1.New boundaries
Digital modeling has the potential to narrow the gap between presentation and building.
Exploring the fluid potential of technology to inform the design process and gear the evolution of design, while their experimentation is remarkable for being on a one-to-one scale.
With these CAD/CNC systems, the making itself becomes knowledge or intelligence, thus the boundaries between thinking and doing, design and fabrication, prototype and final design become quite blurred.
But between design and construction there’s always an intermediate process of translating graphical data to digital data that CNC machine can understand. Therefore architects and designer needs to be aware of how the machine works, the features of materials that they employ as well as the new possibilities that lie in the tooling process.
2. New opportunities and new vocabulary
With all these new digital design tools, through smooth, undifferentiated expanses become achievable and eventually reality.
Also, the subtle variation of system of elements, transformation of recognizable materials, and the visceral response are regarded as purview of the low arts/crafts. Now they are all redefined by a new architectural vocabulary.
3. Sectioning
3.1 Orthographical Drawing/ Sketching/ Projection
Orthographical drawing has been indispensable design device. With digital modeling, sections are no longer mere 2D drawing experiences, as designers are now dealing with increasingly complex geometries. But again, orthographical drawing in 3D has proven effective and compelling in responding to the new 3D context.
Nowadays sectioning and contouring commands are provided by various kinds of software that facilitate and simplify the making of sections (parallel or serial).(esp. software that deals with design and bases on orthographic views, e.g. Rhinoceros). Thus architects have sections assemblies at their disposal to produce structure and surface.
As Greg Lynn asserts, the computer animation has produced considerable aesthetical consequences like the shift from using Cartesian coordinates to define volumes to harnessing V and U vectors. A new mode of design is formed.
2.5/3 –axis cutting tools such as laser cutters, CNC routers, water-jet and plasma cutters – all work from the polylines to cut 2D materials.
Early adopters made a leap to bridge the conceptual gap between digital and physical model making. This has facilitated architectural design explorations.
Laser cutter was initially a tool for modeling that has fostered non-standard form making and redescribed precise forms with serial sections.
Reflection：
The development of new graphic design software and other kinds of new technologies has facilitated the designing process of architect. With these tools , the boundaries between development of presentation , experimental attempts and presentation become very obscure as we can think of possibilities while we are trying new ideas with a personal computer -- within the sandbox. However, the abuse of these tools can also cause problems, for there are still gaps between digital models to final fabrication, architects have to understand the basic principles of the software, and never use it as a handy tool to create crazy shapes or forms but use it as but another tool in design.