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Freeform construction application research

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conference contribution
posted on 2012-07-27, 09:21 authored by Richard BuswellRichard Buswell, Rupert C. Soar, Alistair Gibb, Tony ThorpeTony Thorpe
The level of automation technology and processes control, within the construction sector, faces unique challenges if it is to catch up with automotive and aerospace applications. The construction industry has problems relating to health and safety, environmental legislation and traditional methods of procurement. These are compounded by diminishing skills in the labour force. One way to address these issues is by increased automation and integration of design, modelling and process control. Digital Fabrication has demonstrated the feasibility of the integration of design and component production on a large scale. Freeform Construction builds on Digital Fabrication by integrating the control of final material deposition. This paper reports on recent meetings held with industrialists to gauge their perceptions of the technology and encourage discourse to identify both applications and opportunities for the wider research community. Examples of digital fabrication in construction are discussed. Freeform Construction is defined and potential applications are presented. An example of physical model generation from construction CAD software is described.

History

School

  • Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering

Citation

BUSWELL, R.A., SOAR, R.C., GIBB, A.G.F. and THORPE, A., 2006. Freeform construction application research. IN: Pandey, M. et al., Advances in Engineering Structures, Mechanics & Construction, Solid Mechanics and Its Applications, 140, (8), pp. 773-780

Publisher

© Springer

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publication date

2006

Notes

This paper was presented at the International conference on Advances in Engineering Structures, Mechanics and Construction, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, May 2006 [© Springer]. The definitive version is available at: http://dx/doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4891-2_65

ISBN

1402048904

ISSN

0925-0042

Language

  • en

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