Australia's Fastbrick Robotics announces it has completed the mechanical construction of its Hydrian X. Hydrian X is a masonry robot that can brick over 1,000 bricks per hour.
Fastbrick Robotics is a company based in Perth, a city in northern Australia. There is a severe shortage of masons in this region; the average age of masons in Perth is rapidly increasing as there is hardly any new influx into the market. Fastbrick Robotics aims to solve this shortage with the help of its masonry robot: the Hydrian X. This robot has been in development for 10 years and has cost millions of dollars.
Special kind of bricks
The Hydrian X consists of a truck that can be driven to a construction site by road. The masonry robot can brick 1,000 bricks per hour, with the bricks being automatically supplied with mortar and placed on the wall. The bricks used by the robot can be hooked together, requiring mortar to be applied only at the bottom and top. These bricks are about 12 times larger than regular bricks and are part of the Fastbrick Wall System. According to Fastbrick Robotics, the larger size of the bricks increase the thermal efficiency of the house and create a stronger structure.
Because the robotic arm is 30 metres long, the robot can place bricks at any location on the walls to be built on most projects without having to move the truck to do so. Fastbrick Robotics claims that the Hydrian X can brick an entire house in just two days. To prevent the robot's accuracy from being affected by factors such as wind and vibration, it uses Dynamic Stabilisation Technology (DST), a stabilisation technology developed in-house by Fastbrick.
The masonry robot can completely autonomously brick walls based on a 3D design created in SOLIDWORKS. Using The Architectural Designer (TAD) add-on for SOLIDWORKS, the robot is programmed based on this design, after which it can brick the desired walls without further human input.
Investment from Caterpillar
US-based Caterpillar invested $2 million in the company in 2017 to support the development of the masonry robot. In the Memorandum of Understanding the parties signed for this purpose, Caterpillar stipulated an option to put another $8 million into the Australian company at a later stage. Together with Caterpillar, Fastbrick Robotics is working to commercialise its technology, including looking at the possibility of marketing additional services around the masonry robot. When the Hydrian X will be launched is not known.
Fastbrick Robotics previously conducted a pilot project with Hydrian X in Perth, where a residential house was built using the Hydrian X in collaboration with the company Archistruct Builders & Designers. The animation below demonstrates the operation with the Hydrian X.
Planning
So now Fastbrick Robotics announces it has finally completed the mechanical construction of the Hydrian X. By the third quarter of 2018, the company aims to have completed a test with DST to demonstrate the applicability of this stabilisation technology in the Hydrian X and other products. The Fastbrick Wall System should also be completed in the third quarter. A new pilot project is planned for the fourth quarter, involving the construction of a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: Fastbrick Robotics (pictured)
Source: Caterpillar
