by Mi Tsung Chang

Created on: April 05, 2008

Print a Building from Computer

It is not too far fetched to predict that in the future a complete building will be built from a computer. Similar technology has already begun to be used by the industrial design and manufacturing industries. One of the best-known and oldest technologies is called Stereo Lithography, because it involves a laser beam moving through a vat of ultraviolet-sensitive liquid polymer, which follows the contour of a digital 3D model. The beam strikes on a layer of ultraviolet-sensitive liquid polymer, and then the thin layer is solidified. The laser will keep repeating the same process from the bottom to the top of the 3D model. A temporary framing support for the model is required, because the process is from the bottom up. Stereo Lithography machines are manufactured by 3D Systems Inc., and they are also known as Stereo Lithography Apparatuses (SLA). The final model usually requires a little bit of sanding, and it is inappropriate for an office setting because this process produces toxic fumes. The following is a list of processes that may assist the automation of the building industry. These existing technologies can immediately assist the building industry; however they do require some modification to suit individual building types. It should be noted that these manufacturing processes are crucial to the development of building automation. Computers can produce precise results, while manual labor is imprecise. The direct digital manufacturing process can reduce errors and make digital building components affordable. The original prototype is always costly, but the cost can be reduced to a bare minimum by using rapid prototyping processes.

Rapid prototyping (RP) is a digital modeling process, which is a real physical model of a component (in prototype form) that is entirely created directly from a 3D CAD drawing. RP systems generate quick prototypes by constructing an additive and layer-by-layer process that is driven by 3D CAD data. RP is also known as desktop manufacturing or free-form fabrication. RP machines require STL data files, which are generated by the CAD system. An STL file is a data file format designed specifically for rapid prototyping machines. Any rapid prototyping system can use the STL file from any type of 3D CAD system that outputs the STL data. RP machines operate quite differently than typical CNC machines. RP machines are subtractive in nature, because they join together liquid, powder and sheet materials to form

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