Description
Digital fabrication tools, such as 3D printers and CNC routers, can accurately and automatically shape raw materials into complex physical objects. However, existing workflows for using these tools can introduce significant overhead — before anything can be fabricated, a maker must navigate a series of software packages to draft a digital model, devise a toolpath for manufacturing, and drive the fabrication machine itself.
I introduce three interactive systems — MatchSticks, Turn-by-Wire, and aDroid — that embody complementary approaches for bypassing this conventional workflow. MatchSticks is a fabrication system for rapidly creating woodworking joinery, and allows users to work directly at the tool to specify the desired geometry. With Turn-by-Wire, users control a lathe by hand, but are supported by haptic feedback and interactions reminiscent of digital editing. Lastly, aDroid considers how these previous approaches can be incorporated into a generalizable system. Using an industrial robot, makers can define and create virtual jigs and fixtures that facilitate the use of hand-held tools.
All of these approaches acknowledge and celebrate hands-on fabrication as a site of creative exploration and problem solving. With this framing, I demonstrate that not only can the capabilities of digital fabrication be realized outside of established workflows, but that hands-on fabrication itself can be imbued with the characteristics of digital editing.