PREFACE Five years ago we designed and shared a line (Page 19 / 339) Design for CNC, Furniture Projects and Fabrication Technique

PREFACE

Five years ago, we designed and shared a line of CNC-fabricated furniture

with the intention of encouraging people to become digital makers. Since

then, over 10,000 downloads later, hundreds of makers from around the

world have locally fabricated their own versions. We believe design for CNC

can be more than just a new way of making things. It’s a new paradigm for

manufacturing that has positive impacts for local economies and the envi-

ronment. Whether you’re a designer, a fabricator, or a complete novice, we

wrote this book to give everyone the power to design for CNC.

This book teaches design and fabrication fun-

damentals through the making of useful, mean-

ingful, modern pieces of furniture. We

introduce practical techniques of working with

—and designing for—CNC tools within the con-

text of making furniture. Every project in this

book offers a unique lesson and yields a differ-

ent furniture piece. By completing the entire

collection of projects in this book, you’ll be able

to furnish almost any space, from a small

apartment to a house, classroom, workshop, or

even a tech startup office.

Understanding the scarcity of both classroom

and leisure time, the book begins with projects

that are achievable within a weekend. In later

chapters, you’ll find more challenging multi-

weekend projects to make as you expand your

knowledge, technique, and confidence in digital

fabrication.

What Is AtFAB?

AtFAB is a line of customizable furniture,

designed to be downloaded as a digital file, and

then “FABricated At” any location by anyone.

AtFAB consists of a collection of chairs, tables,

shelving, beds, and other pieces. Every piece is

comprised entirely of flat, interlocking parts,

which are cut with a CNC tool. The collection

shares a common language of precise, digital

joinery, structural assemblies, and overall volu-

metric, proportioned shapes.

The concepts behind AtFAB are rooted in our

early ambition to design everyday objects for a

networked, digital manufacturing process. We

sought to design furniture that a distant fabri-

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