PERI UK introduces an AI-enabled service that automates custom formwork design and CNC fabrication across UK construction projects.
PERI UK has launched a new AI-enabled custom formwork design and fabrication service for contractors across the UK construction sector. The solution automates the conversion of 3D project models into CNC-manufactured bespoke formwork components, enabling faster production, greater accuracy, and improved material efficiency on complex infrastructure and building projects.
The service is powered by dataform.work, a digital construction joint venture created by PERI Group and DataB. By integrating AI-assisted design processes with advanced manufacturing, the platform enables contractors to deliver complex geometries while reducing design time and fabrication lead times.
This development forms part of PERI’s strategy to expand digital construction workflows and automated production capabilities for bespoke formwork solutions within the UK infrastructure and commercial building sectors.
Automating bespoke formwork design using AI and digital workflows
Bespoke formwork production has traditionally required extensive manual detailing, programming, and workshop fabrication. Projects involving non-standard geometries, including infrastructure schemes, architecturally complex buildings, and high-rise developments, often require custom elements such as void formers, window and door box-outs, and multi-faceted formwork units.
Using the dataform.work platform, engineers can upload a project’s 3D model directly into the system. The AI-enabled software then translates the geometry into production-ready cutting data and detailed assembly instructions. This automated workflow significantly reduces manual modelling and fabrication preparation.
Components are manufactured using precision 5-axis CNC machining, where plywood panels are milled to exact specifications before being assembled in a PERI production facility and delivered to site ready for installation.
According to the company, the digital workflow allows the complete process, from design model to fabricated component, to be completed in more than 50% less time compared with traditional bespoke formwork design and fabrication methods.
HS2 project demonstrates AI-enabled formwork precision
The technology has already been deployed in the UK on infrastructure works along the High Speed 2 route near Coventry.
The system was used to manufacture formwork components for footbridge foundations featuring 13 distinct facets and angles. The foundation geometry was designed to optimise structural load paths and reduce concrete consumption, contributing to a lower embodied carbon footprint.
Through the automated dataform.work workflow, the complex internal void former required for the foundation structure was fabricated rapidly and with high dimensional accuracy. The project demonstrated the platform’s capability to support demanding infrastructure construction environments where precision and programme certainty are critical.
CNC fabrication improves accuracy, assembly and reuse
The AI-enabled fabrication system incorporates an innovative joint design that significantly reduces the need for screws and eliminates the use of glue during assembly. This approach accelerates production within the workshop while improving component durability.
Integrated striking elements are also included in the formwork design, allowing void formers, particularly those used for windows and doors, to be removed efficiently without damaging the surrounding structure. This supports improved reuse potential, particularly in high-rise construction projects where repeated formwork cycles are required.
“Bespoke formwork has often involved significant manual input and a degree of programme uncertainty due to the level of precision that these requirements demand,” says Matt Binder, National Product Manager at PERI UK.
“With our enhanced fabrication services through dataform.work, we’re able to mobilise production and respond to customer orders for void formers or multi-faceted box out units much faster. Not only have we simplified the process, but we’ve also reduced the need for remedial work by narrowing the margin for error. It’s a huge step forward for efficiency and project certainty, with production lead times measured in days rather than weeks.”
Digital construction investment supports automated formwork production
The launch follows the formation of dataform.work in 2025 as a strategic joint venture between PERI Group and DataB, with both companies holding equal stakes in the business.
The initiative supports PERI’s broader digital construction strategy, which focuses on integrating automated production technologies and AI-assisted design tools into custom formwork solutions. By combining advanced software workflows with CNC fabrication, the approach aims to improve productivity, planning certainty, and commercial outcomes for contractors delivering complex infrastructure and building projects.
AI-enabled formwork design and CNC fabrication mark a shift in digital construction, improving production speed, accuracy, and reliability for contractors delivering complex infrastructure and high-rise projects.
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