Revolutionizing Construction: Mapping the Path to Automated Home Building

A Case Study on Automated Off-Site Home Production


Opportunity

UAB Timber System specializes in manufacturing prefabricated wooden frame houses that offer complete customization options. These houses are characterized by unique designs, layouts, and walls, which are constructed using high-quality insulation materials and allow for the integration of MEP infrastructure. Established in 2021 and based in Alytus, Lithuania, the company aims to evolve into a highly autonomous factory. To accomplish this goal, UAB Timber System has partnered with 1D.works for assistance.

The production of prefabricated houses involves numerous steps, and implementing automation would necessitate the establishment of multiple robot cells, covering tasks such as material sourcing, joining, and interior finishing. Effective communication and reporting among these stations are crucial for smooth operations.

These robot cells consist of diverse elements, including different types of robots, motors, sensors, and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). To optimize costs, these components are sourced from various manufacturers, necessitating the integration of different control frameworks.

Furthermore, since the house orders come in various layouts, it is essential to ensure seamless information flow across all stages of production.

The Challenge

The client sought a software development roadmap that could address the following challenges:

  • Handling a wide range of hardware variations.
  • Efficiently managing high variations in order volumes.
  • Enabling rapid setup of autonomous processes.
  • Ensuring long-term ease of maintenance.
  • Delivering cost-effective solutions.

Solution

We began by thoroughly analyzing the current workflow for house production. This involved carefully mapping out each step of the production process to gain a comprehensive understanding.

Next, we conducted research to explore different approaches for automating these processes. We examined both the latest research methods and available commercial solutions.

During our analysis, we identified several pain points that were not adequately addressed by existing solutions:

  • Difficulty integrating hardware from different vendors.
  • Needing specialized cell drivers to execute CAM on specific cells.
  • Custom integrations were required to incorporate well-tested production software into a streamlined workflow.

Based on our findings and understanding of the production process, we developed an efficient version of the workflow and devised a step-by-step plan to achieve end-to-end automation, prioritizing high return on investment (ROI).

Results

We've provided the client with an audit which

  • Analysed the current production workflow
  • Mapped out the efficient and automated way to produce houses
  • Surveyed SOTA research & commercial solutions for quick gains
  • Created a concrete and actionable roadmap how to automate the manufacturing process.
  • Provided a framework utilizing digital twins how to grow the internal processes for maximum re-usability, cost-efficiency and leverage

These results offered the client a comprehensive understanding of their production workflow and provided them with actionable steps to optimize their processes, improve efficiency, reduce costs, and leverage cutting-edge technologies.

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