GB2399132A - Method and apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated building elements - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus comprises a sub-component forming station (200, 250) a frame forming station (300), a panel wall forming station and a breather membrane station (500) and preferably further includes a squaring station (350), a floor joist manufacturing station (100) and a floor panel forming station (600). A method comprises the steps of forming floor joists from lengths of timber, fixing panels to the joists, forming a wall panel frame, fixing sub-components to the frame, fixing wall panels to the frame and fixing a breather membrane to the completed wall.

Description

À À À c À P8830.GB À a À _.

2399 1 32

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING PRE-FABRICATED

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing a pre-fabricated building construction kit of building construction elements.

The present invention provides apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction elements comprising; a sub-component forming station; a frame forming station; a panel wall forming station; and a breather membrane attachment station.

Advantageously, the sub-component forming station comprises a subcomponent machining station and a sub-component assembly station.

Conveniently, a squaring station is provided between the frame forming station and the panel wall forming station.

Preferably, the apparatus includes a floor joist manufacturing station which comprises a plurality of infeed and outfeed rollers for transporting lengths of timber and the completed joist through the station; apparatus for joining lengths of timber and apparatus for cutting the joist to the required length.

Conveniently, the floor joist manufacturing station comprises apparatus for forming an orifice through the joist generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the floor joist. À À e e

À À Advantageously, the floor joist manufacturing station comprises a scribing apparatus for marking the location of additional elements used to manufacture a floor assembly.

Preferably, the frame forming station comprises infeed rollers for manufacturing rail elements of the frame, sawing apparatus for cutting the rails to the required length; nailing apparatus for nailing studs to rails; clamping means for clamping the frame and frame elements and means for advancing the frame to the desired distance for the subsequent stud or other elements to be nailed in position.

Advantageously, the panel wall forming station comprises: a clamping means for clamping a completed frame to the apparatus; a bridge movable relative the apparatus; and a plurality of nailing apparatus mounted on the bridge for nailing sheets of plywood to the frame to form a panel.

Conveniently, the breather membrane attachment station comprises: a clamping means for clamping a completed panel to the apparatus: a bridge moveable relative to the apparatus; a means for dispensing a sheet of breather membrane over the panel; and a plurality of stapling apparatus for stapling the breather membrane to the panel to secure the breather membrane to the panel.

Preferably, the breather membrane attachment station includes means for marking the outer surface of the membrane to indicate the correct location for brick ties relative to the location of studs in the panel. 1 À

À À . . À . À . À c À À e À À À À Advantageously, the manufacturing apparatus includes apparatus for forming floor panels units, the apparatus comprising: a clamping means for clamping floor joists to the apparatus; a bridge movable relative to the apparatus; a multi-tool forming device mounted on the bridge, the multi-tool forming device having a plurality of forming heads such as nailing apparatus for nailing sheets of plywood to the joists to form a floor panel; a saw for cutting unrequited portions of plywood and a router for forming holes and crevices in the completed floor panel.

The present invention also provides a method of manufacturing prefabricated building construction elements comprising: forming floor joists from lengths of timber; forming floor elements and fixing to the joists to form floor panel units; forming sub-components of a wall panel; forming a frame for a wall panel; installing and fixing the sub- components to the frame; forming and fixing wall panels to the frame; and fixing breather membrane to the completed wall panel.

eee À e À e t' e e e e À e. À e e e e À À e e * e e e À e The invention will hereinafter be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings which, show by way of example only, an embodiment of apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction elements according to the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of the floor layout showing various stations associated with the method and apparatus of the invention; Figure 1 a is a more detailed plan view of two stations shown in Figure 1, namely a sub-component machining station and a sub-component assembly station; Figure 2 is a plan view of a floor joist manufacturing station; Figure 3 is a more detailed plan view of two further stations shown in Figure 1, namely a frame forming station and a squaring station with typical formed panels being shown in parallel view to the respective manufacturing station; Figure 4 is a more detailed plan view of two further stations shown in Figure 1, namely an automatic plying station where plywood sheeting is attached to the frames and the breather membrane station where a sheet of breather membrane is attached to the completed wall panel, with typical formed panels being shown in parallel views to the respective manufacturing station; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a typical wall panel frame showing the various components; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a completed wall panel; Figure 7 is a perspective view of a corner detail and Figure 7a is a perspective view of a vent detail; Figure 8 is a front view of the floor joist manufacturing station; À À . À À c À l. À À À . À À À À . À Figures 9 and 10 are perspective views from above of a router unit and a scribing unit respectively forming part of the joist manufacturing station; Figure 11 is a perspective view of the sub-component machining station; Figures 12 and 13 are two cross-sectional views on the central portion of the machining station illustrating the operation of the station; Figure 14 is a perspective view of the frame forming station; Figures 15 to 18 are a series of side views of the clamping means of the frame forming section station illustrating the operation of the frame forming station; Figure 19 is a perspective view of a portion of one side of the station showing the principal elements of the framing apparatus; Figure 20 is a further perspective view of the principal elements; Figure 21 is an enlarged view of the control monitor of the framing station; Figure 22 is a perspective view from one end of the automatic plying station, showing a bridge and a plurality of nailing apparatus for securing the plywood sheets to the frames; and Figure 23 is perspective view on a larger scale of one of the nailing apparatus shown in Figure 22.

Figure 24 is perspective view of one of the stapling apparatus provided in the automatic breather membrane station; À À À . . À # . . . ::: À e: :: .: Figure 25 is a perspective view of a further stapling apparatus provided in the automatic breather membrane station; Figure 26 is a perspective view of a floor panel forming station which includes a multi-tool forming head; and Figure 27 is a perspective view of a forming tool retaining station.

Referring to the drawings, the plant 10 for manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction elements comprises a floor joist manufacturing station 100, a sub-component machining station 200, a sub-component assembly station 250, a frame forming station 300, a squaring station 350, an automatic plying station 400 and an automatic breather membrane station 500 and a floor panel forming station 600.

The floor joist manufacturing station 100 is shown in Figure 2 and in greater detail in Figure 8. The main items produced in station 100 are elongated floor joists which are subsequently used to manufacture preassembled timber floors in the floor panel forming station 600. Lengths of timber to be used to manufacture joists are placed on table 105 which includes a number of indeed rollers 106, an infeed drive roller 107 an outfeed drive roller 108 and a number of out feed rollers 109 for transporting the floor joist through the station. In order to provide a joist of the required length, it may be necessary to join two lengths of wood together with clamping press unit 120 which includes two clamps 122 to hold the lengths secure while nail plate press 124 is activated to join the juxtaposed ends of the two lengths of timber with bridging plates (not shown) nailed to the ends of timber.

The length of the floor joist is controlled by a monitoring device (not shown) linked back to control unit 130 having a visual display unit 132 and control buttons 134. When the control unit 130 determines the required length of floor joist has been achieved, a saw 136 is activated to cut the timber to the required length and cover 140 drops into position during the cutting operation. Router unit 150 which includes a router 152 (see Figure 9) is activated by the control unit 130 to provide a hole or slot in the required location which is used in the completed floor when installed in a house to carry services such as pipework, electrical cables etc. Also provided in the station 100 is a scribing unit 160 which includes ., , , 4 À À À , À # À À À À two pens 162 which mark the floor joists at predetermined locations to indicate where bridging cross-members are to be located when constructing the floor in the floor panel forming station 600.

The manufacture of wall panels will now be described. A wall panel 20 generally consists of a frame 30, a wall of plywood 40 and a layer of breather membrane 50. Typical wall panels 20 are shown in greater detail in Figures 5 and 6. Wall panel designs vary from house to house but they generally have a number of common elements.

Referring to Figure 5, the frame 30, which although manufactured in a horizontal orientation, is installed in a building in a vertical orientation, comprises a plurality of studs 31, cripple studs 32 and jack studs 33 all of which are vertically orientated in the installed product. The horizontal members comprise a double head plate 34, lintel 35, widow base plate 36 and Gill plate 37. A door opening 38, a window opening 39 and a vent opening 41 are provided in the frame as and if required by the specification for each wall panel. The frame 20 when completed is covered with sheets of plywood 40, which are secured to the studs 31, 32 and 33 and head plates and base plates 34 and 36 by nails. Secured to the plywood sheets 40 by staples is a layer of breather membrane 50. The location of the vertical studs is indicated by lines 42 which can be formed by the tape or ink along the membrane 50. The lines 42 indicate the location of the studs to which wall ties are secured during construction of a house. Corner supports 45 (as shown in Figure 7) are provided at each internal corner of door opening 38 or window opening 39 prior to the application of the breather membrane 50.

The manufacture of the sub-components and sub-component assemblies such as cripple studs 32, window base plates 36 with jack studs 33, vents 41, lintels 35, double head plates 34, etc are all manufactured at the sub-component machining station 200 and sub- component assembly station 250. The sub-component machining station 200 is shown in greater detail in Figure 11 and comprises infeed rollers 202, clamping and nailing apparatus 205 and outfeed rollers for the delivery of the completed sub-components made from lengths of elongate timbers 206 nailed together. As shown in Figures 12 and 13, the apparatus 205 comprises four nailing guns 210. Prior to the guns 210 being activated a À . , À r a. À À À À À À À a a À À À À a À a À À horizontal clamps 215 and vertical clamps 216 are operated by pneumatic cylinders 220 to clamp the timbers 206 together. The stud being made with the elongated timbers 206 is a rectangular shape. However, the components made can be of an irregular shape such as U shaped or L shaped (not shown). Complementary shaped clamps are then used in place of clamps 215, 216 which are readily removable. A movable stop plate 222 is provided adjacent the clamps 215, 216 so as to provide a square edge to the timbers 206.

Depending on the requirements for the finished product, the nail guns 210 can be switched on or off or can fire alternately.

Some of the sub-components made at the sub-component machining station 200 can be transferred directly to the frame forming station 300. Others requiring further work are transferred to the sub-component assembly station 250, where any horizontal components such as window base plate 36 are nailed to vertical members such as jack studs 33 by an operation using a hand held pneumatic gun. Frames for vent openings 41 are also manufactured at the sub-component assembly station 250. The subcomponents manufactured at the station 250 are then transferred to the frame forming station 300.

As shown in Figure 14, the station 300 comprises infeed rollers 301 for supporting the rails 34, 36 of the frame 30. A sawing apparatus 302 is provided at each side of the station 300 to cut the rails 34, 36 to the required length. Two nail guns 310 each with extended magazines 312 for nails are provided at each side of the station 300. Two clamps and stud locators 342 are also provided at each side of the station 300. A control monitor 345 for use by the operator is mounted on a moving gantry 347.

The clamping, gripping and slide mechanism and its operation is detailed in Figures 15 and 18. The main components are gripper slides 340, clamps 342 and stud locators 343 operable by a pneumatic cylinder 344 and position stop 341.

The control monitor 345 of the frame forming station 300 is shown in greater detail in Figure 21. The monitor 345 has a touch sensitive screen 346, which includes three machine control switches 347 for use by the operator. The current panel 348 being manufactured is shown in the centre of the screen. A series of small screens 349 are l À À # . À . À located at the bottom of the screen 345 give details and dimensions of each frame to be manufactured on the station 300 together with the sizes and lengths of timber to be used for each frame. Touching any one of the screens 349 enlarges the image of that frame to that shown in the centre of the screen.

The perspective views shown in Figures 19 and 20 show the main operating components of the frame forming station 300, namely nail gun 310, nail magazines 312, guide rail 313 for timber Gill plate 36 which is mounted on the machine bed, gripper slide 340, clamp 342 and stud locator 343 which is shown in a retracted position in Figure 19. A multi-function control switch unit 311 can be used to operate or release the elements as desired by the operation.

The frame forming station 300 is PLC controlled and CAD-CAM guided. The framing station 300 includes a total of four horizontal nail guns 310 for nailing the studs. The nail guns 310 are manually adjustable for studs of different sizes. Rail edge nails are positioned 20mm in from each rail edge and any remaining nails are equally pitched between these rail edge nails.

The set-up of the nail guns 310 and gripper slides 320 for different wall heights is manually adjustable by means of a pneumatic cylinder. The wall panel frame 30 is fed out from the framing station 300 on a motor driven chain conveyer 320. The gripper slides 340 are integrated, electrically operated, gripper slides for moving and for the exact positioning of the frame 30 during framing production. The gripper slide 340 moves the frame to the next nailing position, based on CAD information. The gripper slide 340 has a stroke of 3000 mm and when the panel is longer the gripper goes back and takes a new grip on the panel, a vertical-clamping device 342 holds the panel in the correct position during reverse movement of the gripper. In the framing station there is also a drilling device for drilling holes for the lift slings in the top rail 34.

The CAD/CAM file feeds the computer with data about nailing positions and center distance. (The operator can also input and store own data). The operator chooses which panel to manufacture from a list, or the panels are manufactured according to the À 1 À ::: À: :: À CAD/CAM file. The operator manually places the top and bottom rails into position and clamps them pneumatically by pushing a button. The operator then manually puts the stud against the stud stops and starts the next step by pushing the button again and the automatic nailing cycle starts. The gripper slide 340 moves the frame 20 into the next nailing position.

On the screen 345, the operator can see what type of component needs to be fed into the nailing position. Additional studs are manually handled and the sub-components are also manually handled and located in the current position for nailing.

The buffer or squaring station 350 and plying station 400 include two driven tabletop chains, one for the in-feed of the panel and one other for the out-feed of the panel. The station also includes rollers for transport of the building construction elements horizontally into the nailing station. The squaring station 350 is movable lm in rails on the floor, with help of cylinders for better working space between the stations. Plywood sheeting 40 is placed manually and manually fixed to the frame at the edges. This station is also connected to the PLC because the PLC must know where each element is placed in the line.

The plying station 400 is equipped with rollers for the transport of the construction element from the squaring station 350. The plying station 400 is constructed with two driven tabletop chains for the in- and out feed of the panel. The plying station 400 includes a fixed side with a stop bar, a movable side which is motor driven for straightening the construction element and a pneumatic stop for the bottom plate. The movable side is motor driven to adjust for different wall heights. There is a pneumatically controlled end stop with pneumatic forwarding of the panel against the stops.

Further details of the automatic plying station 400 are shown in Figures 22 and 23. A wall panel 30 is laid onto the station 400 and is clamped into position. End sensor 402 is used to determine the location of the end of panel 30 and is used to control the clamping control and determine any width adjustment required for each particular job. A movable bridge 410 has four nailing apparatus 420 at one side of the bridge 410 and four nailing apparatus at the other side of the bridge 410. Each nailing apparatus 420, 430 comprises a nail gun d À I # r À a À À d e À c À À a À 441, a coil nail holder 442, a pneumatic cylinder 443 for raising and lowering the apparatus 420 or 430 and three positioning wheels 445. Electronic control unit 450 at the top of the bridge 410 controls the movement of the bridge and the operation of the nailing apparatus 410, 430. Conveyor transport chain 460 is used to convey or transfer the panel 30 when constructed. The nails used to secure the plywood sheets 40 to the frame 20 are loaded into magazine 442 on a strip 446 which advances through the nail gun 441 as each nail is fixed into the plywood The frame 20 is brought towards the stops and is moved by pneumatic cylinders (not shown), towards fixed stops. The frame 20 is straightened before locking. The station is prepared for the next stage which is the operation of the nailing bridge The in- and out-feed of the panel 20 is effected by pressing a pushbutton. The nailing bridge 450 is PLC controlled and CAD-CAM guided. The in and out-feed of the wall panel 20 is effected by driven chain conveyor for the in and out- feed of the panel. A motor driven movable side bar provides the adjustment in panel width and clamps the panel square. The nailing bridge includes pneumatically folded end stoppers.

One side of the nailing bridge 410 includes the four nailing apparatus 420 that nail the OSB board to the studs. The four nailing apparatus move two and two on each wagon along the stud axis and the horizontal studs. Each tool works in a separate area according to the distance between the tools, a nailing signal is given from the PLC to each nailing gun and the distance between the nails is automatically adjusted by information from the computer. The other side of the nailing bridge 410 is also equipped with the four nailing apparatus 430 for nailing the OSB board to the top and bottom rails of the frame. These apparatus are operated whilst the bridge is moving. The nailing bridge station is CAD/CAM guided. The wall panel is fed against the end stoppers, is straightened and fixed with a movable side bar. The nailing bridge 410 starts automatically and fastens the OSB board according to data received from CAD through the guiding computer. If some of the nail guns 441 run out of nails, the operator is informed by a visual alarm. The station should then cease operation.

1 À , 1 1 À À 1 À À À À À À . À Following the completion of the nailing operation on the plying station 400, the panel 20 is transferred to the automatic breather station 500 which also is PLC controlled and CAD connected. The station 500 includes a breather membrane roll 520. The in feed and out feed of the wall panel 20 is carried out by tabletop chains.

The stapling guns 510 used in the membrane breather station are shown in Figures 24 and and comprise a staple cartridge 520, a firing head 522 supported by a gun firing bracket 524 and three positioning wheels 525. Operation of the firing head 522 is controlled by electronic pulse control 526. Stapling tool 531 in addition to having a staple firing mechanism has a brick tie marker applicator 538.

One side of stapling bridge 530 has one stapling tool 531 for stapling the brick tie marker and the breather membrane to the studs. The stapling tool moves by servomotor along the stud. The plastic tape feeds automatically.

The other side of the bridge 530 is equipped with four stapling tools 532 which staple the breather membrane to the top rail and the bottom rail and for fixing the membrane to naggings above and below windows. The positions of these four stapling tools are determined by the servomotor for the stud tool by information from the computer. The breather membrane roll is located at the end of the station 500 and the breather membrane is placed out manually and is cut to the required in the length manually. The home position of the stapling bridge 530 is close to the nailing bridge 450. The wall panels 20 are moved in under the bridge 530. After the breather membrane has been located in position, the stapling of the membrane to the top and bottom rails of the wall panel, commences. After the bridge 530 has carried out stapling the membrane, the bridge 530 goes to the first stud position and the single tool 531 starts the fixing of the tie brick marker and the membrane to the stud. Just before the tool 531 is in home position the plastic tape will be cut automatically. An alarm is given for empty tools, plastic tape magazine and the membrane. When there are studs above and below windows opening, the tie brick marker is fixed over the openings and needs to be trimmed manually. When the bridge comes to a window or door opening, two tools start the fixing of the membrane to the naggings.

r '.''' l.

À À r À À À r À À À À À À . À À The completed panels are then transferred from the manufacturing station onto a storage area for transport.

Referring to Figures 25 and 26, the floor panel forming apparatus 600 comprises a clamping table 610, a bridge 620 movable on tracks 630 parallel to the table 610. A multi tool forming device 640 is movably mounted on the bridge 620. The tools not being used by the multi-tool forming device 640 are housed in a forming tool retaining station 650 (shown in Figure 26).

Floor joists manufactured on the floor joist manufacturing station 100 are placed on the clamping table 610, with cross bridging members (not shown) being installed in the desired locations between the joists. Plywood sheets 660 are placed over the joists and nailed into position by a nailing gun (not shown) on the multi-tool forming device 640. Any openings required on the floor are cut out using saw 642 when engaged on the multi-tool device 640. Any holes and crevices required in the floor are formed by router 644 when engaged in the multi-tool forming device. An ink jet marker marks the location of the joists on the upper surface of the panels 660.

The details of the computer control clamping mechanism, the indexing mechanism and the details of the handling of the floor panels will not be discussed in detail but are similar to corresponding features in the other stations discussed above.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details described above which are given by way of example only and that various modifications and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (15)

ce '' r re À C a, r r À À À . CLAIMS

1. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction elements comprising; a sub-component forming station; a frame forming station; a panel wall forming station; and a breather membrane attachment station.

2. Apparatus for manufacturing pre fabricated building construction elements as claimed in Claim 1, in which the sub-component forming station comprises a sub-component machining station and a sub-component assembly station.

3. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction elements as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which a squaring station is provided between the frame forming station and the panel wall forming station.

4. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction elements as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, including a floor joist manufacturing station which comprises a plurality of infeed and outfeed rollers for transporting lengths of timber and the completed joist through the station; apparatus for joining lengths of timber and apparatus for cutting the joist to the required length.

5. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction elements as claimed in Claim 4, in which the floor joist manufacturing station comprises apparatus for forming an orifice through the joist generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the floor joist. 4.

te. 4: e: a À

6. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction element as claimed in Claim 4 of Claim 5, in which the floor joist manufacturing station comprises a scribing apparatus for marking the location of additional elements used to manufacture a floor assembly.

7. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction elements as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the frame forming station comprises infeed rollers for manufacturing rail elements of the frame, sawing apparatus for cutting the rails to the required length; nailing apparatus for nailing studs to rails; clamping means for clamping the frame and frame elements and means for advancing the frame to the desired distance for the subsequent stud or other elements to be nailed In position.

8. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction elements as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the panel wall forming station comprises: a clamping means for clamping a completed frame to the apparatus; a bridge movable relative the apparatus; and a plurality of nailing apparatus mounted on the bridge for nailing sheets of plywood to the frame to form a panel.

9. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction elements as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the breather membrane attachment station comprises: a clamping means for clamping a completed panel to the apparatus; a bridge moveable relative to the apparatus; a means for dispensing a sheet of breather membrane over the panel; and À C 1 :: :e c. :: .' : : : : : : : a plurality of stapling apparatus for stapling the breather membrane to the panel to secure the breather membrane to the panel.

10. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction elements as claimed in Claim 9, in which the breather membrane attachment station includes means for marking the outer surface of the membrane to indicate the correct location for brick ties relative to the location of studs in the panel.

11. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction elements as claimed in any one of the preceding claims including apparatus for forming floor panels units, the apparatus comprising: a clamping means for clamping floor joists to the apparatus; a bridge movable relative to the apparatus; a multi-tool forming device mounted on the bridge, the multi-tool forming device having a plurality of forming heads such as nailing apparatus for nailing sheets of plywood to the joists to form a floor panel; a saw for cutting unrequited portions of plywood and a router for forming holes and orifices in the completed floor panel.

12. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction elements substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

13. A method of manufacturing pre-fabricated building construction elements comprising: forming floor joists from lengths of timber and fixing panel elements to the ! joists to form floor panel units;

I

# 1 4 1 1 e I À, I e I '. À I I a I e a e e À a À - e e 1' forming subcomponents of a wall panel; forming a frame for a wall panel; installing and fixing the sub-components to the frame; forming and fixing wall panels to the frame; and fixing breather membrane to the completed wall panel.

14. A method of manufacturing pre-fabricated construction elements substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated timber frame building construction kit for constructing timber frame houses; said apparatus comprising: a panel wall sub-components forming station for forming panel wall sub components of the timber frame building construction kit; a panel wall frame forming station for forming a timber panel wall frame of the timber frame building construction kit; a panel wall forming station for forming a panel wall from the panel wall frame and the panel wall sub- components; and a breather membrane attachment station for attaching a breather membrane to the panel wall. ; 2. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated timber frame building construction kit as claimed in Claim 1, in which the sub-component forming station comprises a sub component machining station and a sub- component assembly station.

3. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated timber frame building construction kit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which a squaring station is provided between the frame forming station and the panel wall forming station.

4. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-i:'abricated timber frame building construction kit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, including a floor joist manufacturing station which composes a plurality of infeed and outfeed rollers for transporting lengths of timber and the completed joist through the station; apparatus for joining lengths of timber and apparatus for cutting the joist.

5. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated timber frame building construction kit as claimed in Claim 4, in which the floor joist manufacturing station comprises apparatus for forming an orifice through the joist generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the floor joist. \q

6. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated timber frame building construction kit as claimed in Claim 4 or Claim 5, in which the floor joist manufacturing station comprises a scribing apparatus for marking the floor joists. I 7. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated timber frame building construction kit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the frame forming station comprises infeed rollers for supporting rail elements of the frame, sawing apparatus for cutting the rails; nailing apparatus for nailing studs to rails; clamping means for clamping the frame and frame elements and means for advancing the frame for the subsequent stud or other elements to be nailed in position.

8. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated timber frame building construction kit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the panel wall forming station comprises: a clamping means for clamping a completed frame to the apparatus, a bridge movable relative the apparatus; and a plurality of nailing apparatus mounted on the bridge for nailing sheets of plywood to the frame to form a panel. I 9. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated timber frame building construction kit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the breather membrane attachment station comprises: a clamping means for clamping a completed panel to the apparatus; a bridge moveable relative to the apparatus; a means for dispensing a sheet of breather membrane over the panel; and an a plurality of stapling apparatus for stapling the breather membrane to the panel to secure the breather membrane to the panel.

10. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated timber frame building construction kit as claimed in Claim 9, in which the breather membrane attachment station includes means for marking the outer surface of the membrane for indicating a location at which brick ties are to be mounted on the panel.

11. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated timber frame building construction kit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims including apparatus for forming floor panels units, the apparatus comprising: a clamping means for clamping floor joists to the apparatus; a bridge movable relative to the apparatus, a multi-tool forming device mounted on the bridge, the multi-tool forming device having a plurality of forming heads such as nailing apparatus for nailing sheets of plywood to the joists to form a floor panel; 1 S a saw for cutting unrequited portions of plywood and a router for forming holes and orifices in the completed floor panel.

12. Apparatus for manufacturing pre-fabricated timber frame building construction kit substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

2Q 13. A method of manufacturing pre-fabri.sated timber frame building construction kit for constructing timber frame houses, said method comprising: forming, at a panel wall sub-components forming station, subcomponents of a wall panel of the timber frame building construction kit; forming, at a panel wall frame forming station, a timber frame for a wall panel of the timber frame building construction kit; forming a panel wall from the panel wall frame and panel wall sub-components by installing and fixing the sub-components to the frame and forming and fixing wall panels to the frame; and fixing breather membrane to the completed wall panel at a breather membrane attachment station.

14. A method of manufacturing pre-fabricated timber frame building construction kit as claimed in Claim 13 further comprising the steps of: forming floor joists from lengths of timber and fixing panel elements to the joists to form floor panel units.

15. A method of manufacturing pre-fabricated timber frame building construction kit substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.