Computational · 2024 · 11 — 5 min read
Panel Type Reduction: How One Algorithm Saved 40% on Fabrication Cost
A single panel-grouping algorithm collapsed hundreds of "unique" panels into a handful of types — and took the fabrication bill down with them.
On a freeform facade, almost every panel is technically unique. Technically. The differences between many of them are smaller than the fabrication tolerance — which means treating them as distinct is paying for precision no one can measure.
Unique is expensive
Every unique panel type is a unique cutting file, a unique mould or jig, a unique line on the schedule, and a unique opportunity for error on site. Reduce the number of types and you reduce all four at once.
Grouping by tolerance
The algorithm is simple in principle: cluster panels whose dimensions fall within a chosen tolerance band, then represent each cluster with a single fabricable type. The art is in choosing the band — tight enough that the surface still reads as intended, loose enough that the savings are real. On one project, that single move cut unique types by roughly 40%, and the fabrication cost followed.