Digital toolmaking for earth building components: The use of low-cost extruder and 3D printing to develop new fabrication approaches for cob and light earth bricks
Jorgensen, Tavs; Lightfoot, Sonny
Authors
Tavs Jorgensen Tavs.Jorgensen@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor
Sonny Lightfoot
Abstract
This paper reports on ongoing research into innovative methods for extruding cob and light earth building components, aiming to establish a cost-effective fabrication system. The paper provides a brief contextual overview of related work and outlines the research’s vision to create a low-cost fabrication system for experimenting with earthen-based composites in low-carbon construction. Various components of the fabrication system are presented, including a piston-based extrusion machine developed by the researchers. The use of low-cost filament 3D printers to create the extrusion profiles (known as dies) is also outlined, with details of printing parameters and die construction approaches. The paper reports on preliminary results of the characterisation of extruded samples in both dense cob and light earth composites, including shrinkage rates and compressive strength. Additionally, the paper presents experiments involving innovative interlocking brick designs and the production of earth bricks with cavities to illustrate the capabilities of the fabrication concept.
Presentation Conference Type
Conference Paper (published)
Conference Name
37th PLEA Conference
Start Date
Jun 26, 2024
End Date
Jun 28, 2024
Acceptance Date
May 2, 2024
Online Publication Date
May 20, 2024
Publication Date
May 20, 2024
Deposit Date
Aug 20, 2024
Publicly Available Date
Aug 20, 2024
Peer Reviewed
Peer Reviewed
Pages
1295-1301
Book Title
Proceedings of 37th PLEA Conference, Sustainable Architecture and Urban Design
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
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Digital toolmaking for earth building components: The use of low-cost extruder and 3D printing to develop new fabrication approaches for cob and light earth bricks
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