Robotized Cell of Prefabricated Panels

A robotized manufacturing cell of pre-fabricated GRC (Glass Reinforced Cement) panels for construction industry has been developed by construction company Dragados, S.A. The main contribution of the developed system is the automatic programming and control of the whole plant. As input serves the architect's 3D-drawing of the building facade done on a CAD system. From the CAD design, the optimum facade to panel’s partition is obtained. In order to manufacture each panel, automatic task and path planning are performed for the equipment present in the manufacturing cell: spraying robot, PLCs, control computer, etc. Construction processes done off-site are more suitable to be robotized, since the work takes place in a structured environment. A common off-site process: is the manufacturing of pre- fabricated panels which are later assembled on-site. In last year one important material used in this kind of industry has been the Glass Reinforced Cement (GRC). The GRC material is based on mixing cement with small cut glass fiber strips, achieving enough flex traction strength while maintaining light weight. This allows manufacturing large panels (6x3m) of any 3D geometry with the advantage of easy transportation and easy assembly on site.