Systems and methods for manufacturing customized prefabricated buildings including arbitrarily modularizing a building specification without using any pre-defined modules

• US 7,292,908 B2
• Filed: 10/13/2004
• Issued: 11/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robotic Built Structures Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Robotic Built Structures Incorporated
• Inventors: Borne, Stuart B., Becker, Jon E., Clarke, Cory
• Primary Examiner(s): Jarrett; Ryan A
• Application Number:
  US10/965,407
• Publication Number:
  US 20060075718A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,119 Days
• Field of Search: 700/182, 700/173, 703/1, 527/451.9
• US Class Current: 700/182
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2111/20 Configuration CAD, e.g. designing by assembling or positioning modules selected from libraries of predesigned modules
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/13 Architectural design, e.g. computer-aided architectural design [CAAD] related to design of buildings, bridges, landscapes, production plants or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

Systems and methods for designing and manufacturing customized prefabricated buildings in optimized modules. In one embodiment, a system for manufacturing a customized prefabricated building includes a computer-usable medium having a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a processor, causes said processor to execute a process including receiving a specification for a customized prefabricated building that identifies components for the prefabricated building and the dimensions of the components, modularizing the specification into modules meeting overall length, width, and height limitations, and optimizing the modularization; a programmable manufacturing system controller coupled to the computer-usable medium and configured to generate instructions for manufacturing the said optimized modules having the plurality of components identified in the specification received by the computer-usable medium; and a manufacturing system coupled to the programmable manufacturing controller configured to execute the instructions generated by the programmable manufacturing controller for building the said optimized modules having the specified plurality of components.

Claims

1. A system for manufacturing a customized prefabricated building comprising:

a computer-usable medium having a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a processor, causes said processor to execute a process including receiving a specification for a customized building that identifies components for the building and the dimensions of the components, modularizing the specification for prefabrication into modules meeting overall length, width, and height limitations, and optimizing the modularization;

a programmable manufacturing system controller coupled to the computer-usable medium and configured to generate instructions for manufacturing the said optimized modules having the plurality of components identified in the specification received by the computer-usable medium; and

a set of assembly line machine tools coupled to the programmable manufacturing controller configured to execute the instructions generated by the programmable manufacturing controller for building the said optimized modules having the specified plurality of components;

wherein modularizing the specification comprises arbitrarily modularizing to meet the length, width and height limitations, without using any pre-defined modules.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the optimizing the modularization within the process further includes:

generating a 3D model based on the specification;

subdividing the model by each floor if multiple floors exist into modules; and

modularizing each floor such that a minimum number of modules are created.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the modularization of each floor includes establishing one or more break points.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the optimizing the modularization within the process further includes a genetic algorithm.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the optimizing the modularization within the process is an intelligent iterative process.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a user interface coupled with the system configured to allow a user to create the specification.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the user interface provides the user with an option to establish a design for the customized prefabricated building.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the design for the customized prefabricated building includes a geometric shape for the customized prefabricated building.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the user interface includes a program visually rendering a 3D model.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the user interface is web-based.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the set of assembly line machine tools support CNC code.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the set of assembly line machine tools are arranged in a programmable array.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the building is a residential house.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the building is a commercial structure.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the process further includes load testing the specification.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the process further includes generating a 3D model based on the specification.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the overall length, width, and height limitations are subject to an envelope that is approximately sixty feet long, fifteen feet wide, and sixteen feet high, wherein the height is measured from the ground to the top of the envelope when placed on a truck.

18. The system of claim 1, further comprising a manufacturing resource system coupled to the programmable manufacturing system controller and configured to manage inventory of components for construction of the modules.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the process further includes generating framing details for the specification.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are CNC code.

21. A method for manufacturing a plurality of custom prefabricated buildings comprising the steps of:

providing a graphical user interface that allows a plurality of users to each create a custom design for a prefabricated building, wherein one design created by one user is different from another design created by another user;

generating a specification for each custom design created by the plurality of users that identifies components for the prefabricated building in the custom design and the dimensions of the components;

modularizing each specification into modules meeting overall length, width, and height limitations;

optimizing the modularization;

generating a set of instructions for each module of each specification, wherein each set of instructions includes instructions specific for each of a plurality of machine tools required for manufacturing the modules;

inputting the generated instructions into a controller that controls the plurality of machine tools and distributes the instructions to the corresponding machine tool;

manufacturing each module utilizing the plurality of machine tools; and

packaging each module for shipment to a site upon which a custom prefabricated building is to be built;

wherein modularizing the specification comprises arbitrarily modularizing to meet the length, width and height limitations, without using any pre-defined modules.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of:

returning to each user an approximate cost for the manufacture of the custom prefabricated building shortly after the user creates its design.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the optimization step includes the steps of:

generating a 3D model based on each specification;

subdividing the model by each floor if multiple floors exist into modules; and

modularizing each floor such that a minimum number of modules are created.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the optimization step includes a genetic algorithm.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the optimization step includes an intelligent iterative process.

26. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of:

managing an inventory of components necessary for constructing the modules.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the instructions specific for each of a plurality of machine tools required for manufacturing the modules include CNC data.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein the generation of the specification comprises the step of:

generating a plumbing schema;

generating a ductwork schema;

generating an electrical schema; and

generating a fixtures schema.

29. The method of claim 21, wherein the generation of the specification further comprises the step of:

generating framing details for the custom prefabricated building.

30. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of:

testing the load of each specification.

31. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of:

generating a 3D model for each specification.

32. A system for manufacturing a customized prefabricated building comprising:

a computer-usable medium having a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a processor, causes said processor to execute a process including receiving a specification for a customized building that identifies components for the building and the dimensions of the components, modularizing the specification for prefabrication into modules meeting overall length, width, and height limitations, and optimizing the modularization;

a programmable manufacturing system controller coupled to the computer-usable medium and configured to generate instructions for manufacturing the said optimized modules having the plurality of components identified in the specification received by the computer-usable medium; and

a set of assembly line machine tools coupled to the programmable manufacturing controller configured to execute the instructions generated by the programmable manufacturing controller for building the said optimized modules having the specified plurality of components;

wherein optimizing the modularization comprises;

determining a specification envelope of the specification, the specification envelope having a plurality of edges;

selecting an edge of the plurality of edges;

selecting a direction based on the edge;

selecting a break point to define a module envelope, wherein the break point meets the overall length, width and height limitations;

subtracting the module envelope from the specification envelope to create a remaining specification envelope, and

repeating the optimization on the remaining specification envelope.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein selecting the break point comprises

ordering a plurality of points within the specification envelope in a random order,

iteratively selecting each point to test the point'"'"'s distance from the edge,

identifying as the break point the point furthest from the edge yet within the overall length, width and height limitations.

34. The system of claim 32, wherein selecting the break point comprises

ordering a plurality of points within the specification envelope in a distance order from the edge,

selecting a point based on a genetic algorithm;

testing a distance between the selected point and the edge, and

identifying the selected point as the break point if the distance is within the overall length, width and height limitations.

35. The system of claim 32, wherein selecting the break point comprises

ordering a plurality of points within the specification envelope in a distance order from the edge,

iteratively selecting each point to test the point'"'"'s distance from the edge,

identifying as the break point the point furthest from the edge yet within the overall length, width and height limitations.

36. The system of claim 32, wherein modularizing the specification comprises arbitrarily modularizing to meet the length, width and height limitations, without using any pre-defined modules.

37. A method for manufacturing a plurality of custom prefabricated buildings comprising the steps of:

providing a graphical user interface that allows a plurality of users to each create a custom design for a prefabricated building, wherein one design created by one user is different from another design created by another user;

generating a specification for each custom design created by the plurality of users that identifies components for the prefabricated building in the custom design and the dimensions of the components;

modularizing each specification into modules meeting overall length, width, and height limitations;

optimizing the modularization;

generating a set of instructions for each module of each specification, wherein each set of instructions includes instructions specific for each of a plurality of machine tools required for manufacturing the modules;

inputting the generated instructions into a controller that controls the plurality of machine tools and distributes the instructions to the corresponding machine tool;

manufacturing each module utilizing the plurality of machine tools; and

packaging each module for shipment to a site upon which a custom prefabricated building is to be built;

wherein optimizing the modularization comprises;

determining a specification envelope of the specification, the specification envelope having a plurality of edges;

selecting an edge of the plurality of edges;

selecting a direction based on the edge;

selecting a break point to define a module envelope, wherein the break point meets the overall length, width and height limitations

subtracting the module envelope from the specification envelope to create a remaining specification envelope, and

repeating the optimization on the remaining specification envelope.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein selecting the break point comprises

ordering a plurality of points within the specification envelope in a random order,

iteratively selecting each point to test the point'"'"'s distance from the edge,

identifying as the break point the point furthest from the edge yet within the overall length, width and height limitations.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein selecting the break point comprises

ordering a plurality of points within the specification envelope in a distance order from the edge,

selecting a point based on a genetic algorithm;

testing a distance between the selected point and the edge, and

identifying the selected point as the break point if the distance is within the overall length, width and height limitations.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein selecting the break point comprises

ordering a plurality of points within the specification envelope in a distance order from the edge,

iteratively selecting each point to test the point'"'"'s distance from the edge,

identifying as the break point the point furthest from the edge yet within the overall length, width and height limitations.

41. The method of claim 37, wherein modularizing the specification comprises arbitrarily modularizing to meet the length, width and height limitations, without using any pre-defined modules.