AutoMAKE: Generative systems, digital manufacture and craft production

The project on which this paper is based concerns combining computer based generative systems with craft knowledge and digital production technologies to create a new way of designing and making works which challenges the boundaries between maker and consumer, craft and industrial production.
This ongoing research project involves the development of a digital generative system for the creation of one off craft/design works based on randomly generated 3D matrixes. The system is to be used by the maker/researcher involved in the project to develop new work, and most significantly, by consumers who will then become ‘co-creators’ of their own craft/design works. To this end software with a user friendly interface is being developed to facilitate the creation of new works by users with no previous experience of CAD. The data produced by this new software will then be used to directly control a range of rapid prototyping and manufacturing technologies, and CNC machinery, which will physically produce the new designs in a range of materials at different scales.
The introduction to the paper will provide a brief context for this project and include an outline of the principal issues it raises for both consumers and makers. The main body will discuss the development of the generative software and its interface using game authoring software. The procedures developed to translate the generated virtual forms into physical works will also be discussed. The conclusion will involve a critical reflection on the project to date and discuss its future development.