Robotic Craft Tile

A novel 3D-printed ceramic floor tile that scales up a process of 3D printing coil slip first implemented in 2011 by Unfold Labs in Belgium who first extruded clay from an FDM-type printer as part of the ‘Stratigraphic Porcelain’ project (Hoskins 2018). Designed through extensive material investigations combining craft techniques with an experimental sensibility to develop new architectural materials and finishes from frugal manufacturing and circular reuse techniques that introduce chance and randomness to the production line so that no two products are ever the same. In the case of the 3d printed V&A Robotic Craft Tile, unique ceramic tiles were printed with a robotic arm to ensure the pattern was continuous across more than one ceramic tile to make eight distinctive ‘ceramic carpets’ that were playful crafted additions to the V&A Main Shop. These tiles were part of research in three-dimensional printed clay the origin of which lies in medieval slipware, creating a ‘piped’ effect that had until this time only been tested in fine scale on small non-architectural materials. By fitting the robotic arm with a dispenser that extrudes clay, lines of the material can be deposited one on top of the other. As this is done while the clay is still wet, the lines join together as they dry. Vessels, teapots and floor tiles were also made by the using this technique were sold in the V&A museum shop when it re-opened in May 2017.
The exhibition, ‘Hand Held to Super Scale’ celebrated the resurgence of ceramics in contemporary architecture and explores the close connection between hand-held ceramic objects and large-scale urban interventions – from the glazed household items that inspire whole building facades, to the manufacturers using scaled-up processes familiar to studio potters. The exhibition follows three key themes: collaboration, process and experimentation. Collaboration is at the heart of the exhibition and events programme as we share the journey of the unique partnerships that push boundaries in design and material development. Discover traditional ceramic processes given a contemporary twist by architect and artist collaborations, learn about the manufacturers working with ceramicists to create bespoke glazes and see how researchers are working with material in distinctive new ways. The tile exhibited were part of materials research started in 2017 to prototype the world’s first 3d printed ceramic floor tile of which now over 800 examples now reside on the floor of the Victoria & Albert Museum in Cromwell Road, London. The 3d printed V&A Floor Tile and Ceramic Carpet is recognised as the world’s first 3d printed piped tile and was first exhibited at ‘FastCraft’ (8 May 2019 – 10 May 2019) in Camberwell College of Art,’ Digital Manual’ at Arram Gallery (16 May 2019 – 22 June 2019) and ‘Hand Held to Super Scale : Building with ceramics’ (20 September 2019 – 8 February 2020) The Building Centre, London.

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