What will this workshop teach me?

You’ll learn how to turn scanned irregular objects into surface-aware robotic toolpaths for applications such as 3D printing, milling, and coating.

Do I need to know Rhino and Grasshopper before joining?

The workshop uses Rhino 8 and Grasshopper, so familiarity with these tools would be helpful for following the technical workflows.

Will the workshop cover real-world, irregular geometry?

Yes, the workshop focuses specifically on scanned and noisy geometry rather than perfect digital models, teaching you how to create toolpaths that adapt to complex surfaces.

Which software and tools will be used?

You’ll work with Rhino 8, Grasshopper, the Robots plugin, and Google Colab for digitization, toolpath generation, and robotic simulation.

Will I learn how to validate robotic toolpaths before fabrication?

Yes, you’ll simulate the robot’s movements to check reachability, collisions, joint limits, and singularities before physical execution.

Feb 28 – Mar 1, 202611 lessonsBeginner

FREE with Full Access Workshop Beginner 11 lessons 3.0 Rating

Robotic Fabrication for Irregular Geometry

Robotic Fabrication for Irregular Geometry is a two-day workshop on PAACADEMY that teaches scan-to-robot workflows using Rhino, Grasshopper, and the Robots plugin. Participants learn to digitize physical objects into 3D meshes using computer vision tools, generate surface-aware parametric toolpaths in Grasshopper that adapt to irregular geometry, and validate those paths through kinematic simulation, checking reachability, singularities, and joint limits before exporting machine code for robotic execution. Google Colab is used for the scan-to-mesh computer vision workflow.

This course includes

Live workshop · 7h 13m
Lifetime session recordings
Certificate of completion
Downloadable course files
4 design tools
Private Discord community
Included with Full Access

Most robotic fabrication tutorials assume that you are starting with a perfect digital model. However, the future of construction and manufacturing involves interacting with irregular and 'messy' real-world objects, or digital captures of them.

In this technical workshop, we will explore the latest frameworks for digitising complex objects and generating complex, surface-aware robotic toolpaths that adapt to their unique topology.

This workshop provides an in-depth exploration of the generation of computational toolpaths. The technical workflows required to generate valid instructions for any robot will be covered.

Input: We will use automated computer vision to digitise a physical object.
Process: The geometry will be processed by Grasshopper to create suitable toolpaths.
Output: We will validate these paths using a kinematic simulation (Robots plugin) to ensure they can be executed without issue.

Mastering computational concepts for managing complex toolpath arrays.
Understanding robot kinematics and how to visualise and validate reachability.
Mesh-to-Path Logic: Techniques for projecting vector paths onto 'noisy' scanned meshes.
Simulation & Safety: Verifying toolpaths digitally to prevent physical crashes (singularity analysis).
Machine Code Generation: Learn how to export your design as code that robots can read.

Digitisation (the input): We will use a streamlined 'scan-to-mesh' workflow using computer vision tools to instantly create a 3D digital twin of a physical object from an image.
Toolpath Logic (the core): We will develop parametric scripts to generate 'surface following' paths (e.g., for 3D printing or milling) that hug the geometry.
Kinematics (The Validation): We will simulate the robot's motion to check reachability, collisions, and joint limits using the Robots plugin.

Program:

Day 1 - From Scan to Surface

First step: Extract 3D models of objects from images using computer vision tools.
Second step: Mesh clean-up and rationalisation in Rhino 8.
Third step: Generating toolpaths on the geometry to guide the robot.

Day 2 - The 'Robotic Hand' (Toolpathing & Simulation):

Import the 'digital twin' into the robotic environment.
Generate a toolpath for 3D printing, milling, or coating that adapts to the unique geometry of the object.
Use the Robots plugin to simulate the execution of the robotic arm.
If time allows, run it on a real robot.

1. Introduction + PAACADEMY Updates