Production of Gyroid-like modular systems with non-linear robotic hotwire cutting

Robotic arms are being used by construction firms and schools of architecture around the world in design/build researches and material studies. Robotic hotwire cutting (RHC) is a commonly used technique in these studies. This technique has limitations on the production of free-form objects. This paper addresses this limitation by proposing an alternative non-linear robotic hotwire cutting (NL-RHC) workflow. The original contribution of this workflow is the usage of a shape memory alloy (SMA) as a cutting wire, that enables the production of curved forms. The workflow was tested on the production of a Gyroid-like modular system to reveal its advantages and limits. Several attempts were made to find the most accurate approximation of the Gyroid. The result suggested that NL-RHC would be an efficient solution for the production of curved surfaces if the SMA is trained and the robot path is calculated correctly