Automating Structural Insulated Panel design using AI based optimisation

Ultrapanel, a subsidiary of Ultraframe, specialises in offsite manufactured building systems for new build housing. Their Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) enable housing to be delivered faster and better than current methods of construction. The business has a 5yr growth plan to manufacture 3,500 houses per annum. The challenge is that the current manual design process would require 50+ design engineers to support the anticipated 600 – 700 house type designs (due to End, Mid Terrace, Detached configurations, size, positioning of windows and doors, Ancillaries such as Bay Windows, Roof configuration and pitches and Storey heights) along with associated manufacturing and logistics. Not only would this be unfeasible from an overhead perspective, but the management upstream and downstream of this would be significant to ensure manual errors didn’t creep in.

The aim of this project is to scope a full KTP project, aiming to automate Structural Insulated Panel design using AI based optimisation algorithms. The AI powered design engine needs to take into account design requirements (such as customer design and specification, costings), as well as various embedded information (e.g. manufacturing design parameters, Material Live costs, manufacturing and assembly labour costs) to produce customer design drawings, transport and logistics data, assembly data, material data, etc. The successful implementation of such an AI-powered software system would automate design for manufacturing and assembly process, enabling the business to handle the volume and variety of house types demanded by housebuilders.