Automated Boarding Layout and Waste Optimization for Exterior Walls Using Simulated Annealing Algorithm

The design of the layout for boarding sheathing walls has recently gained increasing attention from both engineers and construction workers. Traditional manual methods of layout design for sheathing walls are generally based on workers using rule of thumb techniques, leading to a significant amount of material waste. This paper provides a computerized technique based on building information models to automate the layout planning process. Firstly, the 2D layout drawings are extracted from 3D building models, which includes the steel studs, the openings and the dividing line of different side views. Then, an improved Bottom-Left-Fill (BLF) algorithm combined with Simulated Annealing (SA) is developed to solve the two-dimensional cutting stock problem (2DCSP). The proposed algorithm extends the application of 2DCSP from rectangular items to orthogonal polygon items. To implement this solution for optimizing sheathing board placement and waste reduction, the prototype software is developed based on AutoCAD and its Application Programming Interface. The proposed system is tested in two cases of different cutting patterns, and the results show that the proposed system can efficiently reduce material waste and minimize the time required for layout design.