CPEU4 - Main Stage - Nadya Peek
Channel: Campus Party
Date: 2016-06-29

Rapid Prototyping of Rapid Prototyping Machines
Making custom machines for automation enables precision, repeatability, and rapid turnaround in production. Digital fabrication techniques such as computer numerical control of machine tools, 3d printing, and robotic motion systems allow users to switch from making one part to a completely different one with only modifications in code, not to physical tooling.  However, current digital fabrication tools are still difficult to program, tedious, dangerous, and expensive. Because of this, the potentially agile tools are practically used in predominately the same way traditional machine tools were. To make digital fabrication and automation more accessible, I am developing a modular system for making machines that make-- including design patterns, user interfaces, motion control, mechanical systems, and end effectors. By lowering the barrier to entry for small-scale automation and digital control, unexpected users can take advantage of advanced manufacturing and automation, disrupting a power structure predicated on mass manufacturing and harnessing economies of scale.