Thanks to its hollow shape and fibre-matrix material structure bamboo is an excellent light weight engineering material. Combined with the high availability and carbon sequestration potential, it represents a sustainable alternative for non-renewable resources like metals and plastics. The fast-growing plant produces mechanically strong culms with a flexural modulus-to-density ratio similar to aluminium. Existing applications use full culm bamboo as rods or beams in load-bearing structures. Typical examples are handmade construction applications and consumer goods such as bicycles.

However, hardly any industrialized applications of bamboo culms can be found, especially in Europe. The development of design standards and the cultivation of bamboo in Europe might help to increase the use of bamboo as an engineering material. Nevertheless, there is a particular lack of scalable processing methods for bamboo culms. This is due to missing quality assurance, reliable handling and load-bearing joining methods for the naturally varying bamboo culms.

The research project 'BambusFAB' focuses on these methods and integrates them into an automated, scalable production line. In three main steps, the production line processes individual bamboo culms and produces structures of various bamboo products. In the first step, the geometric properties, namely the outer contour of the bamboo culm, are determined by non-contact 2D laser triangulation and 2D digital image correlation. In addition, the bending stiffness curve of the culm is measured in a non-destructive 4-point bending test. In the second step, an algorithm uses the data obtained to determine pieces of the bamboo culms and to assign them to their most useful position in the given structures. The algorithm evaluates factors such as the outer diameter, bending stiffness, out-of-straightness and minimum offcuts. In the third step, the cut bamboo pieces are assembled in an automated frame jig by means of force-sensitive robot manipulation. The bamboo pieces are connected quickly and easily using a novel adhesive joining method, which additionally can be adapted to the outer contour of the bamboo piece by using an automated 3D printing workflow. As part of the research project, both a bamboo bicycle and a stroller frame are being built as use cases.