Additive Manufacturing by Robot: An Overview of the State-of-the-Art and Proof-of-Concept Results

Abstract

For the last decades, additive manufacturing (AM) has become an ever increasing part of the development of new technology and devices. However, it is still challenging to use this technology on a larger scale. This paper presents the state-of-the-art of large-scale AM, looking into some of the projects that have come furthest in utilising AM technology on large structures such as buildings or sculptures. The background for this research is to consider the possibility of large-scale AM by robot manipulator using the welding method cold metal transfer (CMT). After outlining the the necessary algorithms and components for such an AM system, a proof-of-concept experiment using a UR5 robot is presented. This initial experiment will clarify some of the challenges that need to be addressed in future work.