Lumaire

Lumaire develops a robotic Fused Granular Fabrication process for continuously blending rigid PETG and flexible TPU within a single printed body. A custom material-delivery system was designed with independent pellet feeders, a pigment dispenser, mixing auger and iris valve, allowing material ratios to change dynamically during fabrication. These components were integrated with the ABB IRB 4600-60 and controlled through a Grasshopper-based workflow that translated digital material gradients into synchronized dispensing and robotic toolpaths. Iterative tests calibrated PETG/TPU ratios, extrusion temperature, deposition speed, cooling and interlayer bonding across eleven material compositions. Hexagonal toolpaths were developed to improve path continuity and smoother robotic movement. The calibrated system was then applied to a chair prototype, where material composition was spatially distributed according to structural and ergonomic requirements, producing rigid supporting regions and progressively flexible body-contact zones within one continuous fabrication process.