At LIGNA 2017, Okinlab GmbH from Saarbrücken unveiled an ingenious upgrade to its form.bar design app, originally released in 2015, in the form of a carpentry data platform that should not only make the design-to-production process much more efficient for manufacturers but at the same time form a new gateway to e-commerce. It is designed to optimize shapes mathematically and replicate natural forms and already incorporates manufacturing specifications during the design process for automated manufacturing using CNC milling.

To achieve this, form.bar covers the entire furniture manufacturing process from design right through to production in a single web application. This is meant to guarantee the functionality, esthetic appeal and manufacturability of the furniture and enable series-style production of unique designs. Shelves, sideboards, TV units, chests of drawers, benches, room dividers and many other kinds of furniture can be customized in 3D this way at www.form.bar . What’s more, the price for the choice and volume of material and CNC milling requirements is constantly calculated and displayed in real time throughout the actual design process. Okinlab has developed form.bar to standardize the design process for customized free forms and to pave the way in Furniture Manufacturing 4.0 by enabling the production of one-off pieces under far more favorable series conditions.

Video