Design for Manufacture and Assembly in Off-Site Construction: Advanced Production of Modular Façade Systems

Product development for commercial façade systems is a complex procedure. Since the Grenfell Tower disaster in London in June 2017, the import, use and sale of polyethylene core Aluminum Composite Panels (ACP) has been reduced. This encourages research on development of new façade systems using advanced production techniques such as additive manufacturing and CNC milling. The aim of this paper is to analyze the two techniques considering principles of design for manufacturability and assembly (DfMA). Results show that in advanced manufacturing of façade elements, a large percentage of project budget is related to acquisition costs for equipment such as CNC machines and 3D printers. Despite these high costs, non-traditional manufacturers are likely to see return of investments over future development projects for the modular façade systems.