Hybrid additive manufacturing for micro, meso and macro mass customization

Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, in architecture is now in a phase of consolidation. After a first phase of enthusiasm and a subsequent of discredit, due to the limits of a technology transferred from other contexts and therefore with different objectives, today this type of production is becoming the privileged technique for mass customization. Mass customization means the possibility of modifying the single product, in this case building, without the 'custom' costs which are notoriously high compared to standard production, while keeping a high degree of personalization. Among the various additive manufacturing techniques, the most used, due to the possibility of creating semi-finished products or construction products, are the nozzle-based material extrusion and the SLS or laser sintering, in particular the metal deposition and the printing of dense fluid materials (cement, clay, natural materials). Moreover, today a Hybrid Additive Manufacturing is taking place both with closed machines and with anthropomorphic arms, mixing type of materials used and functions. This paper will show case studies from Politecnico di Milano, ABC Department, produced in SAPERlab, the physical structure which allows the construction of innovative architectural demonstrator and building systems. The three scales chosen are the micro, meso and macro scale to show the potentiality of designing for additive manufacturing with innovative design tools and custom materials.