6-Axis Robotic Arm 3D Printer Inspired by Spiders

Over the summer, the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University held a 3-week "Digital Future" Shanghai Summer Workshop, which led to a pretty impressive nature-inspired 3D printing project. A team of students developed the Robotic 6-Axis 3D Printer, bringing together the ideas of 'design' and 'fabrication' which can sometimes seem like such separate entities. Inspired by the thread a spider spins and weaves into a web, the team developed their 6-Axis printer using KUKA robotics with three movable and one stationary printheads. The machine prints self-supporting structures using ABS, almost like a large-scale 3D printing pen, seeming to defy gravity. Check out their work in the full article: http://3dprint.com/41183/robotic-6-axis-3d-printer/


Below is a photo of the Robotic 6-Axis 3D Printer on display with some of its printings surrounding it:
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/upload...on-display.jpg