Semester Project

Encoded Building Materials with Computer Numerical Control Assembly

Motivation

My goal in this semester project is to create a proof-of-concept for an idea I came up with in the beginning of Fab Academy for a self-reproducing machine system. The idea I had combines CNC and intelligent matter technologies to create a system that can create a machine out of near-raw materials. Data containing position and assembly instructions would be embedded into raw or near-raw materials. This set of material would be introduced into a CNC assembly machine. The machine would read the instructions off of the material and assemble it accordingly.

For my proof of concept I propose to use 1) the Mantis CNC mill with an electromagnetic pick-up attachment for x, y and 2 motion, 2) cast plastic cubes as raw material, 3) color as the embedded data, and 4) a photo transistor as the data scanning system.

Previous Work

Project Details

Base of motion: Mantis The Mantis machine is a low-cost (75 USD), 2.5D milling router. I propose to make an electromagnetic head as an attachment which would be used for transporting and assembling “raw materials”
Raw Materials: 12 cm, cast plastic blocks I plan to use small plastic blocks with magnetic material (iron or steel) embedded within each block. Passive information would be embedded into each block by painting it a distinctive color
Data Scanning System: LED and a phototransistor To scan the color data embedded in each piece of material, I plan to beam a light of a known hex value (such as ff0000) onto the material. By measuring the difference between the value of the known light and the received light, I hope to be able to determine the color of the scanned material

Applications

Distribution

Development