A miter saw with some janky robots sawing what looks to be a flimsy piece of pine... is going to threaten IKEA?
OpenSCAD and parametric design is cool and all. But this is asinine. That's the most charitable way I could put any of this nonsense.
> AutoSaw is a fun proof of concept and a glimpse at a potential future: One where a robotic wood shop is part of your local home improvement store’s lumber department. Ready to cut/drill/route pieces for you to take home and assemble.
First, you don't go to your local Home Depot for furniture-quality lumber. Second, CNC furniture already exists and is way more impressive than this demo[1] Third, CNCs are robots too.
I see this sort of devaluation of design and craftsmanship often in DIY and elsewhere from people that don't know much about what makes IKEA special and what woodworkers actually do. IKEA sells solid designs at affordable prices using low cost but mostly durable materials. Woodworkers, on the other hand, use high quality lumber, precision jointery, and careful finishing. The finishing alone can sometimes take as long as building the entire project. They carefully avoid knots and trouble spots, they know which way to cut and glue according to grain, and they know about wood movement. They know that hard and soft words are different, and they know that, well, there are different types of wood. Shocking, right?
I'll take a solid design by actual designers rather than some parametric customizable monstrosity. Flat pack or Eames. It really doesn't matter.
OpenSCAD and parametric design is cool and all. But this is asinine. That's the most charitable way I could put any of this nonsense.
> AutoSaw is a fun proof of concept and a glimpse at a potential future: One where a robotic wood shop is part of your local home improvement store’s lumber department. Ready to cut/drill/route pieces for you to take home and assemble.
First, you don't go to your local Home Depot for furniture-quality lumber. Second, CNC furniture already exists and is way more impressive than this demo[1] Third, CNCs are robots too.
I see this sort of devaluation of design and craftsmanship often in DIY and elsewhere from people that don't know much about what makes IKEA special and what woodworkers actually do. IKEA sells solid designs at affordable prices using low cost but mostly durable materials. Woodworkers, on the other hand, use high quality lumber, precision jointery, and careful finishing. The finishing alone can sometimes take as long as building the entire project. They carefully avoid knots and trouble spots, they know which way to cut and glue according to grain, and they know about wood movement. They know that hard and soft words are different, and they know that, well, there are different types of wood. Shocking, right?
I'll take a solid design by actual designers rather than some parametric customizable monstrosity. Flat pack or Eames. It really doesn't matter.
[1] https://www.opendesk.cc/