Reading Respone 1

1. What is the goal of the project? What values does the outcome and process support?
2. In what ways does digital fabrication support the goal of the authors/artists? Why do you think they chose to use that method of making?
3. What are the advantages or disadvantages of using digital fabrication in that project?
4. What aspects of 3D printing does the author critique in The Domestication of Plastic?

1. Print Green Download Print Green
2. Free Universal Construction Kit by Golan Levin and Shawn SimsDownload Free Universal Construction Kit by Golan Levin and Shawn Sims
3. The Domestication of Plastic by Heather DavisDownload The Domestication of Plastic by Heather Davis

Print Green

Print Green aims to challenge us to reconsider the environmental impact of printing. It promotes virtues like accountability, sustainability, and resource consumption awareness. Instead of carelessly depending on environmentally damaging traditional printing techniques, the process promotes the use of eco-friendly materials and waste reduction strategies. It serves as a reminder that innovative and environmentally friendly practices don't have to compete with one another.

Because digital fabrication can reduce waste and enable precise material use, it is a perfect fit for Print Green. The authors probably chose digital tools because they offer a way to prototype quickly and experiment with sustainable designs without the mass waste of traditional print runs.

Free Universal Construction Kit

By creating adapters that enable communication between various brands, the Free Universal Construction Kit aims to remove the barriers that separate closed, private toy systems. It encourages unrestricted play, creativity, and open access, promoting inclusivity and sharing values over firm ownership. The project's methodology challenges commercial gatekeeping in toys by promoting transparency, teamwork, and a DIY mentality.

Since anyone can download and print these adapters at home, 3D printing is very popular here. A drawback, though, might be that not everyone has access to 3D printers just yet, making it seem like it's only for wealthy people. Overall, though, the kit's goal of democratizing play is well suited to digital fabrication.

The Domestication of Plastic

Heather Davis criticizes the ways that 3D printing, despite its innovation, can replicate the issues that plastic has brought about, including environmental damage, mass consumption, and disposability. She notes that while 3D printing allows for customization, it also runs the risk of promoting an endless supply of plastic items without tackling the fundamental issues of pollution and waste that are ingrained in plastic culture.

Reading Davis caused me to reconsider that, despite being a new technology, 3D printing isn't always green or moral. We should really incorporate the ideas from the “Print Green” reading into the new technology wave of introducing 3D printers into everyday use. Her claim that the cultural adjustment of plastic causes people to ignore its negative environmental effects stuck with me, particularly the notion that digital fabrication tools may unintentionally encourage bad habits. It forced me to consider more carefully not only what we can create with 3D printers, but also why and how we decide to do it.