StackMold: Rapid prototyping of functional multi-material objects with selective levels of surface details

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingArticle in proceedingsResearchpeer-review

We present StackMold, a DIY molding technique to prototype multi-material and multi-colored objects with embedded electronics. The key concept of our approach is a novel multi-stage mold buildup in which casting operations are interleaved with the assembly of the mold to form independent compartments for casting different materials. To build multi-stage molds, we contribute novel algorithms that computationally design and optimize the mold and casting procedure. By default, the multi-stage mold is fabricated in slices using a laser cutter. For regions that require more surface detail, a high-fidelity 3D-printed mold subsection can be incorporated. StackMold is an integrated end-to-end system, supporting all stages of the process: it provides a UI to specify material and detail regions of a 3D object; it generates fabrication files for the molds; and it produces a step-by-step casting instruction manual.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationUIST 2019 - Proceedings of the 32nd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology
Number of pages13
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Publication date2019
Pages687-699
ISBN (Electronic)9781450368162
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019
Event32nd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, UIST 2019 - New Orleans, United States
Duration: 20 Oct 201923 Oct 2019

Conference

Conference32nd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, UIST 2019
LandUnited States
ByNew Orleans
Periode20/10/201923/10/2019
SponsorACM SIGCHI, ACM SIGGRAPH

    Research areas

  • Computational design, Molding, Multi-material fabrication

ID: 239866419