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Bricklayers Think They’re Safe from Robots

nytimes.com

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Re: Bricklayers Think They’re Safe from Robots

#31

Post by seanmcdirmid »

NullPrefix wrote: post #24
Spooky23 wrote: post #7

Bricklayers are already a dying breed... workers compensation makes it way too difficult to build many structures out of brick. Most "brick" or "stone" you see in new construction is some prefab panel glued to something. IMO you'd employ more bricklayers doing trim work and operating the robot than you do now. And we should move away from shitty manufactured wood, glue and toxic treatments.

>Most "brick" or "stone" you see in new construction is some prefab panel glued to something Prefix that with "In the States".

What countries is brick still popular for primary construction? Japan is wood, China and much of Asia is majorly concrete. Europe?

Re: Bricklayers Think They’re Safe from Robots

#32

Post by bluthru »

tintor wrote: post #27
bluthru wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's probably anticipating corners and arches, but for the majority of bricks this seems quite inefficient. Bricks could be rolling off a conveyor belt in to place.

Conveyor belt doesn't help, as you would still need an arm to take bricks from the pallet and place them on conveyor.

True. You could also have an unskilled laborer grab two bricks at once and place it on the machine at a rate of 1 brick every 2 seconds or so.

Re: Bricklayers Think They’re Safe from Robots

#33

Post by thriftwy »

When you see at brick buildings built 100 years ago, it's works of art. It's apparent that amount of attention to detail is just not within range of most brick layers today. Especially when you consider price point.

I'm talking stuff like this: http://www.etovidel.net/appended_files/big/4ea52a818bc08.jpg

BUT, robots can change all that. You can render a wall on PC, with all mosaics and tiles and all kind of super precise stuff, it will produce a complete program for a brick-laying robot, which will then be executed up to a millimetre. And it will also account for ventilation shafts, drainage, internal structures within the wall to decrease weight, increase toughness, heat- and soundproof.

Re: Bricklayers Think They’re Safe from Robots

#34

Post by peterwwillis »

michaelt wrote: post #28
peterwwillis wrote: post #23

Why aren't they using shims and jigs? If you want to line it up right, make sure you have the right amount of mortar in the right place, etc, put a jig around it with some shims. It's the easiest way to build anything precisely that has to be done over and over again.

If you have the wrong amount, consistency or distribution of mortar, the jig won't fix it. If you have the right amount, consistency and distribution of mortar, the jig won't do anything :)

So you build a jig to apply mortar. You scoop in an excess of mortar, pack it, press it, and what's left is just the right amount. Apply it into the space you want to lay the brick. Remove jig, maybe using a trowel to help if the mortar sticks a bit. Another jig holds the brick and fits it into place at the right position and placement with the right pressure.

Re: Bricklayers Think They’re Safe from Robots

#35

Post by Bartweiss »

ohf wrote: post #12

Clearly, SAM is a shitty robot. It looks as if it were designed by someone who had no intention of using it to lay bricks.

They're already in field use, and are apparently fine at it. They just do big, straight wall stretches for things like hospitals. The "would lose to master masons who have to put up corners in a speed contest" metric is a bit silly - on non-corner work they're operating 3x as fast as the masons they're alongside. No real risk they're replacing humans, but they do work.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/540916/robots-lay-three-t...

Re: Bricklayers Think They’re Safe from Robots

#36

Post by grandinj »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #31
NullPrefix wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Most "brick" or "stone" you see in new construction is some prefab panel glued to something Prefix that with "In the States".

What countries is brick still popular for primary construction? Japan is wood, China and much of Asia is majorly concrete. Europe?

Africa

Re: Bricklayers Think They’re Safe from Robots

#37

Post by grawprog »

I've built brick walls, i've laid brick tiles. There's a lot of work that goes into it both before you actually start laying bricks and during. I also run machines that work with stone. Machines and robots fuck up. You can't fully automate these things. There needs to be some kind of human intervention because when machines fuck up...they fuck up hard.

Re: Bricklayers Think They’re Safe from Robots

#38

Post by pbhjpbhj »

fastball wrote: post #5
Y_Y wrote: post #2

Just makes me think there's a market for a better brickie robot. The one they show is lethargic and built like a train. Even two robotic arms, working like a human does would be tons more efficient. (I'd also like to complain about the stupid title, but it's what NYT picked)

Why emulate a human at all? I think that's the main issue. There has to be a better way to lay brick once you get robots involved.

How about baking a ceramic wall (brick or similar) as a whole, perhaps layered like ply? Or at least much larger bricks? Seems bricks and brieze blocks are sized to be carried/laid by hand?

Re: Bricklayers Think They’re Safe from Robots

#39

Post by robotrout »

ballenf wrote: post #18
bkmrkr wrote: post #10

The replacement will not be laying bricks but new technologies. Computers didn't replace human "calculators" by using abacus.

3D "printing" walls and entire buildings onsite from epoxy, resins or other raw materials seems the most plausible.

I'm not an environmentalist, but even I would prefer we don't graduate to epoxy or resin for home construction. These things are all petroleum based and I have to imagine they outgas for a long period of time after construction. If they do burn, they will also doubtless emit lots of toxic gasses.

I would prefer 3d printing type automation, but applied to compacted dirt or clay. I love adobe and wish it was more popular. Big thick walls that keep out the heat and the cold seem like a no-brainer, if you can reinforce them to not crush you during earthquakes.

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