World's Largest 3D-Printed Structure: world record in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States--Chattanooga, Tenn.–based architectural fabricator Branch Technology have build a giant 3D-printed structure for Nashville, Tenn.'s LEED ND–targeted OneC1TY neighborhood; made of carbon fiber–reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, the 20-foot-tall, 42-foot-wide structure set the world record for being the World's Largest 3D-Printed Structure, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.
"Architectural fabricator Branch Technology worked with Thornton Tomasetti's CORE Studio to design a stable structure without steel reinforcement," the Architect Magazine says.
"Chattanooga, Tenn.–based architectural fabricator Branch Technology claims to have build the world's largest 3D-printed structure for Nashville, Tenn.'s LEED ND–targeted OneC1TY neighborhood. Made of carbon fiber–reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, the 20-foot-tall, 42-foot-wide structure was unveiled this week at the 2018 International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, an annual architecture and engineering symposium held this year at MIT, in Cambridge, Mass.
"Commissioned by Dallas-based developer Cambridge, the pavilion was designed and fabricated by Branch Technology. Form studies in the early design stages revealed that the pavilion's shape and volume would require an obtrusive steel substructure to support its load that would have tripled the project cost. To optimize the structure's design and to eliminate the need for a supplemental steel reinforcement, a team led by Branch Technology designers Melody Rees and Jason Vereschak worked with New York–based structural engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti's R&D incubator CORE Studio to engineer an open-cell structure."
"Chattanooga, Tenn.–based architectural fabricator Branch Technology officially unveiled a bandshell pavilion at Nashville’s oneC1TY development that is billed as the world's largest 3D-printed structure," the Direct Industry says .
"Made of carbon fiber–reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene and finished with an ultraviolet protective metallic paint, the 20-foot-tall, 42-foot-wide pavilion was unveiled last week at the 2018 International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, an architecture and engineering symposium at MIT, in Cambridge, Mass.The OneC1TY bandshell pavilion was commissioned by Cambridge to embody some of the UN Sustainable Development Goals the site is seeking to demonstrate, and was designed and fabricated by Branch Technology.
" Using the company's Cellular Fabrication (C-Fab) 3D-printing technology, the Branch team 3D printed 40 panels off-site over a period of 10 weeks and then assembled them on the designated spot in Nashville.Branch Technology’s C-Fab techniquethe uses a customized industrial robotic arm (the Kuka KR 90), which extrudes a carbon fiber reinforced ABS plastic material into complex, large-scale structures up to 8,772 cubic feet in size. What sets these structures apart from other concrete additive manufacturing processes, is that they only actually make up the inner framework of the building structure. That is, once printed, the additively manufactured framework can be sprayed with traditional low-cost building materials like foam insulation and concrete to make a strong, hybrid building structure."
"Branch Technology has erected what it claims is the world’s largest 3D-printed structure for Nashville, Tenn.’s OneC1TY neighborhood. Unveiled at the 2018 International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures this week, the structure strands at 20 feet tall and stretches 42 feet wide," the Engineering.com says.
"Chattanooga, Tenn.-based firm is known for its unique 3D printing process, Cellular Fabrication (C-Fab), which sees industrial robotic arms extrude a composite made of carbon fiber-reinforced ABS plastic. While this process was initially designed for creating the inner scaffolding of walls made from spray foam and concrete, the startup has been 3D printing large pavilions to demonstrate just how capable the technology is.
"This latest example was commissioned by a Dallas-based developer, Cambridge, and designed and produced by Branch Technology. While the original design suggested the need for a steel support system, the design was optimized to remove such a requirement, and the price tag that would go with it. To accomplish this, Branch Technology worked with R&D incubator CORE Studio to create an open-cell design."
"Chattanooga-based architectural fabricator Branch Technology unveiled the world’s largest 3D-printed structure, a bandshell pavilion measuring 20-feet-tall and 42-feet-wide. The pavilion was first announced in Cambridge, Massachusetts during MIT’s 2018 International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures. The structure is located in Nashville’s emerging smart-city neighborhood, OneC1TY," the techplus.co says.
"Reported by Architect Magazine, the carbon fiber-reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene sculpture was designed in collaboration with Thornton Tomasetti’s CORE Studio. Using Branch’s Cellular Fabrication, or C-Fab, technology, the structure was printed as 36 separate sections over the course of 10 weeks. Then, the sections were transported and assembled on site.
"The pavilion weighs approximately 3,200 pounds, with the largest section reaching just under 300 pounds. To comply with Nashville’s normal building code, Branch Technology’s design possesses a structural strength capable of withstanding up to 12 inches of snow and a 90mph wind load."
"The oneC1TY Pavilion is a permanent outdoor feature to a vibrant urban community known as oneC1TY. Nestled within a LEED neighborhood in Nashville, TN, the oneC1TY Pavilion stands at a green community lawn center," the official website says.
"At 21 feet tall, it is America’s tallest 3D printed structure. It is carefully embedded into lush planter beds and ascends to span as far as 40 feet — also notable as the world’s longest spanning 3D printed structure. The pavilion balances a confluence of engineering, manufacturing and construction. The 1000cu.ft. structure is broken down into 36 colossal sized parts. They each weigh as much as 175lbs and extend as far as 18’ in length.
"Early design solutions rendered the need for massive and cost-prohibitive steel frames. The design-assist and engineering team worked closely to optimize the design using sophisticated form-finding and analysis tools. The result is an elegant spatial shell free of conventional structural systems and pure in geometric strength. Where thrust and compressive forces are greatest, the material is thickened. Where uplift forces are elevated, voids are carefully carved."
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