The new ways we make is a talk series organised by Fab Lab Limerick with the support of Irish Design 2015 about the impact of digital fabrication in design. Digital fabrication has been used for rapid prototyping in the manufacturing industry for more than two decades now. New open source designs for 3D printers, laser cutters and CNC machines have dramatically lowered the entry cost for these technologies making them accessible to all sorts of creative disciplines. Designers, craftspersons and architects are using digital fabrication to redefine design at its very core, from new professional roles, to alternatives to mass manufacturing and traditional consumption models.
Facit Homes is one of the first companies in the world to digitally fabricate and manufacture an entire house on-site. The company’s patented D-Process uses a compact, high-tech machine to turn a 3D computer model into exact physical components that can be snapped together like LEGO bricks. Facit Homes’ D-Process was shortlisted as one of 60 finalists for the 2013 Index: Award.