Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) of Digital Fabrication (Dfab) and Additive Manufacturing (AM) in Construction: A Review

Abstract

A Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) in architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry is attracting the attention of designers, practitioners, and construction project stakeholders. Digital fabrication (Dfab) and design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) practices are found apparent needs for development. The DfMA's conceptual function is to maximize the process efficiency of Dfab and AM building projects. This work reviewed 153 relevant research articles over the past few decades. The concept of DfMA and the fundamentals of DfMA in building and construction were explored. In addition, DfMA procedures associated with Dfab and DfAM, as well as its AM assembly process, were discussed. Lastly, the current machine learning research on DfMA in construction were also highlighted. Large research gaps in the DfMA for Dfab and DfAM can be filled to significantly increase operational efficiency and sustainable practices.