One of the main strengths of solid wood construction are the short installation times on the construction site. To also fully exploit this advantage over other construction systems, comprehensive and reliable planning is necessary already before the executing companies actually start working on the project. In the cross-laminated timber sector, many manufacturers, planning offices and timber construction companies rely on the 3D CAD/CAM solution from hsbcad – a software solution that is steadily developed further in line with developments of the CLT industry and continuously brings new products to the market.
This steady progress now also caused an internal reorganization of the company. From now on, the company divides its products into three different categories: "design", "make" and "share". An indispensable step caused by the ever-growing product range, as hsbcad managing director Gottfried Jäger explains. Next to the conventional CAD/CAM add-on for AutoCAD Architecture and Autodesk Revit which now falls into the category of "design", the software enterprise also offers solutions for digital production control (make) as well as a cloud-based application for sharing project information (share).
Continuous development
For the Ydalir skole project in Norway, Woodplan used hsbcad to create the 3D model and the installation planning of the different construction stages. The timber construction company carrying out the project was Woodcon © Woodplan
Based on the 2020 version of AutoCAD, hsbcad released version 22 of its program this year. Another top priority in hsbcad's further development is the quality of machine data in the formats BVX and BTL, Jäger informs. This is mandatory to make production as smooth as possible.
Furthermore, flexibility as well as consistency of hsbdesign are in the central focus of further development. The latter concerns the option to further edit intelligent 3D models of buildings from AutoCAD Architecture and Autodesk Revit with as little loss as possible which, according to Jäger, is a key prerequisite for realizing the ideas of BIM. In this context, the managing director also mentions the intense further development of IFC data exchange – with the objective to transfer and import as much information as possible.
Another key area is the programming of new and dynamic tools. These parametric and flexibly adaptable processing options considerably facilitate retroactive changes such as replacing a dovetail joint with a mortise and tenon joint.
Sought-after solution implemented
With version 22, hsbcad now also officially offers a CLT add-on for Revit. "In version 1, essential basic functions are provided. We recognized the globally growing demand for a Revit-based wood construction solution a long time ago already and will in the future reproduce our entire setting also in this area," Jäger elaborates.
This, however, does not mean at all that AutoCAD will be disregarded as a platform in the future; rather, there will be parallel further development.
Nesting for professionals
Another feature in the hsbdesign package is the basic module for nesting. The default functional scope allows for rectangular nesting that considers the circumscribing rectangle of a single panel. For all producers that want to work with this function in more detail, hsbcad developed "hsbNesting Pro". Apart from panel type, surface quality and grain direction, the pro version also processes the exact contour of every single panel. Furthermore, openings are also factored in.
Optimization is based on pre-defined storage sizes or variable raw panel sizes that are calculated by means of nesting. The nesting result can be edited graphically; in other words, it is possible to use AutoCAD basic commands to slide or rotate elements. Furthermore, the individual panels can easily be moved in different raw panels.
Global operations
hsbcad's customer base comprises both domestic top players such as Hasslacher Norica Timber, KLH, Mayr-Melnhof and Stora Enso and international model companies such as XLam Australia, Katerra or, as of late, also the Pfeifer group and Södra Wood. The latter launched its first pilot plant only a few months ago in Sweden (see article on pages 56-68). The decision to work with hsbcad was not a difficult one for head of technology Daniel Anderson: "hsbcad is by far the most widely used and developed program – they know exactly what sector newcomers need. hsbcad employee Keith Cotter was of great help to us from the very beginning." Currently, the Swedes are getting to know the ins and outs of the program, for now focusing on nesting of raw panels.
The right topics
hsbcad now also officially offers its customers a CLT add-on for Revit. In the first version, essential basic functions are provided. © hsbcad
Apart from industrial customers, also planning offices work with hsbcad. One of them is Woodplan, a company from Graz. Since 2015, Alan Hofmann and his team have primarily been planning large-scale CLT projects together with project partner Woodcon in Norway. As an example, the managing director talks about the company's participation in the planning of the world's highest high-rise building in Brumunddal. The decision to work with hsbcad was of a pragmatic nature: "All manufacturers are working with this software. It only made sense to do the same." By working with the same software, data exchange never poses a problem, and moreover, production specifics of individual manufacturers can already be taken into consideration during planning. Hofmann sees a big task for upcoming years in the systematic further development towards BIM: "Data are available already. Now, it is important to connect them and use them optimally. Sooner or later, also the conventional plan will disappear from construction sites." Furthermore, Hofmann sees a clear trend towards Autodesk Revit – two areas that hsbcad is already focusing on.
