Digital FabricationLaser, router and 3D print: what each makes well, and what it cannot.Art & DesignMatch the process to the geometry, then draw for it.ProcessMakesConstraintLaser cutterFlat parts, engraving2D only; kerf; material listCNC routerSheet and 3D reliefTool radius at inside cornersFDM printRough 3D parts, fastLayer lines; needs supportsSLA resinFine detail, smoothBrittle; messy; needs curingVinyl cutterSignage and stencilsMinimum line weight3D scanningCapturing a real formNoisy; heavy cleanupDraw for the process. A part designed without the tool radius, the kerfor the layer direction in mind will not come off the machine.Digital Fabricationlearnposters.com
Digital Fabrication — printable design wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

What’s on the Digital Fabrication poster

A 6-row table: Process · Makes · Constraint.

Match the process to the geometry, then draw for it.

Draw for the process. A part designed without the tool radius, the kerf or the layer direction in mind will not come off the machine.

Questions about the Digital Fabrication poster

What’s on the Digital Fabrication poster?
A 6-row table: Process · Makes · Constraint. Match the process to the geometry, then draw for it. Laser cutter — Flat parts, engraving — 2D only; kerf; material list; CNC router — Sheet and 3D relief — Tool radius at inside corners; FDM print — Rough 3D parts, fast — Layer lines; needs supports; SLA resin — Fine detail, smooth — Brittle; messy; needs curing; Vinyl cutter — Signage and stencils — Minimum line weight; 3D scanning — Capturing a real form — Noisy; heavy cleanup. Draw for the process. A part designed without the tool radius, the kerf or the layer direction in mind will not come off the machine.
Who is the Digital Fabrication poster for?
Digital Fabrication belongs to the Art & Design section rather than to a school year, because design is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning form & 3d can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Digital Fabrication poster?
Use it when choosing a process for a part before you draw the part. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Digital Fabrication belongs on the wall where that design work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Digital Fabrication?
Tolerance & Fit, Modelling & Carving and Armatures sit alongside Digital Fabrication in the Art & Design section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Tolerance & FitModelling & CarvingArmatures
Is the Digital Fabrication poster free to download and print?
Yes. Digital Fabrication downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Art & Design section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Digital Fabrication poster print at?
Digital Fabrication is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Digital Fabrication loses nothing.Printing guide

Related posters

Charts that sit alongside Digital Fabrication on the same wall.

Browse every Art & Design poster, or start from the full catalogue.