One of the most important changes facing AEC professionals is the widescale introduction of robots. Industry insiders know the potential is there — and all the more, that there are potential challenges to its smooth adoption. Site printing is one of the easiest ways to introduce robotics into your company's workflow due to their small learning curve and lightweight, mobile technology that replaces large amounts of manual labor best left to more accurate equipment.
We'll explore how layout robots can dramatically boost productivity and on-site print accuracy, all while improving project safety and reducing costly delays. Then, we'll pinpoint the most likely obstacles to layout robot and site printing, including tips for overcoming them. By working with your trusted technology vendor, you can immediately start extracting the highest value from automated site printing solutions.
Overview of layout robots
Layout robots are portable, autonomous devices for printing construction site layouts with precision, accuracy, and speed. Hewlett Packard's team of robotics engineers and printing specialists designed our new SitePrint layout robot with extremely reliable collision avoidance systems and other features that ensure proper functioning in various real-world conditions. The layout robots work in conjunction with a robotic total station, which maintains wireless connectivity while sending and receiving coordinates.
Together, the SitePrint equipment achieves pinpoint accuracy while eliminating human error at the most crucial stage between design and construction. The equipment translates CAD files directly to site printing instructions. The layout robot dutifully carries out these instructions, even as it navigates obstacles in a lateral and vertical space (e.g., small holes or loose surfaces). It reduces the steps between the design stage and site printing construction site markings directly. As a result, the hands-on construction crews can begin work in days, not weeks.
The benefits of layout robots in the construction industry
Layout robots will likely be one of the most significant new construction technologies of its time. It streamlines construction processes to achieve numerous game-changing benefits:
Extremely accurate and reliable site prints
Cloud-based network controls
Faster conveyance of CAD designs into usable, physically printed sites
Less reliance on manual labor and resource-intensive blueprints, which can be reserved for more specialized work
Easy replicability of the same design features
Portability, due to the incredibly small and robust amount of equipment
HP SitePrint recently earned the Innovative Product Awards' 2023 Expert's Choice award for disruptive innovations. Already, layout robots are shaping up to be one of the most promising robots in construction industry technology.
Almost any company currently relying on large-format printers can get started with layout robots. But it won't be without its initial hurdles. With the following in mind, your company can likely quickly overcome adoption obstacles and become a true pioneer in your industry.
Challenges in adopting layout robots
Uncertainty
One of the most foreseeable initial challenges is a basic familiarity with the technology and AEC robotics in general. Layout robots function away from heavy and potentially dangerous work. So it's easier to convince key stakeholders to give this new technology the green light free of concerns. Compared to robots made for moving heavy equipment and materials, it's obvious layout robots have an extremely low physical risk associated with them, as they are extremely robust and unobtrusive. Initial hesitancy should be based less on fear of site safety. In fact, the fear is actually letting manual inaccuracies continue needlessly. Layout robots, however, can eliminate these issues overnight.
Adoption of new skills
In place of manual errors comes the need to protect from incorrect use of the equipment. Fortunately, the elimination of manual tasks means empty hands. This may introduce resistance from labor. But they'll be needed for upskilling into critical roles for overseeing and verifying the integrity of new automated site printing procedures. Using the layout robots correctly will be critical, and their incredibly intuitive, user-friendly interface will facilitate smooth onboarding. It should be stressed that, with increased efficiency, company owners can deploy larger and more capable mobile teams to prep construction sites with greater efficiency and accuracy. Build crews can themselves begin faster and with total confidence.
Cost-effectiveness
This leaves cost and hesitancy over the ROI. Understandably, key decision-makers will want assurance that their new investment is a wise decision. A simple breakdown of the time saved with layout robots in construction industry applications should be highly compelling when you compare the amount of time taken for site printing robots vs. standard, manual practices. Further, a massive reduction in print errors will maximize labor hours. It will also prevent costly construction errors from taking place based on incorrect site prints. It's important to stress the simultaneous improvements in speed and accuracy.
Integrating with existing procedures
Because enterprise construction companies already have existing processes in place, project managers, engineers, and company owners must be sure site printing robots in the construction industry will support related processes. Inefficiencies between the design and construction teams have long cost AEC firms valuable time and resources. Any changes to the CAD design are transmitted straight to the site printing robot. Then it directly revises the corresponding on-premises markings. The process is almost immediate. It requires practically no physical effort while ensuring high-fidelity blueprints are reserved for the most crucial tasks.
Future outlook and recommendations
Site printing robots for layouts in the construction industry will prove to be one of the most significant enhancements in early-stage construction processes. Like any new technology, it may be met with hesitancy or even resistance. However, with the above in mind, current processes will inevitably either give way to more accurate and efficient autonomous processes or adapt to existing procedures for the ultimate good of the project and the safety of the team.
Through investments in training and support, technical research, and ongoing collaboration, site printing robots will enhance the construction industry, not stifle it. HP is leading the print robotics industry by taking a stake in how leaders in the AEC industry adopt these new technologies.
Laying new ground with autonomous site printing
As construction companies face labor shortages, they must adopt the most reliable methods whenever possible. Now, laying out can become fully automated. Construction managers are looking deeply at the possibilities of site printing robots in construction industry applications while weighing the costs and benefits these technologies might hold in their particular field.
If you have any questions about layout robots in the construction industry or would like to learn more, click the "stay informed" or "contact us" buttons located in the upper-right corner of the screen. HP's dedicated SitePrint specialists are eager to work with you and ensure the smoothest, most economical integration of layout robots in your industry.
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