Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Personal Fabrication, Processes, Parts, and Materials
Digital fabrication machines translate open source hardware designs into actual physical
objects. In theory, this process depends only on the digital file and the choice of fabrication
machine, allowing for iteration and refinement through successive changes to the file. In
practice, though, the constraints and intricacies of various fabrication processes mean that
a certain amount of skill is required to use the machine and that the results can vary each
time. As a result, open source hardware depends on the selection of appropriate processes
and effective use of them. This section discusses some of the considerations involved in
various popular fabrication processes.
3D Printing
Thepurestofthesedigital fabrication processes arethevariousformsof3Dprinting.These
turn digital design into physical objects by gradually adding material in the desired loca-
tions, allowing for a wide range of possible geometries. The term
3D printing
encompasses
a broad range of machines, from personal plastic printers costing a few hundred dollars to
industrial machines that sinter metal and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Different
machines work with different materials and offer different resolutions and tolerances. The
materials may have different strengths, optical properties, appearances, finishing possibil-
ities, and so on. Depending on the object being fabricated, some or all of these character-
istics may be crucial to creating a useable result. In designing and sharing objects for 3D
printing, therefore, it's important to specify not just their geometries, but also the required
tolerances, materials, and other characteristics—most of which are less easily captured in
digital form. In addition, many 3D-printing processes need some form of manual post-pro-
cessing, such as removal of support material, finishing, or curing. These require an oper-
ator with appropriate knowledge and skill—and can create variations from one print to the
next, even with the same file and machine. Finally, 3D printing technology is evolving and
diversifying rapidly. For all these reasons, it's important not to think of 3D printing as a
way to automatically create things from information, but rather as a material process with
specific qualities and affordances.
