Hybrid Composites; Full Scale Building Modular Construction Using Additive Manufacturing in Cellulose Based Materials’

Hybrid Composites; Full Scale Building Construction Using Additive Manufacturing in Cellulose MaterialsSweden could lead the development of state-of-the-art use of timber based products, the digital transformation  and industrialization required for the built environment to reach a positive environmental impact (1). ‘Hybrid Composites’ (HC) aims to develop new collaborative models, materials, digital techniques, design methods and additive manufacturing technology (AM) capable of transforming practice, business models, and smart technology toward a sustainable built environment and circular economy.

HC is centred around the state-of-the-art AM of cellulose based materials on an unprecedented scale on full-scale building technology (2) and implemented on a series of demonstrators of increasing complexity.

It  results in ‘C-Hive’ (www.c-hive.com) the world’s first fully functional and lightweight house prototype suitable for roof top construction that Chalmers ACE and Team Sweden competes with in the Solar Decathlon Europe Competition in Wuppertal Germany in June 2022 (www.sde21.eu). ‘HC develops light weight prefabricated timber-based building researching and developing large AM at Chalmers ACE Robot Lab and at RISE with digital design, simulation and management processes in an integrated BIM process.

The aims of the design research are to reduce the cost, time, weight, and complexity of construction and enhance affordances for design customization, prefabrication as well as speedy on-site assembly making the materials and parts fully reusable and recyclable.References(1)          Manufacturing in the fourth industrial revolution: A positive Prospect in Sustainable Manufacturing.

Carvalho, Chaim, Cazarini, Gerolamo. 2018, Science Direct; Procedia Manufacturing 21, ss. 671-678.(2)         Giachini, Gupta, Wang, Wood, Yunusa, Baharlou, Sitti, Menges. Additive manufacturing of cellulose-based materials. Science Advances. den 21 February 2020, s. Vol. 6 No. 8.