The Wall-Mill : the design of a flexible machine for the in-situ architectural machining of surfaces

Abstract

Water-like wave patterns on surfaces are seen in the walls of the Glaphyros Apartment in Paris, France and in the Frankfurt Nightclub in Frankfurt, Germany (designed by Mark Goulthorpe). These 3-D surfaces were created by first constructing molds which is an extremely time-consuming and inefficient process. It is also difficult to transport a large mold from the machine shop where it was created to the building site where the panel will be installed. Additionally, the non-modularity of molds requires that a new one be created for a different design. It would be much simpler and efficient if the mold is replaced with a portable apparatus that can machine the surface directly. The main concept is a vertical milling machine appropriately named the Wall-Mill. The goal of this thesis project is to design and construct a prototype of the Wall-Mill.