Sunday, March 02, 2008

Conestoga Laminated Log Homes - "Green" and High-tech log homes

Saw a very interesting factory tour for Conestoga log homes http://www.conestogaloghome.com/) on PCN (Pennsylvania Cable Network - a state government channel on our local cable system). Conestoga manufactures a laminated "Log" out of dimensional lumber using scrap wood, fingerjoints and etc. (you know the drill) -- what caught my eye was their use of hsbCAD, (http://www.hsbcad.de/) a very advanced German CNC machining package that sits on top of Autodesk Architectural Desktop.

With this software they can actually simulate how the milling machinery will process each
piece. It's years ahead of what we think of as residential "CAD" - because it's designed to power the factory floor, not just design the building like a SoftPlan or Chief Architect (or CADsoft). The software also creates labels for every "log" in the package which are placed prior to shipment. Even electrical boxes are pre-routed into the logs (although these are done off-line... not part of the CAD-CNC process). The company built some very interesting machinery for these processes.

The laminated log approach also allows for a split design that can be insulated with rigid foam. The finished product looks more like "log cabin siding" than real logs, but it's a much greener choice if you're looking for the "log look".