Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
in a hint of the intellectual property challenges that loom ahead, the copy-
righted igures of the Mario Brothers were removed when this image was
selected to appear on the cover of a design magazine. The magazine—con-
cerned about a potential copyright challenge from Nintendo—asked that
Griggs and Serrano take the Mario Brothers out of the picture, just to be safe.
When my classmates and I were learning to use CAD in the late 1980s, we
would have scoffed if our teacher had told us that our children would some-
day happily play with simple computer-aided design tools. We didn't have the
computer power in those days to run a richly detailed virtual world. Nor did
we have access to a 3D printer to fabricate our designs.
Matter compilers
What if you had a modiied version of a Replicator that didn't just obey simple
verbal commands? This machine would be smarter. I'll call this intelligent
machine “the Extra-smart Design Assistant.” You would tell your Extra-smart
Design Assistant the problem you were trying to solve, not just the name of
an exisiting object you were trying to replicate.
Here's an example. Instead of commanding your Extra-smart Design Assistant
to “make a new support bracket for my bookshelf,” you would describe the
problem: “I need a new bracket to support the weight of a set of topics.” Next,
you would tell the computer what this bracket would need to be capable of, or
give it design requirements that some people call “design specs.” Like a good
designer, your automated Extra-smart Design Assistant would listen carefully
to your requirements and come up with a solution optimized for its tasks.
To design your shelf brackets, you would verbally rattle off several design
requirements. “The bracket is intended for a bookshelf that's 6 feet wide, will
hold heavy textbooks, and will attach to a vertical wall. In addition, I want
the designed bracket to weigh as little as possible but be capable of bearing
a load of at least 50 pounds of weight.” Finally, you would tell your Design
Assistant that you plan to 3D print the bracket out of a hard plastic. Your
Design Assistant would carefully think, then after a bit of calculation, would
display its suggested design solution.
In my lab, we created a software tool based on this concept. The tool ran algo-
rithms to calculate the optimal design for a 3D printed bracket. We punched in
the design requirements and pressed “Enter.” We were startled by the results.
