The M.S. student, Daniel Weber, presented his first conference paper “Z-Chunking for Cooperative 3D Printing (C3DP) of Large and Tall Objects” at the 2022 Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF) Symposium. Check out the short video below.

Abstract: Cooperative 3D Printing (C3DP) is an emerging technology designed to address the size and printing speed limitations of conventional gantry-based 3D printers. To print large-scale objects, C3DP divides a job into chunks to be printed by a swarm of mobile robots. Previously, we developed a Chunker algorithm to partition jobs into printable parts in the XY direction, which theoretically enables the printing of objects of unlimited size in XY dimensions. However, print size is limited in the Z direction due to the physical constraints of the printer. In this paper, we introduce the first working strategy and rules of Z-Chunking for C3DP, such as where and how to place chunk boundaries along the Z direction and alignment geometries for easy post-assembly. Additional challenges of interfacing with XY chunking and facilitating re-assembly of the job are also considered. We conduct two case studies on objects of varying geometric complexity (e.g., simple solids vs. hollow structures) in which the object is chunked, printed, and assembled.

Two Ph.D. students and one M.S. student from SiDi Lab recently received several awards and recognition from several international conferences and the University of Texas at Austin.

First, congratulate Daniel Weber, an MS student in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at UT Austin, on receiving the 2022 NSF SFF Student Award and the H. Grady Rylander Longhorn Mechanical Engineering Club Excellence in Teaching Fellowship from Cockrell School of Engineering to recognize the Teaching Assitant “Who excels as a leader and effective communicator in classroom teaching.”

Second, congratulate Xingang Li, a Ph.D. student in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at UT Austin, on receiving the NSF support to attend the 2022 Frontiers in Design Representation Summer School at the University of Maryland.

Finally, congratulate both Xingang Li and Yinshuang Xiao, both are Ph.D. student in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering at UT Austin, on being selected to present their work on the 34th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology (DTM) during the 2022 IDETC/CIE conference. Each of them will receive a $1,000 stipend in support of their travels.

All the awards are very competitive this year and congratulations again to all of them!