New CNC Technology – Partnering Craftsmanship and Manufacturing

Instructors Ronnie Parsons and Gil Akos, at the Pratt Institute School of Undergraduate Architecture, are teaching students about new CNC technology. Specifically, they are addressing the difference between craftsmanship and manufacturing, with the goal of partnering them together. The former being the “workmanship of risk,” and the latter the “workmanship of certainty.”

The goal of the course is to shed new light in the field of architecture by examining the materials, tools and procedures of craft in relation to contemporary means of fabrication such as CNC production.

For the pictures in this post, students created their own tool paths instead of using generic models. RhinoCAM was used to create digitally-fabricated prototypes, which were then machined using Precision Board Plus PBLT-15.

Check out Ronnie and Gil’s website, Studio Mode for more information!

Additional pictures can be viewed here.