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DESIGN 37
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VR-BASED DIY WOODWORKING

FROM VIRTUAL DESIGN TO PHYSICAL

FABRICATION WITH BLUEPRINT EXPORT

DIY furniture making in the physical world is often hindered by trial-and-error failures. Virtual reality
can eliminate these barriers by providing a risk-free environment for design exploration, yet existing
VR-based DIY systems lack the capability to translate virtual designs into physical objects. This
study proposes a VR-DIY system that supports both virtual furniture creation and physical fabrication
through blueprint export. The system allows users to generate, cut, and join 3D objects in VR, then
disassemble the finished design into parts with dimensions labelled and export a PDF blueprint
reporting six-view photographs, dimensions, and material cost for each part. By Rikuto Nishii and
Yuichiro Fujimoto, Ryukoku University

o It Yourself (DIY") describes activities in which For many potential makers, the fear of making irreversible
individuals build, repair, or otherwise make things mistakes or wasting expensive materials prevents them from

Dwithout relying on professional tradespeople, and even starting a project.
furniture making is one of its most representative forms. Virtual reality offers a way to remove these costs. Because
Physical DIY, however, is inevitably accompanied by a VR environment is virtual, neither material loss nor injury can
problems that are difficult to avoid: trial-and-error failures, occur, and because users can walk through the space and
wasted material, and the risk of injury. inspect a life-size object from any direction, VR-based design
These costs constitute a substantial barrier to DIY and activity can approximate physical DIY realistically.
are frequently cited as a reason people avoid it altogether. This suggests that VR-based DIY can reproduce the

Lorax