TCT
Jonathan Rowley
Jonathan Rowley is a qualified Architect who established and ran London based AM service bureau Digits2Widgets (D2W) for 8 years. What differentiated D2W's approach was the opportunity for clients to communicate their ideas and ambitions before printing anything.
Through the privilege of working with an array of brilliant designers and innovative organisations across all fields of creative enterprise, a great deal was learned. Jonathan gained rare insight through matching designers’ ambitious hopes for 3D printing / Additive Manufacturing with the reality and was able to help clients reconcile this gap through the application of informed design.
He now applies this expertise through consultancy and education for Selective Laser Sintering and its specific DfAM. With a clear knowledge of the genuine boundaries and dynamic material properties of SLS, remarkable objects can be achieved. They go beyond simple shape making and can produce high quality, high value objects that both perform and economically stack up. Astute DfAM from the outset is key and makes AM look better.
In the world of 3D printing / Additive Manufacturing, the distinction between purposeful uses of the existing technologies and Science Fiction is often blurred. It is now relatively straightforward to distinguish the realistic applications of AM from the total non-starters. The fascinating projects are the "just maybes", where the ability to design with and around the technology's limitations can make these potentials a reality.
Jonathan's aim is to develop the widest possible DfAM understanding, so that any potential AM adopter has the best chance to reap the benefits that these remarkable technologies have to offer. To this end he is developing AM Manifest; a project that brings clarity to the complex world of additive manufacturing.
Jonathan has collaborated on significant one off and production projects with major designers, artists and brands, including Ron Arad’s “Genius 100” 3D printed book for the Albert Einstein Archive at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
He is an Associate Lecturer at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London on the MA in Design for Industry 5.0 and the BA (Hons) Product and Industrial Design courses. Jonathan is also an active member of the steering committee for the UK DfAM Network, the TCT Editorial Advisory Group, and he is one of the judges of the TCT Awards.
