From Matter to Data and Back Again : Enabling Agency through Digital Fabrication

Sammanfattning: Digital fabrication technologies such as 3D printers entail a radical change to the traditional consumer-producer paradigm. Combined with other recent developments, self-styled Makers design and fabricate sophisticated devices and interactive technologies that would otherwise never have existed. However, stopping the uninitiated novice from making use of this potential is complex CAD software, and a high barrier to entry. In this study a series of workshops explore the potential of combining traditional handicraft materials – such as clay, paper and fabric – with 3D scanning to enable novices to work with 3D printers. Based on the results a set of instruction were created detailing the process of making three types of practical objects, covering the entire process from the making and subsequent 3D scanning of a physical object, to the software clean-up and final 3D printing. The results suggest that whilst the explored method can enable novices to create 3D printable models, a certain mindset is required for the novice to do so effectively.