Automatic Generation Of Digital Twin Models For Simulation Of Reconfigurable Robotic Fabrication Systems For Timber Prefabrication

Abstract

Timber Construction And Prefabrication Are Increasingly Important. So Far, The Degree Of Automation Is Low. Due To The Great Variability Of Construction Projects And The Building Components, Automation Systems That Can Adapt Flexibly To Different Construction Projects Are Required. However, A System That Fulfills These Conditions Does Not Yet Exist. Downtimes For Reconfiguration Must Be Short. The Use Of Robotics For The Automation Of Prefabrication Is Constantly Developing. Recent Publications Present A Flexible, Reconfigurable And Transportable Manufacturing Platform With Industrial Robots. A System Consisting Of Several Of These Modular Platforms Can Be Flexibly Adapted To The Requirements Of A Construction Project And Set Up On-Site At The Local Timber Construction Company. To Ensure The Manufacturability Of The Timber Components And To Minimize Downtimes Between Projects, The Entire Workflow From Digital Design To Fabrication Must Be Considered. The Co-Design Approach Makes This Possible. It Breaks Up The Previously Sequential Chain From Design To Fabrication And Takes A Holistic View Of All Sub-Steps. In This Way, Fabrication Skills Can Be Considered During Building Design And The Components Can Thus Be Implemented So That They Are Feasible For Fabrication. To Achieve This, The Manufacturability For A Given Fabrication Layout Has To Be Evaluated. This Requires A Digital Twin Of The Plant As A Simulation Model. However, The Difficulty Here Is That The Plant Can Be Reconfigured. A Suitable Combination Of Fabrication Tasks And System Layout Is Required. Here, The Manufacturing Tasks And The System Configuration Are Constantly Changed. Therefore, With Each Iteration, The Digital Twin Must Be Adapted Or Newly Created. This Makes The Whole Approach Unfeasible. To Solve This Problem, This Work Presents An Approach For The Automated, Model-Based Generation Of Digital Twins For The Simulation Of Reconfigurable Fabrication Systems For Timber Prefabrication.