WP5 – Large Dimension Products

The development of products for application in harsh environments requires the use of specific materials with complex processing parameters, which have been widely studied and defined for conventional technologies. When such materials are necessary in unconventional technologies or in different applications, such as robotic arms, the processing parameters require new approaches and entail additional challenges, which become even more difficult if the material to be used comes from the recycling chain.

Production in additive manufacturing systems through material extrusion using robotic arms introduces new paradigms, covering all stages from product design, material selection, and material processability to communication with the production system and production control. Product development using these technologies enables the creation of large-scale solutions and innovative applications for additive manufacturing. Such applications have been extensively studied, primarily for outdoor spaces, where the production scale achievable with robotic arms offers unique advantages.

Developing sustainable products for outdoor environments, combining the versatility and design potential of additive manufacturing with the sustainability of recycled urban plastic waste, is both a necessity and a challenge in robotic arm production. To address this, the project aims to develop a material based on recycled urban plastic waste and research strategies for its reuse. The project will also establish a production cell with temperature control to optimize manufacturing via extrusion with a robotic arm and will develop a specific extruder suited to this context. By conducting process optimization analysis and parameterization experiments, the project will aggregate knowledge to create a system capable of producing sustainable products for harsh environments, contributing to innovation and sustainability in the field.

Expected outputs from this project include the following:

Manufacturing of large-scale, sustainable products using the above elements.

Composition of recycled polymer-based materials and their corresponding manufacturing processes;

Construction of a modular and removable production cell, featuring an extruder optimized for recycled materials and coupled to a robotic arm in a controlled environment;