RolyPOLY -- A unique flexible shelter produced by robotic winding of carbon fibers

Combine the principles of weaving with the high-tech properties of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer and the computationally driven process of robotic winding and you get rolyPOLY. The fields of design, architecture, and materials science converged to produce this 20-pound, single-occupant, prototype structure, which is described in an article in 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing.

In the article "Craft Driven Robotic Composites"), Andrew John Wit, Temple University, and Simon Kim, University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA), Mariana Ibañez, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), and Daniel Eisinger, Ball State University (Muncie, IN), discuss the concept and design development of these types of structures and their implications for creating large architectural-scale constructs. The researchers describe in detail the materials used, winding process, baking, modular steel frame assembly and disassembly, and installation.

More information:
Andrew John Wit et al. Craft Driven Robotic Composites, 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing (2016). DOI: 10.1089/3dp.2016.0008

Provided by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc