Personal fabrication: The digital culture imperative

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Saeide Doustmohammadi, Roozbeh Valamanesh
The Ohio State University

Personal fabrication: The digital culture imperative

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In recent years, accessibility of digital personal fabrication to public has rapidly been increased and its tools and technologies have remarkably become affordable for a wider range of people. This provides new opportunities for users to respond to those needs of every day life that are not technically or economically justifiable through mass production. In addition, by advancing 3D printing technologies, users are able to generate ideas and make their own tools based on their own preferences or customize existing products to meet their personal needs.

In this study, we have investigated how personal digital fabrication affects the process of making customized products and how it facilitates the process of generating an idea based on user’s personal needs. To do this, we have been implementing case studies and carefully exploring the process of making a customized product from idea generation stage to the final products using personal digital fabrication. Then, we have analyzed the similarities and differences between this process and ordinary mass production. The outcome helps non-designers make their customized products less expensive with less production set up cost. It is also useful when there is a potential need, however, there is no specific tool to address it, or the solution is not economically feasible to be produced through mass production. In addition, people also employ personal digital fabrication to simplify the complicated interactions existing among a number of products.

Year: 2013