Digital Fabrication *Design* | A Workshop with Faculty Joe Johnson
Digital Fabrication Workshop
with Joe Johnson
On April 1st and 2nd, 2021, Lab technician and Fine Arts coordinator Joe Johnson facilitated two Digital Fabrication workshops as part of the About *Design* event.
If you couldn’t attend, you can discover here what you missed.
During the workshops, Joe Johnson introduced the students to the Digital Fabrication tools available on campus, such as the 3D printer, laser cutter and vinyl printer. Students were invited to experiment with the laser cutter using different materials, for different applications – such as paper, card, plywood, perspex, fabric, leather, mirror or glass.
Through a series of tests, they discovered an array of possibilities offered when using the process of digital fabrication, as a conceptual or representational tool, as a fabrication technique in design projects or as a means of expression in artistic pieces.
Joe Johnson, about the Digital Fabrication Workshop:
“The workshop given April 1 & 2 was successful. Students were able to acquaint themselves with the machines digital fab lab. They were given an overview of how to use the cutting plotter and 3D printers and hands-on training using the laser cutting machine to engrave and cut materials such as fabric, tracing paper, cardboard, foam core, plexiglass, and plywood. Students seemed to enjoy using the laser cutter and said the workshop broadened their awareness of the various means the digital fab lab could be employed in the production of their work.”
The results of the workshop are now exhibited in the gallery on campus and illustrate the process involved in digital fabrication, potential applications, while show-casing finished pieces.
