130: Digital Craft and The Custom Tool: Prototyping Intelligent End-Effectors For Robotically Assisted Construction

This paper explores how architects and designers can innovate construction by developing custom robotic tools that blend digital craft with traditional building methods. Focusing on the ABB 4600 robotic arm, the study presents three construction processes—clay 3D printing, brick stacking, and pressure-based heat forming—each enabled by a task-specific robotic end-effector. These tools are enhanced with sensors, actuators, and microcontrollers to introduce basic intelligence and automation into construction workflows. The research emphasizes the creative potential of toolmaking in architecture, showing how custom fabrication tools can improve efficiency, safety, and design expression. Detailed technical insights are provided on material selection, toolpath programming, and sensor integration. Ultimately, the paper reframes construction as a site of digital craft, where innovation emerges not just from what is built, but from how it is built—through the thoughtful design of the tools themselves.