The Problem Was Worth Solving
The Problem Was Worth Solving
Natural logs make beautiful buildings precisely because they are not identical. Every tree brings its own diameter, taper, sweep and surface geometry to the structure.
That is also what makes natural-log construction difficult.
One solution is to machine away much of that variation and turn the timber into standardized profiles. Another is to keep the natural shape and fit every log individually by hand.
We wanted another answer: keep the natural timber and change the manufacturing process.
Measure What Is Actually There
Once you decide to keep the natural shape of the tree, you have to deal with the geometry that actually exists.
That became the foundation of our approach.
Instead of assuming that a log is straight, cylindrical or identical to the one beside it, we measure the individual log and work from its actual shape.
The challenge is not making the log straight. The challenge is knowing exactly what shape it has.
Then Build the Tools We Need
Then Build the Tools We Need
Once the timber can be measured, its geometry can be represented digitally. Once it exists digitally, we can calculate how logs intersect, where material has to be removed and what each connection should look like.
AbbyCam© grew around that problem. Industrial robots became a practical way of turning those calculations back into physical timber.
The scanner, software and robots are not the idea. They are the tools required to make the idea practical.
Technology Does Not Replace Timber Knowledge
Knowing where to cut a log is not the same as understanding wood.
Species, moisture, grain, knots, taper, handling and the behaviour of large timber still matter. So do building design, connection design and the practical realities of assembling a structure.
Computers are very good at geometry. Robots are very good at following calculated paths. Neither one makes experience with timber irrelevant.
We use each where it is useful.
The Building Is the Point
The Building Is the Point
It is easy to become fascinated by scanners, software and robots. We certainly do.
But none of them is what the customer is buying.
When the building is standing, the scanner is gone. The software is gone. The robots are gone.
What remains is a building made from large, individually shaped natural logs.
That was the reason for developing the technology in the first place.
See how we build