A method of designing an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames

Abstract

The present invention relates to a computer-implemented method and system for designing an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames. The present invention comprises a software platform configured to implement a plugin module to a CAD application and a structural module that is configured to generate the engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames.

Description

A method of designing an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and framesTechnical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a computer-implemented method and system for designing an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames. The present invention comprises a software platform configured to implement a plugin module to a CAD application and a structural module that is configured to generate the engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames.Background of Invention

[0002] Computer-aided design (CAD) applications are software tools used by designers to create designs, comprising architectural designs for buildings. CAD applications can be used to create 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional designs in the form of digital models of physical objects, such as buildings. For example, users can create a 3-dimensional model of a building comprising walls, roof and a floor, using a commercially available CAD application such as AUTODESK AutoCAD.

[0003] CAD applications utilise a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to allow users to create the design, such as a 3-dimensional model of a building. The GUI allows users to draw the various components of the building and / or to select template components to create the model. The 3-dimensional model of a building is generally referred to as a building model and is intended to reflect the design intent of the creators. The building model, however, does not have enough information to be able to manufacture components of the building, such as building trusses and frames. For most buildings, building trusses are typically roof and floor trusses and the frames are typically wall frames.

[0004] To enable the manufacture / pre-fabrication of building trusses and frames, the building model requires the addition of structural information of the building and the trusses and frames. This information has previously been provided by 3rdparty software providers to the CAD applications. Also, in an example, the building design industry (e.g. Architectural modelling industry) and Structural Timber Prefabrication industry utilise different, often incompatible tools. Accordingly, one challenge is the ability to encapsulate the design intentof the building model generated by the content creators (e.g., Architects and Building Designers) in the GUI of a CAD application into a structural model that can be used to create and manufacture a fully engineered truss and framing solution for a building.

[0005] Existing methods and systems, for providing an engineering model that can be used for manufacturing building trusses and frames provide, generally provide for a one-way import of the building model into bespoke structural models with limited ability to collaborate with the original building model design. This can be time consuming, processor intensive and inaccurate, especially as the building model tends to change regularly in practice. Also, computer processing requirements are further exacerbated as third-party software to the CAD application is required to import and export static data to generate the engineering model for manufacturing the building trusses and frames.

[0006] In addition, the existing bespoke structural models are not generally available to those outside of the Prefabrication industry and require training for users as there are not set standards or methodology for the industry.

[0007] A reference herein to a patent document or other matter which is given as prior art is not to be taken as an admission that that document or matter was known or that the information it contains was part of the common general knowledge in Australia or elsewhere as at the priority date of any of the disclosure or claims herein. Such discussion of prior art in this specification is comprised to explain the context of the present invention in terms of the inventor's knowledge and experience.Summary of Invention

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer- implemented method of designing an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames, the method comprising: receiving a building model at a software platform, the building model comprising at least building trusses and or frames generated within a GUI of a computer-aided design (CAD) application, the building trusses and or frames comprising CAD primitives; the software platform implementing a plugin module to the CAD application to convert the CAD primitives to structural objects; the software platform implementing a structural module to generate the engineering model on the structural objects, theengineering model comprising data rich structural objects that can be displayed by the GUI; updating the building model with the data rich structural objects of the engineering model; and rendering the data rich structural objects to display, within the GUI, an updated building model corresponding to the engineering model.

[0009] As mentioned, the software platform is intended to be generally used by the building design industry (e.g. Architectural modelling industry) and Structural Timber Prefabrication industry and to address the needs and requirements of these industries in designing and manufacturing roof trusses, floor trusses, and wall frames, as well as other building components such as nail plates, hangers and brackets.

[0010] That is, preferably, the data rich structural objects comprise the building trusses and or frames. The building trusses comprise roof trusses and floor trusses, and the frames comprise wall frames. It will be appreciated by those persons skilled in the art that the engineering model further comprises details of other building components, such as nail plates, hangers and brackets, associated with the building trusses and frames.

[0011] In a preferred form, the software platform has been conceptualised and developed to operate with a commercially available CAD application, such as AutoCAD. To do so, the software platform implements a plugin module to the CAD application to exploit all the functionality that the CAD application has to offer. The software platform provides Roof and Floor Truss layout tools and a comprehensive Wall Framing solution based on the original building model content drawn with the GUI of the CAD application. The plugin module also manages the data collaboration between CAD application and the structural module by converting the CAD primitives to structural objects. The plugin module does so by converting shape to engineered object.

[0012] The building model is generally a 3-dimensional model of a building intended to reflect the design intent of the creators and the engineering model generally comprises structural information for manufacturing building trusses and frames for the building. The software platform is thus used to design an engineering model that can be realised on one unifying software platform to enable seamless data exchanges between the building model, reflecting the design intent, and the engineering model, reflecting the structural design of the trusses and the frames required for manufacturing.

[0013] The s plugin module to the CAD application, which enables users of the method the ability to exploit all the functionality the CAD application has to offer, comprises all of the standard tools that CAD application users are accustomed to. The range and functionality of these standard tools is extensive, which provides users of the method with the flexibility to customise their interfaces to the software and enhance their productivity.

[0014] In an embodiment, the plugin module comprises an Application Programming Interface (API) to convert the CAD primitives to the structural objects. Alternatively, the plugin module comprises an equivalent software to convert the CAD primitives to the structural objects.

[0015] In an embodiment, the CAD primitives comprise polylines, points and vectors representing the building trusses and frames.

[0016] In an embodiment, the structural objects comprise building truss and frame objects comprising timber geometries and supports.

[0017] In a preferred form, upon receipt of the original drawing of the building model from the CAD application, the user of the software platform can use Roof and Floor Truss layout tools, as well as a complete Wall Framing solution, to add structural and framing content to the building model. The user can then create outputs of the building model, with structural information, for viewing and or reviewing by Architects, Builders, or any other interested parties. This greatly reduces the time and hence, cost associated in preparing valid engineered models of a building. Staff training is also greatly reduced as almost all of the functionality is based on standard CAD application commands and methods that they would be familiar with.

[0018] In an embodiment, the method further comprises the software platform receiving changes to the updated building model generated within the GUI, the structural module generating a further engineering model comprising further data rich structural objects, and rendering the further data rich structural objects to display, within the GUI, a further updated building model corresponding to the further engineering model.

[0019] In an embodiment, the method further comprises the CAD application receiving changed data rich structural objects of the engineering model generated by the structuralmodule, and rendering the changed data rich structural objects to display, within the GUI, a changed building model. In this embodiment, any changes to the engineering model can also be made to the original building model.

[0020] That is, any changes to the building model design can be resubmitted to the structural module for structural calculations and verification and then provided back to the original building model and vice-versa.

[0021] In an embodiment, the structural module comprises a further Application Programming Interface (API) to convert the engineering model to the data rich structural objects.

[0022] In an embodiment, the further API is configured to design and engineer the data rich structural objects from first principles comprising at least consideration of load transfers between trusses.

[0023] The plugin module and the structural model thus provide the ability for both the CAD application and the structural model to communicate with each other without the need for third party file transfers and translators. It is this flexible collaborative and integrated relationship that enables the design intent in the architectural building model to be seamlessly integrated with the engineering model and vice versa.

[0024] In an embodiment, the structural module complies with the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) protocol.

[0025] In an embodiment, the method further comprises the software platform outputting the data rich structural objects to one or more production plant workflows for manufacturing the building trusses and frames.

[0026] In a preferred form, when an engineering model has been finalised and approved, the data rich structural objects are used to generate a hierarchical componentized CAD model that enables interface to, and management of production plant workflows and control of manufacturing equipment. All of this is enabled using the CAD) application (e.g. AutoCAD), which is another huge time and cost saving feature.

[0027] In an embodiment, the one or more production plant workflows comprise instructions to control manufacturing equipment (e.g. CNC equipment) to manufacture the building trusses and frames.

[0028] In the embodiment where changes to the updated building model generated within the GUI is received, the software platform outputs the further data rich structural objects generated by the structural module to the one or more production plant workflows for manufacturing the building trusses and frames.

[0029] In the embodiment where changes to the engineering model is made, the software platform outputs the changed data rich structural objects generated by the structural module to the one or more production plant workflows for manufacturing the building trusses and frames.

[0030] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided software for use with a computer comprising a processor and memory for storing the software, the software comprising a series of instructions executable by the processor to carry out the method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims. Another aspect comprises a computer readable media comprising the above software.

[0031] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for designing an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames, the system comprising: a computing device comprising a memory and a processor; the computing device configured to implement a computer-aided design (CAD) application and a software platform configured to implement a plugin module to the CAD application and a structural module, wherein the plugin module is configured to: receive a building model comprising at least building trusses and or frames generated within a GUI of the CAD application, the building trusses and or frames comprising CAD primitives; and convert the CAD primitives to structural objects; and the structural module is configured to: generate the engineering model from the structural objects, the engineering model comprising data rich structural objects that can be displayed by the GUI; and the CAD application is configured to: update the building model with the data rich structural objects of the engineering model; and render the data rich structural objects to display, within the GUI, an updated building model corresponding to the engineering model.Brief Description of Drawings

[0032] Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the embodiments are given by way of illustration only and the invention is not limited by this illustration. In the drawings:

[0033] Figure 1 is a flow chart of a method of designing an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 2 is a schematic of a system for designing an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 3 is a representation of a building model generated within a GUI of a CAD application;

[0036] Figure 4 is a representation of a wall of the building model of Figure 3;

[0037] Figure 5 is a representation of a building model with wall framing tools applied;

[0038] Figure 6 is a representation of a beam object in a building model;

[0039] Figure 7 is a representation of a building model with roof plane tools applied;

[0040] Figure 8 is a representation of a selected roof plane of Figure 7;

[0041] Figure 9is a representation of a building model with truss layout tools applied;

[0042] Figure 10 is a representation of a selected truss object of Figure 9;

[0043] Figure 11 is a representation of a building model with truss geometry tools applied;

[0044] Figure 12 is a representation of a building model with truss engineering tools applied; and

[0045] Figure 13 a further flow chart of a method of designing an engineering model showing the process flow through to manufacturing and analysis according to an embodiment of the present invention.Detailed Description

[0046] A summary of a computer-implemented method 10 of designing an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames is shown in Figure 1. The method comprises: receiving 12 a building model at a software platform, the building model comprising at least building trusses and or frames generated within a GUI of a computer- aided design (CAD) application, the building trusses and or frames comprising CAD primitives; the software platform implementing 14 a plugin module to the CAD application to convert the CAD primitives to structural objects; the software platform implementing 16 a structural module to generate the engineering model on the structural objects, the engineering model comprising data rich structural objects that can be displayed by the GUI; updating 18 the building model with the data rich structural objects of the engineering model; and rendering 20 the data rich structural objects to display, within the GUI, an updated building model corresponding to the engineering model.

[0047] It will be appreciated by those persons skilled in the art that further aspects of the method 10 will be apparent from the below description of a system 21 for designing an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames. Further, persons skilled in the art will also appreciate that at least part of the method 10 could be embodied in software (e.g., program code) that is implemented by the processor 24 configured to control a computing device 23 for designing the engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames.

[0048] The software could be supplied in a number of ways, for example of a tangible computer readable medium, such as a disc, or in the memory 22 of the computing device 23 shown in Figure 2. The software could also be supplied by any possible data transfer method, such as downloading.

[0049] The system 21 for designing an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames is shown in Figure 2. The system 21 comprises a computing device 23comprising a memory 22 and a processor 24. The computing device 23 is configured to implement a computer-aided design (CAD) application 26 and a software platform 23 that is configured to implement a plugin module 28 to the CAD application 26 and a structural module 30 to enable a user to design an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames within the CAD application 26 interface.

[0050] The CAD application 26 is typically a commercially available CAD application, such as AutoCAD, that can be used by a user to create and generate a 3-dimensional (3D) model of a building using a GUI 32, called the building model 34. The user of the system 21 can thus use the functionality of the CAD application 26, particularly the GUI 32, to create the building model 34 and ultimately design the engineering model 40 which comprises information, such as structural information, for manufacturing the building trusses and frames for a building.

[0051] The plugin module 28 to the CAD application 26 is configured to receive the building model 34 comprising at least building trusses and or frames generated and displayed within the GUI 32 of the CAD application 26. The building trusses and or frames comprise CAD primitives generated by the CAD application 26, and the plugin module 28 is configured to convert these CAD primitives to structural objects using an Application Programming Interface (API) 36. These CAD primitives comprise polylines, points and vectors representing the building trusses and frames. The plugin module 28 manages the data collaboration between CAD application 26 and the structural module 30 by converting these CAD primitives to structural objects. The structural objects comprise building truss and frame objects comprising timber geometries and supports.

[0052] The structural module 30 is configured to generate the engineering model 40 from the structural objects and the engineering model 40 comprises data rich structural objects that can be displayed by the GUI 32 of the CAD application 26. The structural module 30 also comprises a further API 38 to convert the engineering model 40 to the data rich structural objects.

[0053] The CAD application 26 is then further configured to update the building model 34 with these data rich structural objects of the engineering model 40 and render the data rich structural objects to display, within the GUI 32, an updated building model corresponding to the engineering model 40.

[0054] Figure 3 shows a 3D building model view of basic wall and beam objects drawn in the CAD application 26. The 3D model is part of a building model and layout that is created on the CAD application 26. For example, the CAD application 26 is AutoCAD, which can create true 3D object models representing various building elements such as walls, roof planes, floors, windows & doors, etc. These object models comprise various editable properties for each type of element, allowing users to interact directly with the elements under consideration, as shown in Figure 4. For example, a user may select a wall and some of the object properties are exposed for editing in Figure 4. These are typical interactions that a user of the CAD application 26 might make with a building model.

[0055] Figure 3 to 10 show some more of these typical interactions in the CAD application 26. Figure 9 shows a ribbon displayed within the CAD application 26 that allows users of the CAD application 26 to interface with the software platform 23 to design the engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames.

[0056] Figure 5 shows an example of a building model with wall framing tools applied and Figure 6 shows an example of a user selecting a beam object of the building model of Figure 5 with its editable properties exposed.

[0057] Figure 7 shows an example of a building model with roof plane tools applied and Figure 8 shows an example of a user selecting a roof plane object of the building model of Figure 7 with its editable properties exposed.

[0058] Figure 9 shows an example of a building model with truss layout tools applied and Figure 10 shows an example of a user selecting truss objects of the building model of Figure 9 with its editable properties exposed.

[0059] Figures 11 and 12 shows an example of a building model comprising roof trusses and wall frames, with structural model tools applied to generate an engineering model. In this example, the building model of Figure 9 is received by the software platform 23, which implements the plugin module 28 and the structural module 30 to generate the engineering model on the structural objects of the building model. As mentioned, the engineering model comprises data rich structural objects that are rendered and displayed by the GUI 32 of the CAD application 26. The updated building models are shown in Figure 11 and 12, with thesedata rich structural objects of the engineering model rendered and displayed so that the updated building models correspond to the engineering models.

[0060] Further, Figure 11 shows the updated building model corresponding to the engineering model with truss geometry tools applied. Figure 12 shows part of the updated building model with truss engineering tools applied, with highlighted objects, identified by arrows, indicating load transfer entities and wall / beam supports. Accordingly, commands are executed by the software platform 23, and its APIs 36 38, consuming all of the CAD object entity data, processing it, and returning the data enriched dataset to the CAD application 26, which then updates the object entities. These objects are then immediately updated in the 3D building model, which is rendered and displayed by the GUI 32 of the CAD application 26.

[0061] Figure 13 shows an example process 100 of the software platform 23 being used. In this example, it can be seen that the software platform 23 is operable with a CAD application 26 to design an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames within the CAD application interface 26. As mentioned, the software platform APIs 36 38 enable these functions to be implemented within the CAD application 26 as they allow for the direct communication between the CAD application 26 and the software platform 23 functionality in real time. As changes are made in the building model created in the CAD application 26, they will be reflected in the engineering model, and the same process occurs when changes in engineering model will be updated and rendered as an updated building model in the CAD application 26.

[0062] In the example of Figure 13, an initial building model is inputted 102 into the CAD application 26 and is received by the software platform 23. A roof model is then added 104 to the building model and is received by the software platform 23. An engineering model is then created 106, reviewed and finalised 108. At each of these stages, any changes made in the building model are reflected in the engineering model and vice versa. As mentioned in the background, existing products only allow a model to be imported and progress from one stage to another as each stage is typically a separate software piece which requires models to be exported and then imported to one another, which has many obvious drawbacks.

[0063] Further, in the example of Figure 13, after the engineering model is finalised 108, and a costing review may be performed, the engineering model is then transferred 110 toproduction so that the building trusses and frames can be manufactured. Further, postproduction business metrics can also be inputted 112 into the software platform 23.

[0064] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. It is to be understood that the invention comprises all such variations and modifications.

[0065] Where any or all of the terms "comprise", "comprises", "comprised" or "comprising" are used in this specification (comprising the claims) they are to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components, but not precluding the presence of one or more other features, integers, steps or components.

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A computer-implemented method of designing an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames, the method comprising: receiving a building model at a software platform, the building model comprising at least building trusses and or frames generated within a GUI of a computer-aided design (CAD) application, the building trusses and or frames comprising CAD primitives; the software platform implementing a plugin module to the CAD application to convert the CAD primitives to structural objects; the software platform implementing a structural module to generate the engineering model on the structural objects, the engineering model comprising data rich structural objects that can be displayed by the GUI; updating the building model with the data rich structural objects of the engineering model; and rendering the data rich structural objects to display, within the GUI, an updated building model corresponding to the engineering model.

2. A method of claim 1, further comprising the software platform receiving changes to the updated building model generated within the GUI, the structural module generating a further engineering model comprising further data rich structural objects, and rendering the further data rich structural objects to display, within the GUI, a further updated building model corresponding to the further engineering model.

3. A method of claim 1 or 2, further comprising the CAD application receiving changed data rich structural objects of the engineering model generated by the structural module, and rendering the changed data rich structural objects to display, within the GUI, a changed building model.

4. A method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plugin module comprises an Application Programming Interface (API) to convert the CAD primitives to the structural objects.

5. A method of claim 4, wherein the CAD primitives comprise polylines, points and vectors representing the building trusses and frames.

6. A method of claim 5, wherein the structural objects comprise building truss and frame objects comprising timber geometries and supports.

7. A method of claim 6, wherein the structural module comprises a further Application Programming Interface (API) to convert the engineering model to the data rich structural objects.

8. A method of claim 7, wherein the further API is configured to design and engineer the data rich structural objects from first principles comprising at least consideration of load transfers between trusses.

9. A method of claim any one of claim 1 to 8, wherein the building trusses comprise roof trusses and floor trusses, and the frames comprise wall frames.

10. A method of any one of claim 1 to 9, wherein the structural module complies with the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) protocol.

11. A method of any one of claim 1 to 10, further comprising the software platform outputting the data rich structural objects to one or more production plant workflows for manufacturing the building trusses and frames.

12. A method of any one of claim 11, wherein the one or more production plant workflows comprise instructions to control manufacturing equipment to manufacture the building trusses and frames.

13. A method of claim 11 or 12, when dependent on claim 2, further comprising the software platform outputting the further data rich structural objects to the one or more production plant workflows for manufacturing the building trusses and frames.

14. A method of claim 11 or 12, when dependent on claim 3, further comprising the software platform outputting the changed data rich structural objects to the one or more production plant workflows for manufacturing the building trusses and frames.

15. Software for use with a computer comprising a processor and memory for storing the software, the software comprising a series of instructions executable by the processor to carry out the method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

16. A system for designing an engineering model for manufacturing building trusses and frames, the system comprising: a computing device comprising a memory and a processor, the computing device configured to implement a computer-aided design (CAD) application and a software platform configured to implement a plugin module to the CAD application and a structural module, wherein the plugin module is configured to: receive a building model comprising at least building trusses and or frames generated within a GUI of the CAD application, the building trusses and or frames comprising CAD primitives; and convert the CAD primitives to structural objects; and the structural module is configured to: generate the engineering model from the structural objects, the engineering model comprising data rich structural objects that can be displayed by the GUI; and the CAD application is configured to: update the building model with the data rich structural objects of the engineering model; and render the data rich structural objects to display, within the GUI, an updated building model corresponding to the engineering model.

Images