Digital
Fabrication
By: Chris Pacanowski
Many people use the laser cutter all
of the time in the architecture, as a way to make models of designs and all
sorts of other things. Just this year the SIU School of architectures Digital
fabrication lab has improved on what It has had in the past and instead of just
having one laser cutter they had purchased another larger laser cutter, 2 3D
printers as well as a new CNC. With these additions to the school new types of
model making is now possible.
With new machines come new ideas
along with them. Each template for instance has to be set up differently,
before with the laser cutter all you had to think was in flat 2d when setting
up the file, but now things are becoming three dimensional adding an extra
layer of complexities. When it comes to the 3d printers I haven’t been able to
get a chance to work with but am extremely interested in the idea of working
with it. The way the 3d printer works is it just keeps adding layers upon
layers of plastic to create a mass. Some of the most interesting things that
you can do with the 3d printer are to create pieces or components of something
that you had designed and actually have them function.
From the idea of plastic layering on
top of each other, the CNC is another different idea all together. With the CNC
it just pushes material around with a drill bit. Some of the things that you
have to make sure when you are setting up the file for are that you have to
always think about the drill bit that you are using. With the CNC the drill
just skims the material at the level that you want it to be at and when it
comes to small details there is always the possibility that the drill will
actually just break it off.
With all of the new ways to make
models these days you have to look at each method and think of what is the best
for the project itself. When I look at each method I still think that the laser
cutter is the best method to create detailed building models. I also believe that
when building a site model the CNC is the best way to go, mostly because it is
on continuous piece because the CNC can utilize large sheets of material,
mainly wood though. Finally the 3d printer is a great thing for detailed
mechanical equipment or showing how joints work, but I don’t believe that I
would ever use it as a building model. 
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