Robotic Adjustments in Reclaimed Timber Framework

Navn
You-Wei Yen
Uddannelsesgrad
Kandidat
Fagfelt
Arkitektur
Institut
Bygningskunst og Teknologi
Program
Computation in Architecture
År
2023
Udmærkelser
Duravit

After disassembling buildings, they enter the circular economy and are usually degraded into smaller pieces through practices such as wood recycling, repurposing, and upcycling. The lifecycle of wood can be extended, reducing the need for new raw materials. To retain as much value as possible, we can use the piece as much as it is before entering the wood cascading process.

When the wood is being reused, we usually cut away the parts where the original joints exist, resulting in a shorter primitive material. Still, if these joints are kept, their sizes must be evaluated. We can reuse and re-machine the existing joints on the beam, minimizing the excess material being cut off. 

After a timber frame house is disassembled, each piece is evaluated and scanned to determine future use. When the design is made, using the scans that had been done, we can extract the properties, such as original joints on the reclaimed timber, to apply qualified material and optimize the waste. Afterward, when the wood is sent to the machining process, we can pass the data extracted from the timber beam to make machine adjustments on remilling the joints or adapting to their unique feature. Lastly, after the modules are robotically assembled, they are taken to assembly on-site.

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Reclaimed Timber for Modular Construction
Proposed Process
Digital Workflow

How do we acquire and track material inconsistencies and enable the process of adaptive robotic assembly with reclaimed timber? 

  • Extraction of features from inconsistent material
  • Customized digital tools within the design environment
  • A digital framework to adapt fabrication information
  • Experiments on robotically applicable joints

 

 

Detect and Extract Reclaimed Timber Joint Data

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Acquired Reclaimed Timber
Point Cloud Scan
Plane Segmentation
Joint Identification

Customized tools for reclaimed timber to design with minimal waste and making adjustments for fabrication

Fabrication on Robotic Applicable Joints

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Robotic Milling
Robotic Applicable Joints
Robotic Applicable Joints
Joined Reclaimed Beams
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Reclaimed Timber Truss
Reclaimed Timber Information
Modularizing Reclaimed Timber
Reclaimed Timber Frame

Det Kongelige Akademi understøtter FN’s verdensmål

Siden 2017 har Det Kongelige Akademi arbejdet med FN’s verdensmål. Det afspejler sig i forskning, undervisning og afgangsprojekter. Dette projekt har forholdt sig til følgende FN-mål
Legat

Duravit

I motivationen lyder det: "You Wei Yen’s project explores how modern fabrication methods can enable the circular use of reclaimed timber. Through the design and robotic manufacture of prefabricated timber modules, You Wei develops digital workflows for acquiring and analyzing material inconsistencies and features, and demonstrates how adapting the fabrication process to account for non-standard material can support the circular use of anthropogenic resources."

CV