Digital materials for digital fabrication

This thesis introduces digital materials by analogy with digital computation and digital communications. Traditional fabrication techniques include pick-and-place, roll-to-roll, molding, patterning and more. Current research in fabrication includes algorithmic assembly [3], programmed assembly[9], self-assembly[1,2], assembly by folding [4] as well as guided self-assembly [2]. While these research areas are studying means of fabrication, here we introduce the study of the digital materials they assemble. Moreover we present a new type of three-dimensional digital printer for use with functional digital materials. Most importantly, the digital materials are shown to be tuneable; the code describing a digital material allows one to predict and adjust the properties of the material itself. In the same 'way digital communications and computation are discrete in the code space, digital fabrication is discrete in the physical space. Just as digital communications enabled cheap long-distance communications and digital computation enabled cheap,universal and efficient computers, digital fabrication enables cheap, efficient and universal fabrication. Building digitally will reduce the complexity of the assembler and can produce a wider variety of objects for a smaller cost.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Popescu, George A

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Neil Gershenfeld.

• Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/41754

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/41754