13 Nov 2019

[Guest Blog] How Assembly Information Modeling (AIM) can accelerate your assembly planning and execution

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This is a guest blog submitted by Ayoub Lharchi, a registered Architect and Computational Designer as well as Ph.D. candidate and research associate at the Centre for Information Technology and Architecture in Copenhagen. Ayoub will be at Forge DevCon this year - come find him in the Education Zone in the Village. Forge DevCon will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Monday, November 18. Get tickets here!

 

Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry is moving toward digitization and automation. Many aspects of the profession are radically changing with the rapid adoption of computational design and simulation tools. This research focuses mainly on assembly in architecture and investigates how can digital tools assist the users to solve complex assembly problems.

The main challenges we identified are as follows:

  • How to enrich building models with detailed assembly information?

  • How to generate Assembly Digital Models from existing CAD models?

  • How can algorithms be used to detect problems within the assembly sequences?

  • How cloud-based tools (e.g., Autodesk Forge) can be used for further processing and finally sharing Assembly model over the web?

  • And finally, how can we integrate all of this within the well-established workflows?

Inspired by Design For Assembly (DFA) principles and Building Information Modeling (BIM) concepts, we developed a general design framework – Assembly Information Modeling (AIM) that enables the different stakeholders to plan, sequence, optimize and communicate complex assembly strategies.

AIM implementation is divided into several parts: A core module managing the geometry and meta-data, and several function modules covering a large panel of applications such as cloud-based collaboration, 4D simulations, robotic fabrication, Augmented Reality (AR) assisted assembly and many others.

At Forge DevCon 2019, we will be demonstrating the core functionalities of AIM and two of the application modules:

  • Cloud-based collaboration: Powered by Autodesk Forge, the web app provides a multi-user interface running on a wide range of devices to interact and manage Assembly Digital Models (ADM). Different intervention levels are possible

  • Augmented Assembly: Using an Augmented Reality device (Microsoft HoloLens), AIM Core, and Autodesk Forge, the users are empowered with augmented data to perform complex assemblies without prior training

We are excited to showcase our exhibit at Forge DevCon. You will see Assembly Information Modeling in action and have a unique experience with augmented assembly and our physical demonstration model. By the way, did we tell you that AIM is free and open-source? Do not hesitate to come and see us to discuss how can you implement within your own workflow or software solution!

We can't wait to meet you in Las Vegas at Forge DevCon!

If you don't have your Forge DevCon pass yet, there's still time to register! Get your pass here.

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