ARCH 5051: PRINCIPLES OF DIGITAL DESIGN

AND FABRICATION IN ARCHITECTURE

REFLECTION PAPER - ASSIGNMENT 1

10.03.2021

DIGITAL FABRICATION IN ARCHITECTURE by Nick Dunn

Forming
By Asena Seda Ateş, 218355207

Forming is tooling through the generation of components from a mould or form, and is most readily
applied for the mass production of consumer products. It has been used to make such architectural
elements as façade panels, detail components and other hardware. On site, forming is a long-
established process for producing precast structural columns and beams, walls, panels or even
whole zones of the building such as circulation cores.

Forming is a key way of making curvilinear elements. The size and shape of each part is typically
constrained by the limits of the mould that may be produced by the CNC machine.

Female and Male Parts: Digital fabrication approaches the method in a similar manner, requiring a
mould or form which is usually created via CNC milling but occasionally uses rapid-prototyping
techniques. The forming process produces positive and negative moulds, also referred to as ‘male’
and ‘female’. Positive moulds are used for thermo- and vacuum moulding, whilst negative moulds
may also facilitate casting and injection moulding. Both types afford metal stamping and other
comparable methods.
 Advantages of forming: The forming process has considerable potential for architectural design,
since it may be utilized with a variety of materials and be easily integrated with traditional and digital
modes of making.

In conclusion, forming is an effective and relatively economical method of making a significant

number of components. Even in a greater degree than with folding, the key advantages of this
approach relate to full-size fabrication, which makes it an effective bridge between digital design and
production. Even though it requires a great deal of effort, time and cost to be spent in the fabrication
of the moulds; the result is less consuming than the other types of productions.