Data-Driven Reuse of Waste Wood

This paper presents an industrial research collaboration, addressing how discarded lumber from a cutting process can be used in construction. The process cuts lumber is into sizes, based on digital visual information, and high-quality elements are used in products for the furniture or window industry. Such a process results in otherwise discarded off-cut lumber in either a good or bad qualities. The process is driven by data, which if leveraged through our proposed design method, could distribute good/bad material where needed in wooden beams for construction. The design system creates a data stream, intended to inform a machine that cuts finger joints and glues small lumber pieces into continuous linear members. As a result, the research describes the current facilities of the industry partner while detailing how the method could be implemented within their facilities. Furthermore, the method is evaluated through a series of digital design proposals, where the ease of implementation, visual correlation to the intended design and material performance are evaluation criterias.