Complex Structural Connection Design

[TesseractDzyn]

I was approached by a local structural engineering firm to make a model. They wanted to have a model of a complex re-bar connection that they could show to a contractor on a project. The model they provided was very complex, with a lot of very thin structural members and fairly complex internal geometry. There was absolutely no way that this could be done with traditional ABS supports; it was just too delicate and complicated to be able to manually remove the support material. Using dissolvable HIPS filament for the supports, I was able to come up with a workable solution - although it took nine tries to come up with a print configuration that produced the desired results.
kpff_conn.jpg
-Crawford

[AndrewK]

This looks great. May I ask you what the measurements are on this?

[TesseractDzyn]

They are approximately 6" x 6"; I was limited by the build volume of the Rep 2X. If I were going to do it over again, I'd probably design it as 2 pieces, print them separately, and glue them together. Some of the smaller stirrup pieces didn't print right or broke just because they were so small.

-Crawford

[Nistrum]

wow, what were they using it for? antitank walls??

[Feign]

wow, what were they using it for? antitank walls??

Seconded, this looks like it's a wall section for a munitions bunker or a launch pad.

[TesseractDzyn]

wow, what were they using it for? antitank walls??

Not entirely sure. This is a column-to-beam connection. My guess is that that need a super-strong rebar connection for a long-span beam. Some of the crazier cantilevered creations by architect Santiago Calatrava are almost all rebar with just a little bit of concrete covering the whole thing!