Precautions

• Printing costs
  3-D printing is not free. Charges depend on the volume of the printed model. 3-D printing charges are totalled at the end of the semester.
  The cost is 100 yen/cm3 (incl. supporting material)
  You need to submit a form before starting to print. The form is HERE.
• Materials
  The materials themselves are quite expensive (50,000 yen for a wheel) and easily go bad. The materials easily absorb humidity, and absorbing water may cause material to spoil and the machine to break. Materials must be put into an aluminum bag after printing. If you do not follow these instructions and ruin materials or the machine, you may be responsible for the costs associated with replacement.
• Other ways to print
  Though printing in the lab is a quick and easy way to produce models, it sometimes costs a significant amount and the printing quality may not be adequate. If you are able to wait a week or more for your printed model, there are firms which can print your model(s) at lower prices and higher quality. These may be a better option than printing at the lab.

• DMM 3D Print
• Shapeways
• Fedex Kinko’s

Quick checklist for preparing 3-D models

• Models for print should be exported in STL format with separated shells. (Several shells in a file can cause higher printing costs and longer printing time.)
• Models for print should be mesh objects with thickness.
• The thinnest part of the model should be thicker than 1.5mm.
• Bounding boxes of models should be smaller than 200mm*200mm*150mm.

 

Quick checklist for using the printer

Before printing:

• Submit an application form before printing.
• Attach the printing base to the stage and lock it with the blue knobs.
• Set both materials to cartridge and put them into the machine’s bays.

After printing:

• Detach the printing base and remove the models and supporting models.
• Dump waste materials in the material bin on the right at the very end of the printing area.
• Unload materials and put the wheels into aluminum bags.

 

Operation guidelines in detail

For more details, you can read the PDF HERE.

 

Room rules

• The room is for 3-D printing only. Do not assemble models. Do not glue materials, spray materials, or use any toxic chemicals.
• When you’re done with the machines, clean the printing base and remove supporting materials.
• If you bring food or drink into the room, clean up after yourself. Throw away your trash and wipe up spills. Do not leave trash for others to clean up.

Human-Machine-Material

Image-driven design and fabrication processes for the 2015 Digital Fabrication Lab Pavilion

Contents

• Background
• Target
• Output
• Method/Schedule

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Background

Images have been exploited throughout the history of architectural design fabrication, from hand drawn sketches to computer aided drawings. Image is an interface for developing concepts into realizable plans, or media for sharing architectural concepts with others. Drawings are visual representations of concepts. Once a concept is fixed and ready for presentation to a client, three-dimensional modeling and image processing software can be used as powerful tools for producing fascinating perspective images. During realization of the project on-site, detailed drawings are used as interfaces for systematically distributing ideas to builders, conveying mainly what to make and how to build it. Once construction is completed, photos of the building can be distributed via mass media or can be used for sketch training. In addition to two-dimensional images, 3-D printed architecture is now available. In recent years, the notions of both the image and the model have become blurred with regard to who/what makes use of the image in design and fabrication processes.

Target

Use a computational, image-driven design and fabrication process to enhance the interplay between humans (traditionally inherited technology), machine (cutting-edge digital fabrication tools), and materials (optimal use of material characteristics) to construct the 2015 Digital Fabrication Lab Pavilion as a prototypical application of imaging research.

Output

1st Semester: Learning through the construction of the 2015 Digital Fabrication Lab Pavilion

2nd Semester: Proposal of prototypical pavilion-like structure with an image-driven design and fabrication process/tool specifically developed to define and construct the proposed structure.

3rd Semester: 2015 Digital Fabrication Lab Pavilion Construction Proposal

Method/Schedule

1st Semester: Construction of 2015 Digital Fabrication Lab Pavilion

October – December (9 weeks)

Students execute the construction of the 2015 Digital Fabrication Lab Pavilion in accordance with the proposal developed by the second year students. The students will acquire a wide range of fabrication, construction, and computational knowledge through the project.

2nd Semester: Research on image-driven design and fabrication processes and pavilion design development

December – March (11 weeks)

Students will research imaging and implement an image-driven design and fabrication process/tool to propose a structure for the 2016 Digital Fabrication Lab Pavilion, a prototypical pavilion-like structure.

>1st Phase-A: Material/Tool Development workshop

Early December – Mid-December (2 weeks)

>1st Phase-B: Material/Tool Development

Mid January – Late January (3 weeks)

>2nd Phase: Team Design Development

Late January – Mid-March (6 weeks)

Create a design and fabrication proposal for the 2016 DFL Pavilion.

3rd Semester: 2016 Digital Fabrication Lab Pavilion Construction Proposal

Early April – Late August (21 weeks)

Team production of 2016 Digital Fabrication Lab Pavilion construction proposal.