Fabricator API

Problem

Design teams need fabrication constraints earlier in the modeling cycle to avoid late-stage rework, value engineering, or downstream constructability surprises.

Approach

We embedded constraint “bumpers” inside Grasshopper. Rules and geometric relationships encode production constraints so designers get immediate feedback while they explore forms.

Capabilities

• Surface analysis and curvature checks.
• Panelization guidance with outlier detection.
• Sheet sizing, nesting, and takeoff outputs.
• Panel span and performance sanity checks.

What shipped

A reusable tool library with a plugin distribution approach that allowed teams to install, update, and standardize constraint checks across projects.

Where this transfers

The specific rules here are facade panelization, but the move is general: put production constraints inside the tool where the geometry is created, so a violation shows up while the form is still cheap to change instead of at the shop. That is the same shift-left idea behind design-for-manufacturing checks in aerospace structures and in sheet-metal and CNC work. Wherever a design environment and a manufacturing process are separated by a handoff, constraint feedback at design time is what keeps late rework and value engineering from becoming the default.

Collaboration

Built in collaboration with a top-tier architecture firm.

Notes on rights/credits

No client imagery or proprietary details are shown.