We stand before the dawn of the fourth industrial revolution. In recent years we witnessed an extending advancement in the development of digital fabrication technologies such as 3D printing, robotic fabrication and digital knitting. These technologies together with IoT and AI, will shift industrial manufacturing from large plants to smaller, local digital factories, disrupting the business models and supply chains of entire industries. This revolution will transform not only how and where products are made, but also how products are designed, which requires new skills and knowledge from designers.
After years of detachment between design and manufacturing, the means of manufacturing are now becoming accessible for designers and makers. This enables the opportunities to be engaged in the making of products. Once again, fabrication is an inseparable part of the design process. Much like before the first industrial revolution, designers will again craft products, this time digitally. Algorithms, coding, and digital fabrication machines will be their fundamental and primary tools.
The Goal
The CodedMatter Design Lab is a research lab within the Industrial Design Track directed by Yoav Sterman.
The goal of the lab is to invent new digital manufacturing technologies and to establish new design workflows that will unlock design spaces and enable a future of customized products that are made on demand and manufactured domestically.
Research focus
We explore the correlation between computational design and digital manufacturing in the context of personalization and customization of products, focusing on textiles and close-to-the-body products.
Lab research focus areas:
Fabrication related Human-computer Interaction (HCI)
Smart digital textiles
Robotic assemblies & composites
Programmable Materials
Digital fabrication equipment at the lab includes:
STOLL ADF 530 Ki Bc W – Industrial digital knitting machine
FlashForge Creator 4 – industrial 3D printer
UR5e – Collaborative 6-axis robotic arms
Raise3D Pro2 – 3D printer
PAM – Pollen.AM pellets-based 3D printer
Click here to access the lab’s internet site.
(Photo credit: Yuval Gur)