Week 1 - Proposal

Rapid-Prototyping of Rapid-Prototyping Machines

Proposal

This is a course on the rapid-prototyping of rapid-prototyping machines, covering the theory and practice of digital fabrication. There will be weekly lectures, theory readings, and machine development projects throughout the semester.

  • Name: Desmond Lim
  • Interests: Fabrication, Making
  • Location: MIT Media Lab
  • Date: Feb 2015

Project 01a
My potential application proposal for the class is to make an affordable 3D scanner that can be used in every single household. The current market price for 3D scanners range from $499 to $10,000, and is prohibitively expensive, and out of reach of the average consumer. I hope to come up with an affordable 3D scanner that consumers can use in the comfort of their houses.
Project 01b
I hope for the 3D scanner to be used for two main functions (1) To help people measure their exercise and gym improvements or even just watching their waistline or body shape (2) To help consumers who want to tailor make clothes to readily deliver their measurements to the tailors, instead of having to make the trip down to the tailor's to have their measurements made. In the picture, you will a guy trying to bench-press, and what he will do is he will go to the mirror and try to flex his muscles to see whether they have grew, but a 3D scanner can do a far better job at that!
Project 01a
For potential capability for the class, I hope to focus on an area relevant to 3D scanning. I read online about the two potential capabilities (1) Structure light 3D scanning and (2) Time of flight 3D scanning. I found that structured light 3D scanning may be more relevant for a hand held consumer use 3D scanner. A structured-light 3D scanner is a 3D scanning device for measuring the three-dimensional shape of an object using projected light patterns and a camera system. The principle is that you project a narrow band of light onto a three-dimensionally shaped surface produces a line of illumination that appears distorted from other perspectives than that of the projector, and can be used for an exact geometric reconstruction of the surface shape