Kerf Guided Glulam: A novel way of creating curved glulam beams

This paper proposes a novel way of producing curved glulam timber elements where the formwork is integrated into a glulam beam. The method proposed accomplishes this by placing kerf cuts on a timber profile that gets bent and then encased in a wood laminate, forming the glulam beam. The kerf placement allows the beam to be asymmetrically curved. The optimal placement for the kerf cuts is found by feeding an initial goal curve to a form-finding definition that subdivides it and places markers where cuts need to be made while manipulating the beam geometry, ensuring that it matches the initial input curve. The benefit of this method is that it is not reliant on large-scale glulam setups but can be fabricated with basic wood workshop tools in conjunction with a 5-axis CNC mill. The simplified production process enables smaller manufacturers and designers to produce dynamic wooden structures while saving on materials and labour that would have gone into producing formwork that eventually gets discarded.