ADDITIVE CERAMIC MANUFACTURING
2013
Image Credit: Anita Kan
This exploration of additive ceramic manufacturing was a semester project in a 2013 course entitled "Material Systems: Digital Design, Fabrication, and Research Methods" offered by Harvard Graduate School of Design. The focus of the course was learning and developing skills in computer-aided design, manufacturing, and engineering. To accomplish this goal, ceramic materials were chosen as the subject of our semester-long research and crafting.
Myself and my teammates were particularly interested in pursuing additive manufacturing of ceramic materials. We developed two parallel approaches within this theme: rapid deposition of ceramic-laden filaments using a custom extruder and a tabletop multi-axis CNC machine, and the manual design and construction of ceramic lattices.
My primary role for each of these efforts was to formulate and optimize the material properties of each custom-mixed clay. I also fabricated molds and lattice structures using these customized clays, and co-managed the research and development effort towards these goals.
The project culminated in a presentation of our work at Harvard GSD, and an exhibition at the Harvard Ceramics Studio entitled "Innovating Ceramics: The Future of Architectural Applications." For me, it was an interesting opportunity to learn CAD/CAM skills, while developing fabrication strategies for a unique ceramic medium.
"Innovating Ceramics: The Future of Architectural Applications," 2014
"Innovating Ceramics: The Future of Architectural Applications," 2014
Porous ceramic structures are fabricated using a custom-made attachment to deposit ceramic-coated fibers. [click for higher resolution video]
Top view of additive ceramic manufacturing. [click for higher resolution video]
"Innovating Ceramics: The Future of Architectural Applications," 2014
Ceramic additive manufacturing, Harvard GSD
Image Credit: Anita Kan
Image Credit: Anita Kan