The combination of computer graphics, geometry, and rapid prototyping technology has created a wide range of exciting opportunities for using the computer as a medium for creative expression. In this talk, I will describe the most popular technologies for computer-aided manufacturing, discuss applications of these devices in art and design, and survey the work of contemporary artists working in the area (with a focus on mathematical art). The talk will be primarily non-technical, but I will mention some of the mathematical and computational techniques that come into play.

The slides for this talk can be found here as a pdf.

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Contact

If you would like to contact Dr. Kaplan check out his website or e-mail him at csk at uwaterloo dot ca.

Links and credits

This talk included images of the work of a large number of talented artists and researchers. I list them here and include links to their work online. Everyone is listed by order of appearance; when a credit appears to be missing, it's probably because the slides include photographs of my own work or joint work with collaborators. Thanks to all the artists who gave me permission to use photographs of their work here.

• Edmund Harriss: laser-cut business card
• Dan Funderburgh: laser-cut papercuttings and laser-etched wood sculpture
• Little Factory: laser-cut scarf
• Wim Delvoye: laser-cut gothic vehicles
• George Hart: modular kirigami, laser-cut acrylic and metal sculpture, 3D printed scupture
• Fischer: laser-cut wooden lamp (the lamp can be seen on ponoko.com)
• Georg Petchnigg: CNC sushi plate
• Bathsheba Grossman: 3D printed metal sculpture
• Carlo Sequin: 3D mathematical sculpture
• Helaman Ferguson: sculpture in stone and metal
• Vladimir Bulatov: 3D printed metal sculpture
• Rinus Roelofs: 3D geometric sculpture, printed and rendered
• Ergun Akleman: Sculpture and surface design. Note his downloadable TopMod software
• Emmanuel Lattes: twisted toroidal sculpture

Resources

Here are a few additional links of interest to the audience of this talk.

• hacklab.to: Toronto's hackerspace. The bought a disused laser cutter and refurbished it.
• My knife cutter is the QuicKutz Silhouette. I bought mine online from Scrapbooks by design in Toronto.
• Lazerit is a laser cutting service not far from the University of Waterloo campus.
• ponoko.com is one of a new breed of CAM-meets-Web2.0 sites. You create and upload a design, and can then order fabricated copies of that design in various materials. You can also set up a shop where others can do the same.
• The Fireball V90 is an inexpensive CNC router kit that would be fun for home hobby applications. For extra geek points, it has a mount designed to hold a dremel.
• Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories created CandyFab, a (low resolution) 3D printer that produces edible candy as output.
• The reprap Aims to design a 3D printer capable of manufacturing a complete copy of itself.
• Shapeways is essentially a 3D version of ponoko.com-an online 3D printing service bureau where you can set up a shop to sell your work.
• Bathsheba Grossman has her metal sculptures printed by Ex One's Prometal service.