Reusable Voxelized Magnetic Formwork: Fabricating complex concrete structures using materialized marching cubes
Citation
Zou, Y., Hua, H., and Zhang, B. (2025). Reusable Voxelized Magnetic Formwork: Fabricating complex concrete structures using materialized marching cubes. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATICS - Proceedings of the 30th International Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) , Tokyo, Japan, 22-29 March 2025, Volume 2, 502-511.
ZOU, Y., HUA, H., and ZHANG, B. Reusable Voxelized Magnetic Formwork: Fabricating complex concrete structures using materialized marching cubes[C]//ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATICS - Proceedings of the 30th International Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) , Tokyo, Japan, 22-29 March 2025, Volume 2, 502-511.
Abstract
The increasing demand for complex concrete structures presents significant challenges in formwork fabrication, including high costs, material waste, and limited adaptability. Traditional formwork systems struggle to accommodate the intricate geometries of freeform designs and topology-optimized structures. This study introduces a reusable voxelized magnetic formwork system, leveraging an octree-based Marching Cubes algorithm to articulate diverse concrete geometries. The integration of magnets is carefully engineered to address the challenges of unit assembly orientation, ensuring efficient alignment and stability throughout the process. The proposed method integrates computational modelling with a voxel-based formwork system, aiming to reconcile precision with adaptability. The contributions include: (1) Using computer graphics models to identify both applicable and non-applicable scenarios, reflecting the system’s flexibility. (2) Demonstrating its suitability for casting topology-optimized structures with complex forms. (3) Performing assembly experiments, exploring the practical feasibility of formwork fabrication and reuse. Results reveal that the system ensures high geometric fidelity and enhances reusability. The reusable voxelized magnetic formwork is a promising alternative to conventional formwork and fully customized freeform solutions.
Keywords
Complex Concrete Structures, Voxel, Reusable Formwork, Marching Cubes, Octree, Digital Fabrication
