Hiroshi Sugihara
Machines are usually completed by assembling parts which are manufactured in different ways and from different materials. In additive manufacturing (AM) it is possible to make several parts in an assembled state as one machine. In this project I tried to make robots which were born in completed state like creatures by making all parts, excluding a DC motor, assembled by AM as one machine. After they were born in AM, you just needed to remove the extra nylon powder adhering to them and insert a DC motor for them to start moving. I developed the original transmission mechanism, called the 3Dimensional Cam, so that robots made by AM could move more smoothly. I made various walking robots which used the 3Dimensional Cam and AM, a unique, flexible structure seeking motions which impress people with their biolikeness.
Designer: Hiroshi Sugihara
Project director: Shunji Yamanaka
Based on the AM structure research by Keisuke Tanigawa
