Food4Rhino

Ovenbird is a free Grasshopper plug-in that generates, analyzes, and optimizes 3D printing toolpaths for concrete and other large-format materials with the extended functionality of gradient multi-material printing. Visit our Website and join our Discord to get help, request features, or report bugs.

Please cite Ovenbird (see Pulications) if you publish your results. This helps me a lot! Yefan

Key features

Embedded examples | Non-parallel slicing | Continuous printing | Agile visualization | Buildability analysis | Buildability optimization | Surface quality optimization | Surface-toolpath twins | Gradient multi-material printing

Ovenbird is the product of the 3D concrete printing research and the gradient multi-material extrusion research at the Polyhedral Structures Laboratory (PSL), which is part of the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania.

The plug-in is named after the red ovenbird (Furnarius rufus, also known as the rufous hornero), a South American bird that builds its shell nests by gradually depositing mud, a process similar to 3D concrete printing. We share the ovenbird's vision of printing our own houses.

Installation

To install, unzip the package. In Grasshopper, go to File → Special Folders → Components Folder. Save the unzipped folder there and delete the previous one if you have it. Make sure the .gha file is unlocked. Restart Rhino and Grasshopper. Change log and legacy versions available here.

Selected research projects powered by Ovenbird

• Integrated and Tailored Thermal Insulation through Gradient Multimaterial Additive Manufacturing for Masonry Architectural Components
• European Cultural Centre Exhibition
• Diamanti: 3D-Printed, Post-Tensioned Concrete Canopy
• 3D-Printed Carbon Absorbing High-Performance Building Structure
• Continuous Multi-Filament 3D Printing for Tension-Compression Structure Components

Publications

• Y. Zhi, H. Chai, T. Teng, and M. Akbarzadeh, “Automated toolpath design of 3D concrete printing structural components,” Additive Manufacturing, p. 104662, 2025. (Framework of Ovenbird, slicing, buildability analysis, continuous printing, visualization) 
• Y. Zhi and M. Akbarzadeh, “Surface-Toolpath Twins of Shell Components in 3D Concrete Printing for Optimized Buildability and Surface Quality,” in Proceedings of IASS 2025 symposium: The living past as a source of innovation, Mexico City, Mexico, Oct. 2025. (Surface-toolpath twins, buildability optimization, layer-level optimizations) 
• Y. Zhi, T. Teng, and M. Akbarzadeh, “Designing 3D-printed concrete structures with scaled fabrication models,” Architectural Intelligence, vol. 3, no. 1, 2024. (Scaled fabrication models)
• Y. Zhi, H. Chai, T. Teng, and M. Akbarzadeh, “Local optimization of self-supporting shell structures in 3D printing: a skeleton method,” in Proceedings of IASS 2023 symposium: Integration of Design and Fabrication, Melbourne, Australia, Jul. 2023. (Toolpath data structures, definition of the overhang)
• T. Teng, Y. Zhi, and M. Akbarzadeh, “Prototyping high-fidelity multifunctional objects using single-nozzle multi-filament additive manufacturing system with active mixing,” Materials & Design, vol. 249, 2025. (Multi-material printing)

Team

Yefan Zhi, Hua Chai, Teng Teng, Masoud Akbarzadeh

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) Grant of U.S. Department of Energy (DE-AR0001631), the National Science Foundation CAREER Award (NSF CAREER-1944691 CMMI), and the National Science Foundation Future Eco Manufacturing Research Grant (NSF FMRG-CMMI 2037097) awarded to Dr. Masoud Akbarzadeh. The authors also thank Yao Lu for the help in Grasshopper plug-in development.