Case Study
Log home manufacturer Tene partners with Timehouse for efficiency-boosting customisations to BIM software package ArchiFrame+ArchiLogs
- ArchiLogs customisation
- Automating element production
- CNC export
- C++ programming language
- C programming language
- Lua script
Tene and Timehouse teamed up to customise ArchiFrame and ArchiLogs to ensure that the timber BIM software package worked with Tene’s processes and saved them time on the production line.
Customer & collaboration
Tene has been manufacturing timber products for over 25 years, specialising in catalogue timber structures and custom-designed timber houses. An Estonian timber manufacturer with 90+ staff, Tene uses both ArchiFrame and ArchiLogs for its element production (Archicad add-ons marketed by ArchiFrame and Nordic BIM Group Finland respectively).
Tene needed Archicad-based software customisations to harmonise design and drafting with production processes.
How was Timehouse selected as a partner?
Petteri Heiskari, ArchiFrame CEO, introduced Tene to Timehouse when the need for customising ArchiLogs arose.
Challenge
Tene relies on very detailed and unique 3D designs modelled in Archicad and ArchiFrame that are then converted to log data using ArchiLogs.
When Kaarel Raudkivi joined Tene, he immediately saw an opportunity to streamline the way Tene used ArchiLogs and upgraded their operations to a newer version of Archicad.
Five key customisation projects were mapped out as part of an ongoing collaboration between Timehouse and Tene to align ArchiLogs with Tene practices. Improving the ArchiFrame and ArchiLogs user experience to make it Tene-specific would help speed up Tene’s work.
Labelling, wall IDs, and documentation all needed to be synchronised with Tene processes: getting these built into the software would save Tene ‘s time.
Solution
Firstly, Tene needed its house element lists to be reflected in ArchiLogs.
“We calculated that if we could customise ArchiLogs to automatically include our house element lists, the customisation project would soon pay for itself. And now that the tweaks have been made, we can easily cross-reference code output for the cut saw with PDFs of designs, so tweaks and corrections are easy! No more manual counting and mathematical errors.”
Another improvement was made to labelling.
“We needed accurate labelling so that machines could correctly print stickers onto elements as they came out. Before, the labelling details had to be added via the txt file as a separate line – and this needed to be done for every element group. For an average house, this was 20-30 lines of details to keep track of, and on larger projects, the labelling got very complicated. Timehouse was invaluable in helping us fix this problem, and now correctly numbered and labelled walls save us time at the factory and simplify assembly client-side.”
Software upgrades keep the business more robust and improve Tene’s operational efficiency: “for us, these two years have been about aligning with modern building and BIM practices, automating processes, and giving our customers more flexibility”.
Co-creating with Timehouse has been a big part of the project. Kaarel’s own background in computer science allows him to easily see the possibilities of software customisation.
“All the help we have received from Petteri from ArchiFrame, and now Kristian and Samuel from Timehouse, has always worked really well. We are 100% sure that we will be getting a working product if we ask for a customisation.
One of the benefits of working with Timehouse is that it’s relatively risk-free as Timehouse also has access to the program and is already familiar with it. With that expertise in mind, the customisation is fairly priced.
And with Timehouse’s programming you get a guarantee: it’s not just work from some random programming company. We know we will always get our emails answered and we get a service that takes responsibility for all parts of the project.
Another benefit is the closeness of the Timehouse developers to the actual program, that relationship I think is very important”.
From the Timehouse end, Kristian praises Kaarel’s and Tene’s “high-quality specifications” which lead to detailed technical to-do lists. Clear documentation and communication make it easier for developer interventions to be successful. A BIM partnership with a bright future!
In a nutshell
- C++ programming language
- C programming language
- Lua script
Customising ArchiLogs to include custom element types and labels
Automating element production
CNC export (Hundegger, Auertech)
