Mass Customization Through Digital Fabrication

Together with HKS, Zahner created a parametric design-to-fabrication workflow that streamlined production activities from the design model to the fabrication machine. On SoFi Stadium the promise of mass customization (part variation without additional cost) was realized through novel software automation and atypical project delivery methods.

A key to the production process was the transfer of design intent from the architect to Zahner. Instead of creating individual panel drawings (labor intensive to make and review), the architect provided ‘encoded’ text files with design intent for each unique panel. Zahner developed an automation script that automatically read each text file, nested each panel, and applied part specific fabrication parameters.

By virtue of this analysis, we were able to generate machine instructions directly from the design model, removing laborious tasks that traditionally add cost but not value. Ultimately this streamlined, collaborative process led to a drastic cut in the programming time for each panel from an unacceptable 15 min to an impressive 7 seconds per panel, managing the volume of unique panels efficiently and affordably.