The engineering team at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) designs innovative solutions to build better homes. It knew that adopting manufacturing approaches could bolster quality home building, by using technology and automated assembly methods. These methods follow a standardised pattern, resulting in interchangeable components or a 'kit of parts'. This maintains quality while allowing for bespoke outcomes.

Ceiling/floor cassettes are large sub-assembly components that form both the ceiling and the floor between levels in a building. They are used in nearly all new industrial buildings but could bring benefits to residential and office buildings. Once installed these loadbearing cassettes currently require other elements to be fitted, such as noise insulation and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) assemblies. As these require different skills to the structural assembly, delays can be caused by problems with scheduling or skills shortages, while safety can be compromised by overlapping work zones. As a manual task it is hard to control the consistency of fitting these essential systems, affecting the quality of the building for end-users. Access to MEP systems for maintenance can also be limited by traditional tiled suspended ceilings, which can also be time-consuming to install.

Offsite prefabricating of ceiling/floor cassettes, including MEP assemblies, can be automated resulting in greater consistency and quality. It also reduces installation time on site, improving cost, safety and scheduling. The innovative manufacturing approaches used in the Conceptual Ceiling Cassette, if deployed at scale, can also reduce material usage and carbon emissions.
Taking this modular ceiling/floor solution into residential spaces or offices will also make them easier to repair and maintain, either by replacing the module as a whole or through improved access to MEP, thanks to an easy-to-roll-back textile sheet replacing traditional ceiling tiles as the covering for these systems.

The Government's Construction Sector Deal laid down the vision for the industry to adopt platform design and manufacturing processes and improve productivity and efficiencies; while the Platform Programme has seen the Construction Innovation Hub work with forty pioneering construction organisations to create a standardised approach to product platform design. The engineering team at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) wanted to demonstrate the possibilities of this approach using innovative manufacturing technology. Ceiling cassettes presented the MTC team with the opportunity to rethink mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering (MEP) while showcasing the variation that can be achieved with product platform design.

The Manufacturing Technology Centre team started working on how they could use robotic gantries, manipulators mounted onto overhead systems that allow movement across a horizontal plane, to help build repeatable, flexible ceiling cassettes for homes and offices. As the cost of robotics can be prohibitive for SMEs, the engineering team tested the principles of this approach using other automation processes.

The need to invest more time and money in innovative design and manufacturing processes has previously prevented the adoption of this approach by the construction industry at scale. Demonstrating what is possible is important to help drive the adoption of the Platform Programme's standardised approach to product platform design, in order to realise the Construction Sector Deal's vision of greater productivity and efficiencies.

The Conceptual Ceiling Cassette was designed so that few fasteners were needed for assembly, reducing part count and encouraging simplicity. This design was digitally tested using automation simulation. This means the robots can be quickly prepared while avoiding collisions. It also allows new mechanical, electrical and plumbing configurations to be tested before manufacturing begins, enabling greater customisation and variation.
The ventilation ducting is assembled onto the cassette as it lays on a Prodtex platform with the ceiling facing upwards. The straight ducting components are manufactured from sheet metal into a c-shape profile using a roll forming machine that can produce over 800 metres per hour. Corner ducting pieces are simply assembled from two sheet metal pieces fabricated together. The parts are transported from a fixture to a static adhesive dispenser using a suction-cup end effector. Once the adhesive has been applied and the ducting has been assembled on the cassette it is sealed using a liquid silicone gasket. In an industrial process, a magazine system could be used to present the parts to the robot in a more efficient way. A preassembled plumbing unit made from extruded aluminium pipework can be transferred straight to the cassette by a finger gripper end effector. Quick-attach location clips, easily fixed to the cassette with adhesive, are used to secure the plumbing. The clips allow the plumbing to be serviced or replaced if needed. To power lighting a conductive copper tape system is used, running along the length of the cassette. A velcro strip running between the tape is used to secure the lights, allowing flexible configurations and reducing set up time on site. A roll of textile sheet is used to cover the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems once the cassette is installed in a building. This decorative ceiling fabric can be transported to the cassette as a roll by a robot end effector and is spread between sheet metal tensioners that require no fasteners for assembly or installation. This fire-resistant and anti-bacterial textile is breathable to facilitate ventilation and defuses light similar to a lampshade.
The whole cassette including the MEP systems and textile roll can be transported to site as one module.

Industry partners donated components and helped suggest approaches. Compressed air pipework systems company Teseo and automated production equipment specialist Prodtex provided advice and materials.

• Prodtex
• Teseo

As part of the Construction Innovation Hub, the Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MTC) is supporting the adoption of a platform approach by the construction industry. It is funded through the Transforming Construction Challenge fund.

Offsite prefabricating of ceiling/floor cassettes, including MEP assemblies, can be automated resulting in greater consistency and quality. It also reduces installation time on site, improving cost, safety and scheduling. The innovative manufacturing approaches used in the Conceptual Ceiling Cassette, if deployed at scale, can also reduce material usage, reducing carbon emissions.
Taking this modular ceiling/floor solution into residential spaces or offices will also make them easier to repair and maintain, either by replacing the module as a whole or through improved access to MEP, thanks to an easy-to-roll-back textile sheet replacing traditional ceiling tiles as the covering for these systems.

As installing mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) assemblies requires different skills to structural assembly, delays can be caused by problems with scheduling or skills shortages, while safety can be compromised by overlapping work zones. As a manual task it is hard to control the consistency of fitting these essential systems, affecting the quality of the building for end-users. Offsite prefabricating of ceiling/floor cassettes, including MEP assemblies, can be automated resulting in greater consistency and quality. It also reduces installation time on site, improving cost, safety and scheduling.

The Manufacturing Technology Centre team worked using robotic gantries, manipulators mounted onto overhead systems that allow movement across a horizontal plane, to help build repeatable, flexible ceiling cassettes for homes and offices. The cassette design was digitally tested using automation simulation. This means the robots can be quickly prepared while avoiding collisions. It also allows new mechanical, electrical and plumbing configurations to be tested before manufacturing begins, enabling greater customisation and variation.

The Conceptual Ceiling Cassette was designed so that few fasteners were needed for assembly, reducing part count and encouraging simplicity. The straight ventilation ducting components are manufactured from sheet metal into a c-shape profile using a roll forming machine that can produce over 800 metres per hour. Liquid gasket is then applied on the lip of the folded ventilation ducting, allowing for both adhesion to the base of the cassette as well as reducing the need for additional brackets. 

Emissions
Offsite fabrication of platform components, especially large volume items such as roof or ceiling cassettes, can generate fewer carbon emissions due to economies of scale, greater efficiency and less waste being generated. For example, in the conceptual ceiling setup, the sealant dispenser offers reliable times of under 40 seconds to deploy liquid gasket onto the shorter section of ventilation ducting, compared to an average of 120 seconds in manual fabrication. Beads of sealant achieved through an automated process are consistent, minimising mistakes and waste, in turn greatly reducing the overall carbon impact of the process.

Health
According to the HSE report for 2021, 54% of all work-related ill-health conditions in the construction industry are caused by muscle-skeletal disorders. Through the use of robotics in the assembly of the MEP components of the conceptual ceiling cassette, approximately 32 manual lifting and handling operations were removed from the process, some involving heavy and cumbersome products such as ducting and pipework. The raised platform bed and fixture, designed for automated assembly, also provide more ergonomic and easier to load components, reducing the instances of workers needing to kneel to fabricate and work on the product.

Trade Gap
The conceptual ceiling cassette is a good example of a highly engineered construction good. According to a report commissioned by the House of Commons in 2017, 80% of all construction products made in the UK are also used within this country, bringing £19.7 billion pounds to the UK's GDP. However, Britain runs a three-fold trade deficit in engineered materials, electrical goods and plant room equipment. Advanced sub-assemblies, prefabricated ceiling and roof cassettes, modern insulated walls, low-carbon materials and other highly engineered construction goods could bridge the trade gap in the construction sector.