Authors
L. Vestarte, P. Vestartas, R. Kucinskas
Abstract
This paper presents mesh-discretisation and assembly methods for quad-based shellstructure. The study case is a corrugated cardboard shell 3m in height and spans up to 6m in diameter and is supported at 5 arbitrary points. The structure was built from-two layer 3mm corrugated cardboard sheets, consisting of 391 sets of planar quadrilateral elements (1537 total count of unique pieces). Since the principal fabrication constraint was a 2-axis laser cutter, the approximation of cutting angle for finger-joints was required. The laser cutter, with the maximum bounding area of 600 x 900 mm, also restricted the size of the panels, while the directionality of corrugated material posed constraints on geometrical proportions of the panels and their orientation within the cutting sheet. The shell was assembled without using heavy scaffolding or any adhesives, thus relying on material strength and friction provided by the connection method. The assembly sequence and insertion vector had a crucial role in the act of such construction. The pavilion was assembled within less than 12 hours, including the time spent for sorting the unique pieces.
