Developing a mold-free approach for complex glulam production with the assist of computer vision technologies

With the increasing use of glulam in construction industry, low efficiency of material and time in complex glulam production process has been widely recognized. While single curved glulam components are normally achieved with the aid of heavy molds, double curved ones are difficult to be produced directly without massive subtractive fabrication. In this context, a mold-free approach for complex glulam production is proposed, which consists of a mechanical system that spatially shapes the curved beam, and a vision system to inform the fabrication directly with design model. Through the integration of digital design, simulation and physical process, different types of curved glulam could be produced following the same workflow. This approach could eliminate the use of complex molds in curved glulam production, greatly reduce wastes in post-processing process. With the feasibility initially verified through fabrication experiments, the system will be further developed so as to be transferred to industrial practice. •A mold-free approach for double curved glulam production is proposed•A mechanical equipment is designed to spatially shape the double curved glulam•Computer vision is employed to inform the fabrication process with design model•Digital integration system is developed to comprehensively simulate the production•The feasibility is verified through fabrication experiments