A year ago Cathal Garvey & Brian Degger introduced me to DIY Bio.

Basically, as I see it, DIY bio is currently a bunch of people sitting at home experimenting with biological processes. Right now a lot of people are at the “make my own yogurt” stage.  But, the ambition, scope & skills  of the people involved stretches way beyond this.

People are already making recombinant DNA, playing with enzymes, experimenting with E.coli, developing tools and sending cultures of bacteria around the world with UPS.  The bacteria+UPS element does tell us that DIY Bio is probably on its way to becoming one of the FBI’s favorite hobbies.

I’m personally most interested in the development of tools for DIY Bio. Cathal for example made a cheap centrifuge using 3D printers that people can buy or make at home. This kind of development has the potential to be a real force multiplier for the community. See a video of Cathal showing you his DremelFuge here. There is also a team working on an open PCR machine!

Going forward regulatory issues & terror fears will probably hurt DIY Bio.  It also has a strong icky-ness factor for some. But, the potential of the democratization of medical technology and biology in the home is both a scary and amazing one.

If you’re interested in more information here is a great post by Cathal detailing the state of DIY Bio at the moment.

Photograph is Creative Commons Attribution, JeabBapstiseParis

Hopefully at one point we can construct actual physical objects using voxels. We could select different Voxels based on their properties and characteristics and unique selections would lead to hereto unknown material properties.

What I would hope would be possible then is to 3D model on the level of the individual voxel. My 3D modeling app would display all the types of Voxels and I could simply select and place one or an entire field of Voxels on the app. I could paint with voxels if you will, just like some 3D modeling apps such as Zbrush let you do it now.

Only these voxels on my screen would behave like the physical Voxels that would be made with the VoxelFab process. The physics in the 3D modeling app would help you simulate and combine different Voxel combinations so you could “pre-cook” your designs and print out the promising ones. The screen would be an exact one on one representation of the final object. No conversion, no different formats:  what you see is  what you print.

The future of design, its actually a lot like MS Paint.

You know why it sucks to own a 3D printer? You no longer have any excuses.

• Don’t like your remote control?
• Think your TV is ugly?
• Don’t like your cutlery?
• Can’t find a nice present?
• Not happy with the grip of your golf clubs?
• Not enjoying the feel of your mobile?
• things in stores too boring for you?
• “they” don’t make that one thing any more?
• “they” don’t understand design
• “they” don’t cater to you
• “they” don’t care about functionality
• “they” don’t get it

Go make it. Design is no longer a spectator sport, so shut up and get printing. You no longer have any excuses.
Image is Creative Commons Attribution by Tony Buser

I coined the word VoxelFab in response to work by Hod Lipson & Jon Hiller on an idea by Neil Gerhshenfeld.

The basic concept is to have a rapid assembly machine. This machine would scoop up and  millions of individual “Voxels” and then deposit them in an organized fashion in a layer. The machine would add layer upon layer of voxels and in so doing build up an object.

A voxel is currently used as a term for a 3 dimensional pixel. The term is used in 3D modeling and gaming for a virtual pixel with volume. I use it here for a actual 3D dimensional object.  I’m going to try and capitalize Voxel when it refers to the physical Voxel. The dream would be for a voxel on a screen to be an accurate and direct representation of a Voxel in real life. This would seamlessly intertwine design and manufacturing.  Voxels would be universal LEGO blocks for constructing any object.

Since they would be rather small (100 micron) you would need billions of them to build anything. They could then be mass produced on a hereto unprecedented scale. If the basic specifications could be agreed upon many companies could develop ever cheaper ways of manufacturing Voxels making them inexpensive.

The great advantage VoxelFab technology would have over any other manufacturing technology would lie both in the widespread availability of these Voxels and the fact that you could develop different Voxels with different characteristics. You could have a magnetic Voxel for example, a conductive one, a soft one, a hard one etc. The ability for the VoxelFab machine to select and pick up different distributions of these different Voxels and organise them would give you hereto impossible material properties. Hod gave the example of a rubber band that would widen if pulled.You could imagine objects that were magnetic only in some areas or had varying degrees of magnetism, smoothness, hardness, flexibility etc.

A working VoxelFab is still years away, but the exciting possibilities of true digital materials will revolutionize design and manufacturing.

I’m currently involved with 3D printing, a precursor technology for VoxelFab. I think both technologies will bring about a world where anyone can make anything and where anyone can design anything. This is why I follow developments in the field of 3D printing, manufacturing technology, iterative design, generative design, “make”, networked manufacturing and personal production. This blog and the the coining of the term VoxelFab is my attempt at tracking developments leading up to a world where anyone making anything becomes a reality.

Join me on this journey.