Mould Design for Prefabricated Building Components

Mould design for prefabricated building components is a critical starting point in the production process of prefabricated buildings, directly influencing component quality and production efficiency. It requires addressing existing issues through standardization, material optimization, and scenario-based design.

1. Design Principles and Existing Issues

Mould design for prefabricated building components must adhere to six key principles: ease of demoulding, dimensional accuracy, mould strength, reinforcement handling, safety, and practicality. Current designs face the following challenges:

1. Heavy Weight: Traditional moulds often use thick steel plates, making them difficult to handle and increasing production costs.
2. Poor Versatility: Mould dimensions vary significantly across projects, limiting reuse and causing resource waste.
3. Low Standardization: Inconsistent design software and a lack of standard components result in poor mould compatibility.
4. Insufficient Dimensional Accuracy: Processing errors or material deformation can lead to component size deviations, affecting assembly quality.
5. Corrosion Issues: Moulds without effective rust prevention are prone to corrosion, reducing their lifespan and contaminating concrete.

2. Research Directions for Improvement

To address these issues, optimizations can be made in the following three areas:

1. Standardized Design: Standardize design software (e.g., adopting BIM technology uniformly) and establish a library of standard components to enable modular design of mould dimensions and connection methods, enhancing versatility.
2. Material and Welding Optimization: Select Q235 and Q345 steel plates and optimize welding processes (e.g., reducing the number of welds and using automated welding) to decrease mould weight while maintaining strength.
3. Rust Prevention: Apply methods such as painting, electrophoretic coating, or rust-preventive oil application, combined with regular maintenance, to extend mould lifespan.

3. Design Practice Points (Taking Prefabricated Wall Panel Moulds as an Example)

1. Precise Dimensional Matching: Customize moulds according to project requirements, strictly controlling dimensional tolerances (e.g., length deviation ≤ ±2mm) to ensure precise alignment between components and building structures.
2. Adaptability to Diverse Structures: Design adjustable mould modules that accommodate wall panels with door/window openings, single flat surfaces, or composite structures (e.g., insulation layers), meeting the needs of different architectural plans.
3. Ease of Operation and Maintenance: Use high-strength steel (e.g., Q345) to reduce mould weight and design user-friendly operating structures (e.g., quick-release clamps) to minimize labor intensity and improve demoulding efficiency.
4. Environmentally Friendly and Energy-Efficient Design: Optimize mould structure to reduce concrete waste, use recyclable materials to minimize processing scrap, and align with green production principles.

4. Manufacturing and Regulatory Requirements

Mould manufacturing must adhere to stiffness calculation standards, with support structures using section steel or steel plates. The design load-bearing capacity must meet the requirements of the Concrete Structure Engineering Construction Standard (GB50666-2011). Fabrication should comply with GB 50017—2017 Steel Structure Design Standard and JGJ/T 74—2017 Technical Standard for Large-Scale Formwork in Construction Engineering, ensuring mould safety and reliability.