Emma Sun - Module 8 - Part 1

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Module 8 - Make Your Pitch

Share a brief overview of your proposed tool or solution (1 page max) that outlines the essentials of your plan. It should include:

image

Intended users

Developers and General Contractors who are trying to implement prefabrication panelized elements, such as panelized walls, roofs and floorings, to their projects.

Need you’re trying to provide a solution or support for

The construction industry is highly fragmented due to the scale of the work, from the supplier of raw materials, to the production of elements, to the subcontractors in each disciplinary such as MEP, HVAC. To decrease the risk of delay, shorten the delivery time and increase productivity, prefabrication such as panelized elements and modular construction is implemented by more and more contractors.

Since each project has it’s own member shape and dimensions, contractors spend a long time to find qualified prefabrication manufacturers and there is a gap between contractors and prefabrication manufacturers that they need to convert the construction drawings to prefabrication drawings and evaluate how to produce the element. Thus, with a parametric model that a manufacturer can provide, the contractors can adjust their input and see if there are products that meets their expectation. The manufacturer can in turn start manufacturing the product quickly based on the model contractors generated.

Inputs

We will create a panelized wall element in this case.

  1. Wall Height
  2. Wall Width
  3. Wall Thickness
  4. Wall Curvature
  5. Wall Material

Underlying logic of the model you’ll implement

The user will enter the input, which max and min limit are set by the prefabrication manufacturer. They will be able to adjust the parameters freely to best fit their design. With the inputs, a dynamo model will be presented to help users visualize it. The outputs which are important factors to consider for the users will be calculated in Dynamo. The users can evaluate their design based on the output values. They can also input the material they want for the penalized wall, in which they can compare between using different materials.

Outputs

Minimize:

  1. Wall Weight
  2. Construction Cost
  3. CO2 Emissions

Maximize:

  1. Thermal Resistance