Teaching CAD/CAM workflows to nascent designers

Abstract

The following paper presents a suite of custom software environments that make advanced techniques in digital fabrication accessible to novice, first-year designers. The collective design aides facilitate a number of digital-to-physical workflows, including 3D modeling for CNC milling and 3D printing, 2D patterning for laser cutting, and interactive visualization for projection mapping. Each of the workflows illustrate pedagogical principles for embedding tacit and tactile knowledge into computational frameworks: balancing complexity against functional limits, revealing the underlying abstractions connecting digital geometry to CNC machines, engaging the designer through intuitive and responsive environments, and leveraging generative and interactive digital modeling for serial variation. These digital design and fabrication aides have been used to facilitate formal and material explorations for groups of pre-college and freshmen students, aged 16 to 19. Their resulting tangible artifacts-made from foam, birch plywood, paper, plastic, and light-show that CAD/CAM workflows can be an accessible subject matter for students without prior experience in digital modeling or fabrication. © 2014, The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA), Hong Kong.