Abstract
This paper presents a new procedure for the building information modeling (BIM) characterization of structural topologies manufactured with plastic materials and fused deposition modeling (FDM) additive technology. The procedure presented here transforms the architectural geometry into an expanded three-dimensional model, capable of directly linking the topology of the plastic structure with the technological, functional and economic requirements for working in advanced construction 4.0 environments. The model incorporates a new algorithm whose objective is to recognize the topological surface of the plastic structural part obtaining in a fully automated way the FDM manufacturing time as well as the manufacturing cost. The new algorithm starts from the voxelized geometrical surface of the architectural model, calculating the manufacturing time from the full geometric path traveled by the extruder in a voxel, the extruder’s speed, the print pattern and the layer height. In this way it is possible to obtain a complete digital model capable of managing and analyzing the plastic architectural object in an advanced BIM 4.0 environment. The model presented in this paper was applied to two architectural structures designed for a real urban environment. The final structural geometries have been obtained through topological processes in order to reduce the raw plastic manufacturing material and to improve the plastic structure strength. The architectural elements have been validated structurally by the means of numerical simulations, following the scenario of loads and boundary conditions required for the real project. The displacement maps point to a maximum value of 0.5 mm according to the project requirements. The Von Mises stress fields indicate maximum values of 0.423 and 0.650 MPa, not exceeding in any case the tensile yield strength of the thermoplastic material.
Highlights
The use of polymeric plastic materials in the field of architectural construction has multiple advantages in terms of manufacturing and building free form surfaces
The work developed in this manuscript presents a new procedure for the building information modeling (BIM) structural objects manufactured using additive technology and polymeric materials
New transforms procedure the geometry of the architectural structure into a three-dimensional expanded digital model capable of transforms the geometry of the architectural structure into a three‐dimensional expanded digital directlycapable linking the topological information of the structural element the technological, model of directly linking the topological information of with the structural elementfunctional with the and economic information needed for working in advanced construction
Summary
The use of polymeric plastic materials in the field of architectural construction has multiple advantages in terms of manufacturing and building free form surfaces. The procedure presented transforms the geometry of the architectural object into an expanded three-dimensional digital model capable of directly linking the topological information of the structural element with the technological, functional and economic information necessary for its implementation in an advanced 4.0 construction environment. In this way, it is possible to obtain a complete digital model for structural elements made with polymeric materials and FDM technology. The new expanded digital model includes all the definition, properties and technological features required for the FDM manufacturing process, allowing the definition of any plastic structural element and new polymeric materials in an advanced BIM construction 4.0 environment, enhancing the advantages of using polymers in additive FDM construction environments
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