AUTOMATED CONSTRUCTION BY

CONTOUR CRAFTING

Prepared by
Surya C.D
ME CEM
NIT
 Contents

Introduction
Contour crafting
Application in construction
Characteristics of contour crafting
Alternative robotics approach
Applications
Comparison
Conclusion
 Introduction

Growth of Automation in the construction

field has slow due to following reasons
Unsuitability of available automated
fabrication for large scale projects
Conventional design approaches that are not
suitable for automation
Smaller ratio of production quantity as compared
with other industries
Cont

Limitations in the materials used

Expense of automated equipment

Managerial issues

Serious problems in the construction industry

Labor efficiency is low

Accident rate at construction site is high

Work quality is low

Control of construction site is insufficient and difficult

Skilled work force is vanishing.

 Contour crafting

CC is an additive fabrication technology by

using computer control

CC is a layered fabrication method which

combines ancient surface forming concepts with
modern robotics technology
 Cont

A single house or colony of houses each with

possibly different design may be
automatically constructed in a single run by
the help of computer control.

Conduits for electrical, plumbing and air

conditioning are embedded in cc
construction.

It provides better surface quality & high

speed fabrication
 Application in construction

Construction of conventional building Construction of adobe building

 Characteristics of CC
1. Design Flexibility

2. Multiple materials

3. Paint ready surfaces

4. Automated tiling of floors and walls

5. Automated reinforcement

6. Automated plumbing and electrical works

1. Design flexibility

Provides Flexibility while

designing structures.

Functional and exotic

architectural geometries

Difficult to construct using

traditional construction
techniques
 2. Automated painting

By spray paint nozzles

Gives good textured surface

3. Automatic tiling of floors and walls
 4. Automated reinforcement
a).For ordinary buildings Coil Reinforcement

Metal coil placed on the top layer A fresh layer of extrudate cover the coil
5.Automated plumbing

For every so many layers plumbing modules

which have solder in the inner rim are assembled.
Joints are made by electric heater which melts the
solder.
6.Automated Electrical & Communication
utilities
Conductive
elements for power
and
communication
lines are imbedded
in polymeric
blocks and are
assembled
robotically to form
the desired
electrical and
communication
networks.
 Applications

Applications in emergency houses

Low income housing

Commercial application
 Applications in emergency housing

Can deliver houses to disaster victims very rapidly.

200 sq. foot house in less than 24 hours.

Uses in-situ construction materials, saving the time

and cost.

Automated process, labor needs are minimized.

 Low income housing
It can reduce cost of financing by reducing the
duration of project.

Can reduce the cost of materials, because it is

waste less process.

Can reduce the labor cost.

Can save the life of labors, because it is very safe

method of construction
 What constitutes construction cost?

Portion Due to If automated by

CC
20-25% Financing Short produced
length

25-30% Materials Will be a waste

less process
45-55% Labor Will be
significantly
reduced
 Comparison
Traditional System

Mixing, transporting and placing of

concrete

Truck mixing is used mostly

Concrete is transported through belt

conveyors, buckets and chutes depending
on site and structure design
Continue

Using CC system

First layer of concrete is poured to a height of 5 inches.

Successive layer are poured on the top of the previous layer after an
hour
The one hour delay is sufficient to control the lateral pressure of the
concrete by following it to cure and harden
A 10 foot high wall can be erected in a day considering the one hour
delay after each layer
The time delay for the concrete hardening can be adjusted using
chemical accelerators
 Conclusion

Entire neighborhood can be built

At a fraction of time
At a fraction of cost
For more safely
With ultimate architectural flexibility and highest
precision
Without wastage of raw materials
Without CO2 emission
 REFERENCE

Journals
1. Warsazwiski,&R. Navon, Implementation of robotics in
building: current status and future prospects ,Journal
construction engineering and Management,
2. Koshnevis, R.Russel, H.Know contour crafting a layered
fabrication technique
Websites
1.www.contourcrafting.org
2.www.rcf.ucs.edu
3. www.wikipedia.com