three ABB IRB 120 industrial robot arms. I ran software tutorials in class, listened to research proposals and gave guidance, and trained students to jog and run programs on the robots. I was tasked with assisting a student team on the large robot extruder designed for large format 3D printing. I will also be using this machine to develop my undergraduate thesis which revolves around the integration of digital fabrication tools into the design and construction world.
Fig. 5
Fig. 6 Figure Key 1 The Research + Demonstration Facility (RDF) at Virginia Tech. This facility contains a digital fabrication/robotics lab with an ABB IRB 6700 Industrial Robot Arm. Currently the robot is set up with an extruder for large format 3D printing. 2 The Robotics Lab in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech. Contains three ABB IRB 120 Industrial Robot Arms. 3 The Additive Manufacturing and Prototyping Lab in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech. Contains 16 3D printers from five different manufacturers.
Fig. 3
Fig. 1
In addition to running our robotics facilities, I am the senior manager of our Additive Manufacturing and Prototyping Lab. While I am in charge of running and maintaining the lab’s 15 3D printers, more of my time is spent teaching an independent study course on 3D printing. The independent study course consists of students learning about additive manufacturing relative to design, as well as being trained to run and maintain the lab. This is the third year the lab has been in operation, and the first year the lab has been run by an entirely undergraduate student staff. Once students are fully trained, I serve as a research advisor for their semester-long research projects.
4 A student presents his research on interactive lighting using conductive PLA. 5 A group of students discussing research projects during a final presentation. The Table features scattered prototypes of various students. 6 A student interacting with flexible filament prints. These prints were tests experimenting with the rigidity of different geometric infills.
Fig. 17
Fig. 14 Fig. 7
Figure Key 7 Two students in the Introduction to Robotics in Architecture, Design, Art, and Construction class sit on their finished furniture prototypes. These pieces were printed with the large format extruder and 14 foot industrial Robot arm at the Research Demonstration Facility.
Fig. 11
8 A student examining the flexibility of single wall PLA 3D prints. Due to the curvilinear form and the thinness of the printed walls, the rigid plastic is able to bend. The intended application of these prototypes is for wearables. 9 A student gives his final presentation on his research project for robotics. The objects in front of his computer are foam models created from three axis robotic milling.
Fig. 8
10 The lab manager examines a dual extrusion print exploring the properties of conductive filament on a track based prototype. 11 Two students working on individual research projects while running the Additive Manufacturing and Prototyping lab.
Fig. 12
Fig. 15
12 The instructor (Gabriella Perry) teaching a student about dual extrusion printing using flexible filament and rigid PLA. 13 Two students processing files brought in by students. They are slicing the models in Simplify3D and checking to verify that they are viable prints. 14 Two of the furniture pieces printed by a research team in the Intro to Robotics course. One of the prints has stress fractures caused by cool temperatures and poor layer adhesion.
Fig. 9
15 A student built rig to hold the potter-bot clay 3D printer. This machine has a motorized pump that pushes clay onto the moving platform attached to the robot. 16 A full-scale 3D print of a single-surface responsive chair design that flexes based on the material density and patterning.
Fig. 10
Fig. 13
Fig. 16
17 A student presents his research on the flexibility of single wall PLA 3D prints. He is wearing his prototypes to show how they could function as jewelry.
UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Today’s world revolves around technology, our eyes constantly glued to screens and projected imagery at work, at home, and everything in between. In the discipline of architecture and architectural education, we are slow to change, while building technologies are advancing at a rapid pace. To address crises facing the built environment, like the growing labor shortage in the construction industry, we need to possess a working understanding of digital and physical tools. The integration of robotic technologies into the construction process could be a potential solution to the labor shortage problem.
PRECIOUS PLASTIC SHREDDER MACHINE (OPEN SOURCE)
MODEL
MODEL
MODEL
Temp Zones: 380 - 410 - 430 Speed: 100%
Temp Zones: 370 - 390 - 420 Speed: 100%
Temp Zones: 370 - 380 - 410 Speed: 45-60%
We discovered small concave geometry is difͤcult to print. The extrusion width was too large, the layer height was too small, and the extruder speed was too fast.
While the new geometry was much more conducive to printing, the layer height increase was too much, and caused the extrusion to ripple and eventually fail.
With reduced speed and reduced temperature the print was more successful. Coupled with a convex geometry, we were able to print to about 10” tall.
To prove this is a viable form of construction, I needed to develop my understanding of advanced digital tools relative to architectural form. I began by studying and dissecting certain architectural archetypes, like the column, arch, and vault. Specifically, I focused on a groin vault, because it can be easily separated into 4 parts that could be printed without any needed support. Standard construction of a vault would require form-work, and then the creation of the actual vault. Therefore, printing a vault without any need for support or extra material is already an improvement on the old ways of construction.
Big cities tend to be filled with litter and plastic waste, which takes hundreds of years to decompose. Today we can recycle and reuse it. The Precious Plastics Project is a movement that grinds up old plastic and turns it into art, utensils, furniture, and even building materials. This method has the potential to be done at a larger scale, which means that if a city ground up its plastic waste, the waste could then be used to print buildings. The new fabrication method of 3D printing in turn could clean up the city’s plastic waste while creating an improved and more dignified shelter for those in need.
10’-0”
“Its the regularity of doing something makes the person happy rather than sitting idle.” ̲ sadhana devi chauhan
“Rather than the strength it takes to not lose, it's the strength to stand back up after a loss that is sometimes more valuable.” ̲ Kyo Shirodaira, Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning, Vol. 04
10’-0”
DESIGN0STUDY: PRINTING POTENTIAL
This two-week design study was an exploration of the potential application for digital fabrication techniques. My goal was to address a problem facing the built environment utilizing large-format 3D printing. I focused on the homeless epidemic in Seattle, Washington, because it is a problem partially caused by the high costs of construction and the high cost of living. The working class cannot afford to live in the city, some cannot even afford to live anywhere, so they reside in tents either individually or in a community. People in tent cities face the elements daily and are forced to relocate constantly. It is exhausting and time-consuming. All people deserve shelter from the elements, and a tent isn’t enough to protect against the cold.
STANDARD TENT
STANDING TENT
PRINTING OPTIMIZATION
ENTRYWAY MODIFICATION
12/02/2019 CURRENT SITE OF TENT CITY: NICKELSVILLE
FAMILY CLUSTER TENTS
RECYCLING CENTER
TENT CITY COMMUNITY CENTER
THE NEIGHBORHOOD
S FOR SEATTLE’S LEG N O AL ATI C TE O L NT T N
S TIE CI
CU RR E
NEAR THE CURRENT SITE OF NICKELSVILLE, THERE ARE 3 GRASSY AREAS NEAR ROUTE 5. ONE OF WHICH HAS EVIDENCE OF INDIVIDUAL TENTS SET UP ALREADY. (MOST LIKELY ILLEGALLY) TENT CITIES FOSTER COMMUNITY FOR THOSE WITHOUT HOMES, AND TYPICALLY THE RESIDENTS AROUND TENT CITIES SAY THAT WHILE THEY ARE THERE THEY KEEP THE AREA CLEANER AND SAFER.
CUSTOMIZED CONTOUR
Natural beauty is accentuated by how we adorn our bodies. With the advancement of 3D scanning and printing technologies, we can now customize and contour apparel to fit individuals. Customized Contour is an exploration of how bone structure can be outlined through curvilinear form. To create a contoured neck-piece, I used a structured light scanner to generate a mesh STL of my neck which I then brought into Rhino. In Rhino 3D, I projected three arrays of lines to create a grid onto the mesh. Using the intersections of the grid, I generated a series of curves contoured exactly to the geometry of my collar bone. Since no one is truly symmetrical, it was impossible to mirror the contours perfectly; each side had to be drawn independently. The next iteration I started by projecting a more complex grid using a grasshopper script. Next, I hope to create a contour patterned piece.
DESIGN ROBOTICS
Task: Robotic Drawing For this assignment, my partner and I were tasked with designing and building an end effector to allow the robot to draw. We were interested in having different line weights, so we selected a double-ended Prismacolor marker and designed a flexible 3D printed holder. Our goal was to be able to flip back and forth to change line weights continuously. A Prisma marker has a thin pointed tip and a wide-angled tip, and while the pointed tip was fairly easy to script, the angled tip required adjustment and additional testing.
Task: Create a foam sculpture using the hot wire end effector. For this exercise, the end effector was already pre-made for the class, so there was more time to be put towards formal investigation and exploring the limitations of the tool. Since this process now involved a piece other than the end effector, the first challenge was scripting the placement of the foam relative to the robot. The foam block also had to be elevated to avoid the tool hitting the table. My goal was to create something that couldn’t be easily made in a typical woodshop. A band saw is limited in any direction other than straight forward, while a hot wire on a six-axis robot arm has a much freer range of motion. I had to angle the wire to create non-perpendicular cuts. I made exaggerated curves that would bend a band-saw and created a series of 90-degree angles that would have taken a CNC machine a few hours.
Task: Independent Research Robotic Weaving Inspired by the carbon fiber research pavilions made at the University of Stuttgart ICD, my partner and I decided to explore what we called “spatial or 3D dimensional weaving.�
ROBOTIC WEAVING
DESIGN ROBOTICS:
We laser cut plexiglass to create a notched cube form as a base for different weaving patterns. We quickly learned that tensioning the string appropriately determined whether or not the string fell in the right notch. It was also easier to weave up and over the top than around the four sides only. This method also generated more interesting forms overall.
The end effector had to be designed to allow the robot a further reach to weave around the 8� cube form. The 12� aluminum tube allowed for a wider range of motion with minimal restriction to the robots six axes. The taped Bowden tube kept the string out of the way of the moving joints while providing a small amount of tension between the spool and the tool.
HELSINKI MUSIC SCHOOL
The prompt was for a pop and jazz conservatory sited in Helsinki, Finland. With a fairly large programmatic requirement, over 60,000 sf, we were encouraged to use the maximum capacity for the site. My goal was to create a central void that would allow light into an otherwise dense building. Using the restrictions imposed by code and height restrictions, I constructed the boundary of the buildable volume. From that boundary, I strung linear elements to define the interior void. Once the void was defined, I realized it would make a unique performing space that could be viewed by every floor of the building. Of course, the acoustic qualities of the space needed to be adaptable to different styles and ensembles. To avoid impeding the clean interior of the void with structures to hang acoustic baffles, I proposed integrating sound-sensitive AI technology and large folding baffles that could be fixed to the interior of the void. The sensors would be turned on during dress rehearsals and then would adjust the baffles
accordingly. Depending on audience size the baffles could also adjust during the performance slightly.
VIRGINIA BEACH: DESIGN BY CHOICE
LAN P E SIT
ON I T EC L E S 0 T LO +P
GN DESI L A I NT SIDE R RE O F ER CENT
CARTRIDGE LAYOUT INTERFACE
WALL TYPES
“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.� -Jane Jacobs Most people today buy a house and spend their lives renovating a cookie-cutter house into their ideal home. This is because personalized homes come with such a high price tag. But what if we gave people an affordable way to choose exactly what they want in their home? The goal of this project was to create a custom community. Where people come to the Center for Residential Design (CRD) and meet with young designers interning with the CRD. These young designers help clients to layout their dream home using prefabricated custom cartridges. Prefabricated construction is a high precision process that is optimized through computer algorithms. This allows custom homes to be assembled at a faster rate than stick-built homes. Clients come to the CRD, pick their land plot, and then plan out their home using the Cartridge Layout Interface. The cartridges can be adjusted in their configuration and their finish palettes. Houses can then be assembled in a couple of weeks once the cartridges are finished.
CARTRIDGE SIZES
FURNISHINGS
FINISHES
C E N T E R 0 F O R 0 R E S I D E N T I A L 0 D E S I G N
APARTMENT STYLE HOUSING
The apartment housing is designed both for residents designing their dream house, as well as the architects and design interns working for the CRD.
CENTER FOR RESIDENTIAL DESIGN
The Center for Residential Design is located in the City Center Complex. The buildings in the city center are multi-use, and contain retail stores, markets, restaurants, and apartment style housing. All of these amenities are within walking distance of the single family homes. This fosters a sense of community among the residents and promotes healthy outdoor activities.