There are exciting new developments on the frontier of building and infrastructure technology and they’re happening right here in Greeley, Colorado. Have you imagined what it would be like to build houses by piloting giant robots instead of swinging a hammer? Aims created a visionary new set of courses in partnership with Alquist 3D that offers the perfect opportunity for you to get in on the ground floor of an exciting career building 3D-printed homes and structures. These cutting-edge, sustainable construction methods can help working families in Colorado gain access to more affordable housing close to where they work.
Continuing Education
3D Concrete Printing
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Feedback from Former Introduction to 3D Concrete Printing Students
“There is nowhere else on the planet where so much is happening all in one place to move structural 3D printing forward.”
Zachary Mannheimer
Alquist Founder
This hands-on course, offered at the Greeley Campus Applied Technology and Trades Center, offers comprehensive, hands-on education, uniquely integrating 3DCP material science with coding and design.
At this time, this course is available only to students who have completed the introduction course. Sign up for the Introduction course or the full series that includes the Introduction class and the Hands-on course now!
This portion of the 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) hands-on class bridges the gap between digital design and robotic execution, providing participants with essential skills in 2D sketching, robotic manipulation, and G-code generation for 3D printing. Through a mix of guided instruction, hands-on exercises, and practical demonstrations, students will gain a solid foundation in 3DCP workflows, from initial design to robotic execution.
- Classroom instruction with follow-along exercises to gain familiarity with Rhino 8.
- Setting up design environments, including unit specifications and file management.
- Command-line navigation to select and implement various design tools.
- Sketching fundamentals, generating and manipulating points, lines, and arcs to create a closed 2D sketch.
- Design exercises, including student-created sketches and structured tasks from printed handouts.
- Multi-stage print planning, designing door and window openings for a 3DCP build.
- Lecture on robotic fundamentals, including A1-A6 axis control, external axis use, and Kuka Smartpad functions.
- Axis Mode Practice: Manually maneuvering a 6-axis 3D concrete printer, knocking over three bottles of varying heights and locations.
- World Mode Practice: Navigating a predefined maze or path using a laser pointer attachment.
- TCP Calibration: Precise end-effector calibration using multiple manipulations to ensure accuracy in the printing process.
- Grasshopper Interface Overview:
- Instructor-led walkthrough of A3D slicing software and parametric control locations.
- Students follow along to define sketches, adjust parameters, and generate code.
- Experimenting with different variables to understand their impact on code output and structural analysis.
- Performing dry runs of student-generated code to verify accuracy before live printing.
- Manipulating the digital environment to match real-world conditions before execution.
- Sampling and adjusting design elements for improved precision.
- Re-positioning sketches to align with physical setup constraints.
- Final dry run execution, ensuring all parameters are optimized for a successful 3D concrete print.
This portion of the 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) hands-on class provides an in-depth understanding of the essential processes, equipment, and techniques required for successful concrete printing. Combining lectures, hands-on assembly, and live demonstrations, this course will equip participants with the knowledge and skills to operate, troubleshoot, and optimize 3DCP systems.
- Lecture on Batch Mixing vs. Continuous Mixing Systems, their components, and operational differences.
- Hands-on physical examination of a batch mixing system and its major components.
- Dry run of the batch mixing system, highlighting its different control functions.
- Walkthrough of the cleanout procedure, ensuring proper maintenance and longevity.
- Lecture on different types of print heads used in 3D concrete printing.
- Hands-on assembly of an Auger Driven Print Head and attachment to the R0 system.
- Discussion on pros, cons, and improvements made to various print head designs.
- Lecture on site setup and planning, including major considerations and mitigation strategies.
- Interactive workspace planning by placing scale models of printing equipment within a proposed workspace.
- Hands-on hose attachment and routing from the mixing station to the print head.
- Dry-run of a print to verify proper hose routing and system functionality.
- Students will load cementitious material into the mixing station, ensuring proper water-to-material ratios for 3DCP.
- Monitoring of material consistency, with real-time adjustments as needed during printing.
- Execution of the full cleanout procedure, covering the mix station, hose, and print head.
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Explore the gallery for a closer look at the groundbreaking 3D concrete printing process.
