CAD/CAM for the prefabrication of brickwork

Abstract Applying automated methods to the building of brickwork houses means savings in both time and cost. In principle, two different methods compete with each other: “Robots on site” and “factory prefabrication of wall elements”. However, prefabrication has already proved its advantages with a number of different manufacturers, where robots on site have not yet succeeded beyond the prototype stage. This article describes a new flexible computer program, for the planning and manufacturing of wall elements, incorporating CAD interface possibilities. The program developed is a completely object orientated Microsoft Windows application which adopts a modular concept, thereby allowing adaptation or inclusion of the modules to other applications. The existence of such a program is regarded as a very important requirement for masonry automation.