Model to Press: Digital Dataflow for the Design, Rationalization, and Manufacture of Free-Form Glulam Beams

Abstract: While numerous built examples of free-form glulam structures demonstrate the complexities of creating glulam beams with out-of-plane curvature, the specifics of their modelling, rationalization, and realization have largely remained confined to specialist know-how and internal processes. We present a digital workflow that bridges unpredictable input design geometry and the reconstruction, rationalization, and preparation of freeform glulam beams for industrial production. This effort is part of an innovation project developing an automated press for serial production. It builds upon previous research into early-stage modelling and rationalization, extending it to real-world design contexts and industrial production constraints.