The recently formed Timber Building Technology Research Group
at UBC’s Centre for Advanced Wood Processing, Canada’s national
centre of excellence for the wood products industry, will
unveil its new Hundegger K2 Timber Processing Centre, a state-of-the-art
fully automated joinery machine able to produce components
for timber frame buildings without measurement, layout, or
set-up time.
This is the first machine of its kind to be installed in
a university setting anywhere in the world. The $450,000 machine
is on loan to UBC from the manufacturer, Hans Hundegger Maschinenbau
GmbH in Hawangen, Germany, for three years. It will be used
for teaching and research projects, as well as for workshops
and courses for architects, engineers, and timber framing
industry workers.
The computerized machine cuts the building time of a timber
frame house from one month to less than six hours, lowering
building costs substantially.
"The Hundegger technology puts high-end timber framing
constructions within reach of more people," says Dr.
Philip Evans, the director of the Centre for Advanced Wood
Processing.
The Hundegger K2 system demonstration is part of a full day
of presentations and demonstrations focusing on market opportunities
and new technologies in the field of wood building marking
the launch of the new UBC Timber Building Technology Research
Group.
The unit, which has been several years in the making, involves
the departments of Architecture, Civil and Mechanical Engineering,
and Wood Science, as well as the Centre for Advanced Wood
Processing, and will address issues related to the design,
performance and building of timber construction.
"The new research unit will take an integrated approach
to wood building," explains Dr. David Barrett, the coordinator
of the new Timber Building Technology Research Group. "Our
aim is to expand the use of wood in construction by taking
advantage of advanced technologies."
The Hundegger system will be an integral part of the group’s
efforts.
"This type of technology could greatly help the coastal
lumber industry," adds Barrett. "In British Columbia,
we have high-value wood, high-quality timber in large cross-sections,
and there is great interest in high-value products."
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