Software-first digital fabrication workflows are often at odds with material-driven approaches to design. Material-driven design is especially critical in manual ceramics, where the craftsperson shapes the form through hands-on engagement. We present the Craft-Aligned Scanner (CAS), a 3D scanning and clay-3D printing system that enables practitioners to design for digital fabrication through traditional pottery techniques. The CAS augments a pottery wheel that has 3D printing capabilities with a precision distance sensor on a vertically oriented linear axis. By increasing the height of the sensor as the wheel turns, we directly synthesize a 3D spiralized toolpath from the geometry of the object on the wheel, enabling the craftsperson to immediately transition from manual fabrication to 3D printing without leaving the tool. We develop new digital fabrication workflows with CAS to augment scanned forms with functional features and add both procedurally and real-time-generated surface textures. CAS demonstrates how 3D printers can support material-first digital fabrication design without foregoing the expressive possibilities of software-based design.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3654777.3676385
The advent of conductive thermoplastic filaments and multi-material 3D printing has made it feasible to create interactive 3D printed objects. Yet, challenges arise due to volume constraints of desktop 3D printers and high resistive characteristics of current conductive materials, making the fabrication of large-scale or highly conductive interactive objects can be daunting. We propose E-Joint, a novel fabrication pipeline for 3D printed objects utilizing mortise and tenon joint structures combined with a copper plating process. The segmented pieces and joint structures are customized in software along with integrated circuits. Then electroplate them for enhanced conductivity. We designed four distinct electrified joint structures in experiment and evaluated the practical feasibility and effectiveness of fabricating pipes. By constructing three applications with those structures, we verified the usability of E-Joint in making large-scale interactive objects and show path to a more integrated future for manufacturing.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3654777.3676398
3D printing is transforming how we customize and create physical objects in engineering, accessibility, and art. However, this technology is still primarily limited to confined working areas and dedicated print beds thereby detaching design and fabrication from real-world environments and making measuring and scaling objects tedious and labor-intensive. In this paper, we present MobiPrint, a prototype mobile fabrication system that combines elements from robotics, architecture, and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) to enable environment-scale design and fabrication in ad-hoc indoor environments. MobiPrint provides a multi-stage fabrication pipeline: first, the robotic 3D printer automatically scans and maps an indoor space; second, a custom design tool converts the map into an interactive CAD canvas for editing and placing models in the physical world; finally, the MobiPrint robot prints the object directly on the ground at the defined location. Through a "proof-by-demonstration" validation, we highlight our system's potential across different applications, including accessibility, home furnishing, floor signage, and art. We also conduct a technical evaluation to assess MobiPrint’s localization accuracy, ground surface adhesion, payload capacity, and mapping speed. We close with a discussion of open challenges and opportunities for the future of contextualized mobile fabrication.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3654777.3676459
We present a new class of curved block-based line structures whose component chains are flexible when separated, and provably rigid when assembled together into an interlocking double chain. The joints are inspired by traditional zippers, where a binding fabric or mesh connects individual teeth. Unlike traditional zippers, the joint design produces a rigid interlock with programmable curvature. This allows fairly strong curved structures to be built out of easily stored flexible chains. In this paper, we introduce a pipeline for generating these curved structures using a novel block design template based on revolute joints. Mesh embedded in these structures maintains block spacing and assembly order. We evaluate the rigidity of the curved structures through mechanical performance testing and demonstrate several applications.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3654777.3676354
Providing asynchronous feedback is a critical step in the 3D design workflow. A common approach to providing feedback is to pair textual comments with companion reference images, which helps illustrate the gist of text. Ideally, feedback providers should possess 3D and image editing skills to create reference images that can effectively describe what they have in mind. However, they often lack such skills, so they have to resort to sketches or online images which might not match well with the current 3D design. To address this, we introduce MemoVis, a text editor interface that assists feedback providers in creating reference images with generative AI driven by the feedback comments. First, a novel real-time viewpoint suggestion feature, based on a vision-language foundation model, helps feedback providers anchor a comment with a camera viewpoint. Second, given a camera viewpoint, we introduce three types of image modifiers, based on pre-trained 2D generative models, to turn a text comment into an updated version of the 3D scene from that viewpoint. We conducted a within-subjects study with 14 feedback providers, demonstrating the effectiveness of MemoVis. The quality and explicitness of the companion images were evaluated by another eight participants with prior 3D design experience.