Mark Hirsch, Yon Visell, Jennifer Jacobs
Installation
2nd floor
Digital fabrication is dominated by a conventional workflow in which a user designs an object in software, generates machine code to control the fabrication process, and waits 6 for the results of fabrication to complete. Recent work in the digital fabrication domain seeks to augment or replace steps in this workflow with processes that are more interactive, collaborative, and conducive to creative practice. This shift in the fabrication workflow gives rise to the challenge of creating an interactive environment that is intuitive, responsive, and provides a balance between direct manipulation and abstraction.
Sodium Acetate Printing addresses this challenge by creating a fabrication ecosystem in which rapidly-curing materials enable a familiar sketch-based user-interface that is intuitive, immediate, and capable of abstracting 2D input gestures to 3D features. In this system, a solution of sodium acetate and water is deposited from the end-effector of a robotic arm where, upon impact, it crystallizes immediately - often in unsupported overhangs that are difficult for many other deposition-based processes. This rapid crystallization allows users to design and fabricate simultaneously in a 2D drawing scenario where input gestures on the tablet are mapped directly to the build area as well as abstracted to 3D dimensional parameters - such as feature height based on pen pressure. The immediate response from the machine to drawn input creates a sketch- based approach to the construction of 3D forms.
Sodium Acetate Printing addresses this challenge by creating a fabrication ecosystem in which rapidly-curing materials enable a familiar sketch-based user-interface that is intuitive, immediate, and capable of abstracting 2D input gestures to 3D features. In this system, a solution of sodium acetate and water is deposited from the end-effector of a robotic arm where, upon impact, it crystallizes immediately - often in unsupported overhangs that are difficult for many other deposition-based processes. This rapid crystallization allows users to design and fabricate simultaneously in a 2D drawing scenario where input gestures on the tablet are mapped directly to the build area as well as abstracted to 3D dimensional parameters - such as feature height based on pen pressure. The immediate response from the machine to drawn input creates a sketch- based approach to the construction of 3D forms.