Quite a bit of it was given over to machinery for translating digital designs into actual objects - laser cutters, 3D printers, CNC machines and so on.
The message was that small scale versions of these technologies are now sufficiently established and sufficiently low cost that designers can now become makers as well.
Or from my point of view, I should be able to create a 3D design of some artwork on a computer and then get a machine to make it!
In the front of the exhibition there was a timeline tracking the invention of technologies that led to the industrial revolution, mass production, new modes of communication and so on.
It culminated in proposing that small scale digital manufacturing technologies and marketing developments powered by the Internet will deliver another big leap into the future. Cottage industries will be reborn!
I get quite excited by this sort of thing. In a previous life as a technology journalist I covered the emergence of PCs and the Internet. I also ended up being at the forefront of a technology-led revolution in publishing. So I think I understand the huge potential significance of new manufacturing technologies.
I also know from experience that people tend to gloss over shortcomings in emerging technologies and I thought there were signs of that at the Design Museum. For instance, this cute little Roland iModela CNC milling machine, pictured at the exhibition below, cost £499 plus VAT but it can only cut soft materials like plastic.
The live demonstration of other equipment also turned out to be limping a little - the demonstrators were having problems getting both of their 3D printers to work properly.
All the same, seeing this kit just after looking at how some of it is being used in architectural model making (see my previous post) has got me thinking about ways to exploit these new technologies in the sculpture I create.
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