Research: Fabrication

Fabrication

Digitally driven manufacturing machines such as form deposition modelers, laser cutters, and computer numerically controlled hardware enable people to make things that previously required mass-production technologies.  Software is a bottleneck, as today’s commercial applications for creating 3-D models to be manufactured demands considerable skill.  What’s needed is design software that’s simple to use, yet powerful. And with low-cost DIY mechatronics, anyone can design and build novel machines to cut, shape, and extrude material.

Digital Clay

1998 Sketch recognition software constructs three dimensional digital models from isometric drawings.

FlatCAD

2006 A code-based design environment for rapid prototyping with laser cutters or 3D printers.

Furniture Factory: A Sketch-based System for Fabrication

2006 A sketch design system helps novices construct physical furniture models using a laser cutter.

Interactive Fabrication

2011 Interfaces and devices that take real-time input to fabricate physical form.

Paper Mechatronics

2015 A novel interdisciplinary design medium enabled by recent advances in craft technologies.

Sketch It, Make It

2012 A sketch design tool for design for laser cutters and 3D printers, now Zotebook.