Reinforcing and Detailing of Thin Sheet Metal Using Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing as an Application in Facades

The presented book deals with the use of Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) as a means of stiffening and reinforcing free-form sheet metal as an application in facade. The main focus of the research is developing a methodology for welding ontop of pre-bent sheet metal; including digitizing of arbitrarily-formed sheet metal, developing of process-parameters for welding on thin sheet metal and generating force-responsive welding paths. The research is focused on singly-curved sheet metal profiles, and is concluded by the production of a number of small-scale prototypes which illustrate the potentials for reinforcing sheet metal using WAAM.

The Author Christopher Borg Costanzi, born in 1988 in Malta, completed his Bachelors degree in Architecture and Civil Engineering at the University of Malta between 2007 and 2012, where he specialized in structural engineering. He undertook a masters degree at Delft Technical University (Building Technology, Faculty of Architecture) between 2014-2016, graduating with honors and summa cum laude. His master thesis saw the development of a concrete additive manufacturing process for producing free-form shell structures. From 2017 to 2022, he worked at the Institute of Structural Mechanics and Design (ISM+D). During this time he worked on several projects relating to metal additive manufacturing, undertook teaching responsibility for courses in Topology Optimization, Computational Design tools for Engineers as well as experimental façade technology.