Digital Fab
ACTIVITY MATERIALS
As we iterate on our designs, our prototypes should improve in quality and in their ability to more accurately represent and demonstrate our project's concept.
Professional designers make MANY iterations of their prototypes.
Prototype One
Prototype Two
Prototype two
Precise Cuts
Clean Project
ITERATION: FORM Improving how the prototype looks
Digital fabrication is an option for more precise creation of parts, which improves the look of your project
Laser Cutting
3D Printing
ITERATION: FORM
To create your advanced prototype, you need to decide which parts will be 3D printed (small or complex pieces) and which parts will form the main body, usually made by laser cutting. You can choose to use only 3D printing, only laser cutting, or a combination of both. Once you’ve made this decision, you can start modeling each part in the appropriate software.
Keep in mind we are not 3d printing or laser cutting the artifact but the display for it
3D Printed
Laser Cut
To laser-cut your design, export it as an SVG (vector) file and send that to the printer or laser-cutting service. There are many programs and workflows you can use to create SVGs.
To prepare a design for 3D printing, create a 3D model and export it as an STL or OBJ file, which can be sent to a 3D printer. Here are common software options:
Laser cutting
3D Printing
- XTool (Free, very easy)
- Inkscape (free, intermediate)
- Adobe Illustrator (, intermediate)
- Fusion 360 (License needed , intermediate)
- AutoCAD (License needed , intermediate)
- Rhino ( License needed , Advanced )
- Tinkercad (Free, very easy)
- SketchUp – (Free or license, intermediate)
- Fusion 360 (License needed, intermediate)
- AutoCAD (License needed , intermediate)
- Blender (Free, Advanced)
- Rhino – (License needed, Advanced)
- SolidWorks – (License needed, Advanced)
2D Designs
3D Designs
SCIENCE
Students collected water samples, tested them for pollution via microscopes, and analyzed microscopic structures via sketching. Students adapted their microscopic structures to nanoscopic and macroscopic design concepts, fabricating bio-inspired tools or devices with the goal of enabling new functionality that solves or improves an ecological problem.
LITERATURE
Students choose a folktale or traditional story from their culture and brought it to life by creating a shadow box. They explored their chosen story’s main themes, characters, and settings, then designed layered visuals using silhouettes, cutouts, and light to add depth and mood. This project combines literature, cultural heritage, and art to tell a story in three dimensions
GEOGRAPHY / HISTORY
Students explored the roll of dynamic and moving visualizations in multi-layered storytelling. Over the course of a semester, students created a stop motion of data-scapes that illuminate hidden flows...narratives of place and transformation.
MATH
Sound is all around us, shaping the way we experience the world. But beneath every note, vibration, and echo is a mathematical structure, waves defined by trigonometric functions and standing wave patterns. In this studio, you will explore the deep connection between math, sound, and physical form, using trigonometry and 3D modeling to turn sound waves into tangible objects.
Laser Cut
3D Printing
Blender
Mock up Prototype
Final Prototype
Sketch
DESIGN - TECHNOLOGY
In this studio, students imagined what people might wear in the future—from smart accessories to expressive, pattern-shifting outfits. They explored how culture, identity, and technology blended together, and designed a wearable that communicated something about the person wearing it.
DESIGN - TECHNOLOGY
DESIGN - TECHNOLOGY
Students designed board games for good cause
DESIGN - TECHNOLOGY
Students designed vehicles and robots of the future
DESIGN ACTIVITY
WHAT WE ARE DOING
WHY WE ARE DOING IT
Designing a built structure from a set of modular 2D parts that we fabricate with the laser cutter
To explore the use of the laser cutter as a tool to use in a semi-open-ended, conceptual project
ACTIVITY STEPS
1st
Draw one card from each of the four stacks — Shape, Connection, Structure System, and Design Intent.
3rd
Use a CAD software to draw your shapes, adding cuts, folds, and slots to match your Connection card.
Combine your cards into a quick paper sketch showing how the shape will transform and express the intent. Adjust your model so it reflects the 3D system or structure indicated by your Structure & Make subtle design choices (Transparency, thickness, texture) to express the style or feeling from your Design Intent card.
2nd
4th
Export your CAD design as a compatible file (e.g., DXF or SVG), set material thickness, and use a laser cutter to cut, score, or etch the shapes so they can be folded, slotted, and assembled into your 3D form.
Shapes
Connection
Method
Structure
System
Design Quality
Triangle
Square
Hexagon
Rectangle
Circle
Pentagon
Trapezoid
Slots
Weave
Holes + fasteners
Hinge
Skewers in channels
Tabs
Stitching
Stacking
Tower
Canopy
Spine
Shell
Cluster
Spiral
Dome
Loop
Fold
Parts + Crafts
Modular Lasercut Cardboard Design
Dense
Chaotic
Layered
Porous
Flexible
Airy
Fragmented
Organic
Symmetry
Asymmetry
Hinge
Skewers in channels
Holes + fasteners
Slots
Tab
Weave
Stitching
Stacking
Connection Method
Structure System
Design Intent
Triangle + Slots + Cluster + Fragmented
Semi Circle + Tab + Spine + Asymmetry
Prompt
As we approach the end of the studio, our sessions should shift towards preparation for the final presentation of our projects. Unlike previous activities, The Final Prototyping phase will likely continue for several sessions/days, resulting in the the completion of a final, refined, physical prototype.
Make sure you leave enough time for the final activities that lead successful final presentation (where you tell the story of your design process).
Materials: Higher-fidelity materials for digital prototyping and incorporation of electronics.
Instructions
Using the skills developed in earlier activities, create a final NEW prototype.
This prototype should be a development of earlier iterations and ideas, taking what you have learned from testing and critique to advance the demonstration of your concept. You will be expected to make this final prototype as high-quality as possible - meaning: pay attention to the details (no hot glue strings all over)!
Deliverables
Once your prototype is complete, record your work with many photographs of your project.