Abstract: We demonstrate a fast and low-cost method for designing and fabricating double curved reciprocal frame structures from reclaimed timber offcuts. In contrast to fully automated robotic fabrication and assembly processes that require exact digital models of available material and as-built structures, our approach enables large-scale reciprocal frame structures to be assembled quickly and approximately, with minor deviation in part geometries caused by material defects or fabrication imprecision made up for by improvised adjustments in joint positions during assembly. We argue that mixed reality guides eliminate the need for drawn instructions and leverage the discretion of saw operators to work around material defects, reducing secondary waste and simplifying cataloguing of available materials prior to fabrication. We show that our method achieves an average error of 2.6mm from digital models of parts with minimal accumulative error across the completed structure.
Authors: Gwyllim Jahn, Cameron Newnham, Nick Van Den Berg