OBDF and the Thing Tank

Newly hired as Assistant Professor of Object Making and Emerging Technologies - I had two main goals in mind: 1.) Build a digital fabrication curriculum, and 2.) Develop a lab for prototyping, tinkering, and exploring emerging fabrication technologies.

One of the most exciting things about ACAD, in my eyes, is that the Media Arts (New Media) area (which is technically the area I work in), unlike any other institution I know of, is situated within a framework of Craft-based disciplines... making our part of the college the "School of Craft + Emerging Media" (SCEM).  I immediately became intrigued by the idea of utilizing this exciting intersection, and building a digital fabrication curriculum that plays to the strengths of ACAD's robust craft areas, and helps strengthen their connections to the Media Arts area.

By the end of my first year, I managed to create a new minor area of study, OBDF (Object Design and Fabrciation) whose electivity would span across SCEM's areas, and several areas in the School of Visual Art and the School of Communication Design.  I also wrote three new courses:

OBDF 110: 3D Object Design

OBDF 210: CAD and Digital Fabrication

OBDF 310: Algorithmic and Parametric Design

The next step (realistically it was a simultaneous step) was to develop a dedicated space to support this curriculum.  Enter the Thing Tank...

#acadthingtank

A post shared by Bryan J Cera (@cera.tops) on Mar 2, 2017 at 9:11pm PST

#acadthingtank tool wall is complete! @acadexperience

A post shared by Bryan J Cera (@cera.tops) on Aug 31, 2017 at 12:48pm PDT

As soon as I could, I applied for internal funding for the lab. While I waited to hear back, I brought some of my old equipment in (including the first 3D printer I ever built).

New #3dprint station in the #acadthingtank shaping up nicely! @acadexperience

A post shared by Bryan J Cera (@cera.tops) on Aug 16, 2017 at 6:46pm PDT

I also managed to restore and retrofit a CNC mill that was collecting dust in the Jewelry and Metalsmithing area's storage room, and did the same with a broken CNC router that lived in ACAD's woodshop.

It is looking like the #acadthingtank is soon to have a new #cnc thanks to #arduino and #gshield

A post shared by Bryan J Cera (@cera.tops) on May 13, 2017 at 6:49pm PDT

Finished the CNC dust shoe design/build! #digitalfabrication #acadthingtank @acadexperience

A post shared by Bryan J Cera (@cera.tops) on Nov 18, 2017 at 6:20pm PST

Alas, the lab did not receive funding the first year - which is understandable as the program was brand new, and would not officially be offered as a new minor until the following Fall.

Even so, I was able to utilize the equipment I cobbled together to work with students to explore digital fabrication methodologies and potential integration into their existing studio practices.

A great example of this can be seen in the work one of my students, Heather, a ceramics major, is doing:

Starting to apply what I am learning in my CAD object fabrication class to some of my ceramics. Created this image in Rhino and cut it in a vinyl plotter to use as a resist for a stain. #rhino #cad #design #vinyl #pots #potsonpots #pia #array #stain #ceramics #pottery #acadceramics #allclayallday #resist #objectdesign

A post shared by Heather Lott (@heather.m.lott) on Oct 20, 2017 at 3:38pm PDT

Finally finished! #espresso #espressomaker #mokapot #coffee #3dmodelling #rhino #object

A post shared by Heather Lott (@heather.m.lott) on Nov 12, 2017 at 7:42pm PST

This little teapot was created for my digital fabrication class. First it was modelled in Rhino and then cut on a cnc mill and then made into a negative player mould and finally slipcast! Woo! Now I got to glaze it #digitalfabrication #ceramics #pottery #teapot #tea #miniature #cnc #rhino #objectfabrication #allclayallday #slipcast #acadceramics

A post shared by Heather Lott (@heather.m.lott) on Dec 3, 2017 at 8:14pm PST

I'd show you some of the latest work she is doing, but it would be a bit of a spoiler for my next post, in which I plan on sharing where the majority of my energy has been devoted to in the studio. Stay tuned...