Welcome to 15-869

Computational Aspects of Fabrication

Stelian Coros

3D Printing

3D Printing – Why?

• Eliminates barriers associated with traditional

manufacturing techniques

– complexity is free

– perfect for one-off’s

• cheaper, faster

– empowers new designers

3D Printing – Why now?

SLA1 (circa 1989) - first commercial 3D Printer

Game Changers

MakerBot Replicator 2

~$2K

SLA1: hundreds of thousands

of $

Game Changers

Personal Computer Mainframe Computer

Game Changers - 3D Printing Services

3D Printing – What is it good for?

Medical Applications

Fashion

Consumer Products

Robotics Jewelry

3D Printing – What is it good for?

3D Printing – What is it good for?

3D Printing – What is it good for?

3D Printing – What is it good for?

3D Printing – What is it good for?

3D Printing – What is it good for?

3D Printing – What is it good for?

3D Printing – What is it good for?

3D Printing – What is it good for?

3D Printing – What is it good for?

3D Printing – What is it good for?

3D Printing – The Future?

Who knows…

A Third Industrial Revolution The Economist (Cover)

What are the challenges?

Hardware Challenges

• Slow

– Printing 5’’ x 5’’ x 5’’ object takes 10+ hours

• Expensive

– $100’s / lb

• Limited print volume

• Unreliable

Software Challenges: Data Requirements

• Tera voxels/foot3

Challenges: Modeling Materials

Currently one material per part

Challenges: Modeling Materials

• Large material library

Challenges: Modeling Materials

Base Materials Material Library

Input

Measurement

3D Printing Measurement

Simulation and

Print Preview

3D Printing

Output

Challenges: Modeling Interfaces for the Masses

• 3D modeling packages are not adequate for the

general public

Challenges: Modeling Interfaces for the Masses

Main goal

Develop computational design tools that generate 3D

Printable content from high-level abstractions/task

descriptions

Example: Jewelry Design

http://n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com/

Example: Jewelry Design

Example: Designing Mechanical Characters

Example: Designing Mechanical Characters

Example: Designing Mechanical Characters

Example: Designing Mechanical Characters

Example: Designing Mechanical Characters

Example: Suggestion systems

Example: Suggestion systems

Course Structure

• Mix of lectures and paper reading

• Lecture topics:

– Overview of 3D Printing (hardware + software)

– Geometry Representations

– Computational Models (Kinematics, FEM)

– Content Generation

• 3D Scanning, Material Measurements

• Inverse and Forward Design

• Paper Reading

– Analysis of recent research papers from SIGGRAPH,

CHI, UIST, etc

Prerequisites

• No strict prerequisites

• Computer Graphics background desired

• All assignments require some programming

– C++, Matlab, DSLs

• Calculus, linear algebra

– solving equations, derivatives, integrals

– vectors, matrices, basis, systems of equations

Grading Structure

• Assignments: 40%

– 4 assignments (must be completed individually)

• Paper presentations: 20%

– Presentation: 12%

– Participation: 8%

• Project (teams of 2): 40%

– Project proposal: 5%

– Mid-point presentation: 10%

– Final presentation: 10%

– Written Report: 15%

• No midterm/final

Assignments

1: Voxelizer + Slicer (C++)

2: Procedural Geometry (DSL/OpenSCAD)

3: Kinematics (Matlab)

4: FEM simulation (Matlab) and Material Design (DSL)

Assignments

• Turn in a short report, document physical

prototypes (if appropriate)

• Turn in code and executable (if appropriate)

• Collaboration policy

– The assignments should be done individually

Paper Presentations

• Topic of your choice

– related to digital fabrication/computational design

– choose 2-3 related papers

– 45min talk

• Challenge, technical approaches, limitations,

extensions and future work

– everyone else:

• read one of the papers, send me two questions the day

before

• Student Presentations will start around end of Feb

– talk to me about topics and papers early

– presentation slots will be assigned in a few weeks

Projects

• Projects should have a substantial computational

component

• Projects should have some connection to the real

world

• Projects should be done with a partner

• Meet with me early to discuss project ideas!

Projects

• Project proposals (1 page) + presentations (5%)

– March 5th

• Mid-point project presentations (10%)

– April 2nd

• Final project presentations (10%)

– April 30th

• Project report (15%)

– due April 30th

Digital Fabrication Lab

• IDeATe (Integrative Design, Arts and Technology)

– http://ideate.cmu.edu/

– Hunt Library

• Course Fee: $26

– billed directly to student account after the

ADD/DROP Deadline

– Consumable Fees for final projects are separate, on a

per use basis

• We will visit the Digital Fabrication Lab next class!

Communication

• www.cs.cmu.edu/~scoros/cs15869-s15

– Announcements

– Slides (posted soon after each lecture)

– Assignments

• Contact

– scoros@cmu.edu – Office: Smith Hall 229

Questions?

Mini assignment!

• Design a unique, functional object that you would

like to have

– Pencil holder, chair, toy, lamp, etc…

– Just a concept drawing or description

• Remember

– Endless design opportunities

– Think outside the box

That’s all for today!