Manufacturing | Suspended Ceilings - Automating Manufacturing-ready Panel Drawings
We engineered a sophisticated document generation engine that combines algorithmic 2D bin-packing with persistent entity tracking. This solution automates the layout management, dimensioning, and annotation of an unlimited number of panel detail drawings - instantly producing fabrication-ready documentation that stays synchronized with the design model.
- Client
- Private Client
- Timeline
- 2024
- Service
- Production Automation→
The Engineering Challenge
The Ceiling Design Automation tool allowed the Client - a global leader in suspended ceilings - to configure complex, bespoke ceilings with thousands of unique panels. However, manufacturing these panels required individual fabrication drawings for every unique type - each needing specific plan views, side elevations, edge codes, and dimensions.
Manually drafting and laying out these drawings could take days or weeks to complete at scale. Furthermore, managing updates created a logistical bottleneck: if a ceiling design changed, locating and updating the corresponding panel drawings on the layouts was a manual, error-prone process. The Client required a system that could not only generate the drawings but intelligently manage the sheets they lived on, ensuring synchronization between the 3D model and the various panel types.
The Solution Architecture
We engineered the Panel Drawings Tool, an intelligent automation engine that serves as the final link in the production chain. By consuming the Panel Inventory Service from the design solver, the tool could access all panel variants, ensuring 100% fidelity between the 3D model and the factory output.
Intelligent Layout Management (Bin-Packing)
Unlike standard tools that place one drawing per sheet, this solution implements a First-Fit Decreasing 2D Bin-Packing Algorithm.
- Space Optimization: The algorithm scans the available model space and intelligently packs drawings into the tightest possible configuration, maximizing sheet usage and minimizing paper waste.
- Auto-Expansion: When a layout is full, the system automatically instantiates new layouts, managing the overflow seamlessly without user intervention.
Stateful Regeneration (The "Smart" Update)
The critical innovation is the tool's ability to "remember" what it drew. We implemented an object-id tagging system that injects a persistent ID into every CAD entity (lines, text, blocks) it creates.
- In-Place Updates: When a user regenerates a panel, the system uses these tags to delete only the old entities associated with that specific panel, releasing the grid space.
- Space Reuse: The packing algorithm then detects the freed space in the layout and attempts to repack the new drawing into the whitespace. This allows for iterative design changes without creating "orphaned" or duplicate drawings.
The Projection Pipeline
The tool transforms 3D panel data into 2D manufacturing views through a sophisticated multi-stage pipeline.
- Smart Projection: It generates a plan view and side elevations automatically. For complex geometry, it employs back-face culling (via vector cross-products) to ensure only visible edges are drawn, keeping drawings clean.
- Dynamic Annotation: Dimensioning is fully automated using a hierarchy of solvers (FullLength, Perforation, Spring) that apply client-specific CAD standards based on the panel's geometry type (Standard, Triangular, or Made-to-Order).
UX Integration
Unlike standard AutoCAD scripts that rely on command-line inputs or legacy WinForms, we developed a fully modern WPF application embedded directly within the CAD environment.
- Material Design System: The UI utilizes a standardized design language to provide a clean, intuitive experience that feels like a standalone product rather than a plugin.
- Seamless Hosting: We implemented custom window interop to ensure the WPF controls render correctly over the AutoCAD viewport, handling focus switching and window parenting natively.
The Result
The tool reduced a weeks-long documentation phase into a background task.
- Zero Redundancy: By integrating with the Inventory Service, it has access the panel types automatically, ensuring only unique configurations are drawn.
- Reactive Pipeline: A four-layer cache system means changes in the design model propagate instantly to the sheet layout.
- Manufacturing Ready: Every output includes the precise TS Codes, Perforation specs, and Material data required for immediate fabrication.
- 37,500+
- Source Lines of Code (Shared Suite)
- 100%
- Fidelity with Design Model
- O(1)
- Lookup for Regen Operations
- 4-Layer
- Reactive Cache Pipeline