Xylaprint Circularity in Additive Manufacturing
The advancing climate change poses enormous challenges for architecture in the near future. To reduce CO2 emissions and contribute to climate protection, we are looking at the potential of sustainable processes and materials in additive manufacturing. How can rapidly renewable raw materials be used for our built environment in such a way that they can be returned to the natural material cycle without hesitation after their useful life?
In the Xylaprint project, we are working on a design-to-fabrication process to be able to use wood mass in large formats in 3D printing. This is becoming more and more successful. All the more pressing is the question of how sustainable this newly developed process and especially the material actually are. There are hardly any scientific findings on this yet. And that is what this research field is all about.
In small teams, you set out to find the answers. Research must be done to plan, prepare and conduct an experiment. The evaluation can then be used to lay a foundation for future research. Theoretical but also practical, manual skills are required. Research, experiments, building and testing are carried out: e.g. How long does it take for the material in a composter to decompose? Can it be used as a soil substrate? Or even be returned to the production cycle and printed? How long does it withstand weathering?, and can something be changed through clever design?
The project: Xyla Print explores how the renewable raw material wood can be made available for the 3D printing process. The aim is to develop and optimise design-to-fabrication processes in additive manufacturing . Another goal is the development of novel printing pastes to obtain a 100% sustainable substance based on renewable, natural fibre and wood components. These pastes are used for the production of e.g. modular building elements and can be converted into compostable material at the end of their life cycle. Finally, a complete manufacturing process is to be developed, from the extraction of the raw materials to the processing into a paste, the design idea, to the printing process and the curing process as a holistic system.
First session: 20.10.23, 10 – 13.00
Exam date: 2.2.2024