Automated method and system for forming prefabricated vertical wall construction units

A system for forming prefabricated vertical construction units, comprising:

• a programmable controller;
• a tamper head;
• a three-axis positioner coupled to the programmable controller that is guided programmatically by the programmable controller to position the tamper head;
• and
• a filling mechanism coupled to the programmable controller for introducing loose material to a form in pre-determined layer volumes to provide loose material for a current layer of the prefabricated vertical construction unit, wherein the filling mechanism comprises a multi-compartment bottomless drawer into which the loose material introduced that is mounted atop the form and has a width and a length sized to an inner width and length of the form, wherein the filling mechanism comprises a movable plate sized to cover a bottom of the multi-compartment drawer, and a second drive mechanism coupled to the programmable controller to move the movable plate from beneath the multi-compartment drawer to retract the movable plate to dump the loose material in the multi-compartment drawer into the form and to extend the movable plate beneath the multi-compartment drawer under programmatic control by the programmable controller, wherein the form is shaped for forming the prefabricated vertical construction unit and a height exceeding a height of the prefabricated vertical construction unit, wherein the programmable controller operates the filling mechanism to introduce the loose material for the current layer, then operates the three-axis positioner to guide the tamper head over a horizontal cross-section of the form at a height determined for the current layer and along a program-determined path to compact the current layer, wherein the height increases for subsequent layers, and wherein the tamper is operated during the guiding to tamp the loose material for the current layer to form a compacted current layer, and then the programmable controller activates the filling mechanism and the three-axis positioner to compact a next layer as the current layer until a top of the compacted current layer reaches the height of the prefabricated vertical construction unit.

A non-transistory computer readable medium containing program instructions for operating a system to form a prefabricated vertical construction unit, the system including a programmable controller having a processor for executing the program instructions, a tamper head, a filling mechanism coupled to the programmable controller, a three-axis positioner coupled to the programmable controller that is guided by the programmable controller executing the program instructions to position the tamper head, and wherein the program instructions comprise program instructions for:

• operating the filling mechanism to introduce loose material to a form in pre-determined layer volumes to provide loose material for a current layer of the prefabricated vertical construction unit, wherein the programmable controller operates the filling mechanism to introduce the loose material for the current layer, then operates the three-axis positioner to guide the tamper head over a horizontal cross-section of the form at a height determined for the current layer and along a program-determined path to compact the current layer, wherein the height increases for subsequent layers, wherein the filling mechanism comprises a multi-compartment bottomless drawer into which the loose material introduced that is mounted atop the form and has a width and a length sized to an inner width and length of the form, wherein the filling mechanism comprises a movable plate sized to cover a bottom of the multi-compartment drawer, and a second drive mechanism coupled to the programmable controller and operated by the program instructions for operating the filling mechanism to move the movable plate from beneath the multi-compartment drawer to retract the movable plate to dump the loose material in the multi-compartment drawer into the form and to extend the movable plate beneath the multi-compartment drawer;
• and
• activating the tamper during the guiding to tamp the loose material for the current layer to form a compacted current layer, and then alternatively activating the filling mechanism and the three-axis positioner to compact a next layer as the current layer until a top of the compacted current layer reaches the height of the prefabricated vertical construction unit.