TrussFab: Fabricating Sturdy Large-Scale Structures on Desktop 3D Printers
summary
TrussFab fabricates human-load-bearing truss structures by combining desktop 3D-printed hubs with plastic bottles used as beams, run as a SketchUp plugin that performs FEA via Caramba3D and generates connector geometry with OpenSCAD. The team prints snap and flange hubs, laser-cuts single-layer covers, and assembles tables, chairs, a 2.5 m bridge, a two-person boat and a 5 m dome. Mechanical tests show bottles buckle in compression near ~85 kg and threaded connectors fail in tension around ~135 kg.
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chapters (13)
- 0:00Introduction to TrussFab
- 1:17Challenges in large-scale fabrication
- 2:00TrussFab workflow overview
- 3:26Key concept behind truss structures
- 5:20Designing with TrussFab editor
- 7:07Creating larger structures efficiently
- 8:58Self-holding structures and usage
- 9:20Mechanical components and hubs
- 11:29Connecting bottles and alternatives
- 12:15Validating structural stability
- 14:04Implementation and tools used
- 14:46Conclusion and future work
- 15:57Q&A session begins
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