BUILDINGS BUILT -- WHILE YOU WAIT BY ROBOTS
The arrival of robots and automation on the factory floor 20 years
ago signalled the decline of union power. Then computers marched
into the office and increased the productivity of remaining office
workers. Now coming is the most dramatically efficient change yet -office buildings, apartments and hotels built by a non-stop robot
building machine.
Ohbayashi Corporation, a leading Japanese leading construction
company, introduced early in 1990 the world's first virtually
unmanned automatic construction machine.
Robots have been used in the Japanese construction industry for
some time but only in the single job/single robot concept.
Ohbayashi's revolutionary concept involves robotization of the entire
construction system. Known as the Fully Automatic Building
Construction System (FABCS) it is protected under six patents.
All components are factory-produced to precise specifications:
pillars, beams, external wall panels, internal partitions, ceilings,
floor slabs and other units. Components are stored in a warehouse
near the assembly site or underneath the robot machine. Inside the
warehouse, self-propelled stacker cranes convey components horizontally or verticially to position. As assembly progresses, preprogrammed cranes retrieve the right parts at the right time and
stack them on conveyor cars.
The heart of the system is the Super Construction Floor (SCF), an
automated factory with walls and a roof. Identical numbers of pillars
are located at the exact spot and angle as called for in the building
design. Each pillar contains a hydraulic cylinder, which supports
the SCF and lifts it up to the next level when one floor has been
completed.
Inside the SCF, overhead cranes cover the entire floor. Each crane
has its own complement of robots: assembly robots, welding robots,
inspection robots, exterior panel installation robots, interior
component placement robots, etc. Both robots and cranes are computercontrolled from the control room on top of the SCF, which assures
precision and accuracy in placement and assembly. Self-propelled
conveyor cars and elevators carry components and materials automatically to the assembly site.
When the SCF starts first floor assembly, hydraulic cylinders on
its pillars are extended so the SCF stands one story off the ground.
When pillars transported by crane to the assembly point arrive all
the original pillars retract individually into the SCF, making room
for the new pillar. The pillar is then welded to the base by the
welding robot.
When all pillars are in place and attached, beams, floor slabs,
wall panels, interior material, etc. are automatically added by the
overhead cranes and their associated robots. Once the floor is
complete the hydraulic cylinders are extended, raising the SCF up one
more floor. The process is repeated until the building is completed.
The advantages of this system? Completely unmanned, the FABCS is
not subject to labor shortages or disruptions. Dangerous work is
done by the robots, so on-site safety is enhanced with no workmen's
compensation premiums or claims necessary. Limited temporary
structures and scaffolding are required. Site noise pollution is
minimal. Operations are not affected by adverse weather conditions.
Seven day 24-hour, nonstop operations result in rapid completion and
lower financing costs. With prefabricated components and materials,
increased precision and quality is possible. Design, estimates and
execution are done through the same CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design
and Computer Aided Manufacturing) system. It is expected that the
fabrication of all such components will create many, new small
industries.
Ohbayashi points out that each building must be designed with
automatic building in mind. Each floor must be the same size, but
varying interiors are possible. Most economical are high-rise
buildings that require repeated executions of the same procedures.
Thus, high-rise residential buildings, office buildings and hotels
are the most appropriate uses at this time.
Ohbayashi considers the FABCS just the beginning. Continuing
research and development of automated systems are essential to the
medium and long-term future of the construction industry. Long-range
plans include super-high-rise buildings and eventually construction
of a lunar city. This company is thinking ahead.
More information:
Hiroshi Teraoku,
General Manager,
Space Project Office,
Ohbayashi Corporation,
3,2-chome, Kanda Tsukasa-cho,
Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo, Japan.
Phone: (03) 292-1111.
Telex: (222) 4091.
WHERE THE ROBOTS ARE
1981 1985 1988
JAPAN 21,000 93,000 176,000
US 6,000 20,000 32,600
W.GERMANY 2,300 8,800 17,700
ITALY 450 4,000 8,300
FRANCE 790 4,150 8,300
BRITAIN 713 3,208 5,034
SWEDEN 1,125 2,046 3,042
SOURCE: INTL FEDERATION OF ROBOTICS
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