Hello owners of laser cutters, CNC routers, 3D printers etc

In just a little bit, we’ll be releasing something we think is pretty big. We’ve been working on it for more than 2 years now. And we’re gunning for a launch in Q4 this year.

You could call it Digitalmake – an online Ponoko account designed especially for owners of digital making technology (eg, laser cutters, CNCs, 3D printers).

Digitalmake springs from our desire to create a digital making network that enables products to be made as close to the point of consumption as possible.

With Digitalmake you can manage and download product designs and materials for digital making. You can also offer your fabricator to Ponoko users (and get pre-paid jobs).

But before we launch, we need to make sure we have covered everything.

Can you help us out?

We really want to get this right. So can you let us know what you think about this?

So, if you want access to more making jobs, to grow your making community, or you want an online system to manage all of your design files and materials, or anything else you think would be a cool way to link your fabber to the Internet creative community - please let us know your thoughts - you can find out more here.

Comparing the trends at NeoCon with independent design.

There is always a design zeitgeist that emerges from the various styles, methods of production, and materials that are popular at any given time. So, I decided to compare what I saw at NeoCon with what I am seeing  from independent designers using rapid manufacturing.

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CNC Magic by Stanislav Katz

Not much information out there on the work of Latvian designers Katz except for some great pictures on the process of making the 4 Vase Cabinet posted on the Contemporist.

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Rethinking furniture joinery with exposed mechanical fasteners.

German designer Philippe Krzyzek has just released some of his interesting furniture at the 2009 DMY Design Festival in Berlin. What instantly sprang to my attention was his exposed use of metal fasteners to hold what looks like CNC timber panels together. So often with flat pack furniture designs we see the peices slot together (which makes sense) but is becoming a little predictable, even when using digital joints (previously featured).
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Print technology for cloth and canvas.

(above: Perspectives in Print booth at NeoCon)

Textile design is gradually gaining the sort of respect and recognition given to architecture, furniture, and product design. The field of fibers and textiles has experienced a surge of innovation and experimentation as a result of technological advances and cross disciplinary practice. While it may take awhile for NeoCon textile exhibitors like Maharam, Mohawk, and Shaw to offer LED embedded felt flooring, rasterized rugs, or laser-cut leather room dividers, there were a couple of companies showcasing their digital printing capabilities.

Perspectives in Print offers custom design and both digital and traditional printing for fabric, carpet, wallpaper, and even plastics like acrylic and styrene. The advantage of digital printing, similar to other methods of rapid manufacture, means no minimum orders, on-demand production, and fewer design limitations. Below is a selection of different projects ranging from pop-up store displays to drapes and custom props to limited edition products.

Canvas On Demand is using digital printing to turn personal photos into artwork. Photo canvases can be ordered by uploading digital photographs or scanning or mailing in traditional prints.  Below are some of the canvases submitted to the gallery by Canvas On Demand customers.

Best of Neocon Silver Award winning lighting design and more.

It was the La Reina Pendant that caught my eye in the Boyd Lighting booth. It also caught the eyes of judges for the Best of Neocon; this LED powered, laser-cut steel pendant took the Silver Award for Decorative Lighting. There was suprisingly little laser-cut design being exhibited at NeoCon, and I think that’s what made this fixture seem especially fresh.

The new Kentfield Collection features several designs that have a very fête galante aesthetic. What could have come off as inappropriate for these economic times, the priority of sustainability, and the dwindling numbers of NeoCon attendees was instead refreshing. The ornate and bejeweled designs in the Kentfield Collection are to the Interior Design industry what the glamorous Hollywood sirens of the 1930’s were to the Depression era public.

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Innovative use of CNC ‘digital joints’.

Panels 02 & 03 by Paris based sebastien wierinck will be shown at salone Satellite with the 101pct Designed in Brussels selection. The interesting thing about this work that sets it apart from much of the flat pack furniture in the field is the use of CNC specific construction joints, rather than emulating standard joinery or basic slots.
As CNC cabinetry becomes more accessible we will see some otherwise impossible (or at least really really difficult) digital wood joints being shared on the web.
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By Algorithmic Artisans NERVOUS SYSTEM

Inspired by the complex forms of radiolarians (amoeboid protozoa that produce intricate mineral skeletons), where intricate pattern is integral to structure, these shapes derive from a simulation of spring meshes which form mirrored catenoid surfaces. Nervous System have created interactive software to morph, twist, and subdivide each design, transforming a simple mesh to a complex patterned structure.

The final design is built up layer by layer in durable nylon plastic using Selective Laser Sintering, a kind of 3D printing. These forms would be impossible to create by traditional manufacturing methods. The process imparts the pieces with a coral-like texture, while the slight flexibility of nylon and airy design.
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From render to reality in a mouse click (and possibly 1000 hours of hard work)


A recent post on the Shapeways community forum by a “junior member” has some amazing photos of the process of building a micro helicopter using parts printed using Shapeways 3D printing services.
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Man fashions tree into chair, very slowly

Usually the Ponoko blog deals with interesting designs utilizing cutting edge technologies such as rapid prototyping, laser cutting, CNC and the software and theory surrounding it. As an antidote to all this obsession with speed and the digital, I thought it worth slowing it down and taking a look at design the embraces a more leisurely approach.
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