Based in Mumbai and founded by proprietor Pritesh Shah, Aptech’s work in CNC technology has been critical in realising complex spatial and material explorations that involve co-creating ideas with brands, designers and architects.
What makes an object affordable (or not)? Apart from its intended user, factors like demand and supply, production technology, production cost and material cost come into play. Efficient manufacturing technologies today makes it possible to create complicated objects with ease, and for designers, this has opened up a big market for customised furniture, modular furniture and installation art.
We look at a technique called CNC Routing used to produce customised furniture and complex forms with finesse and efficiency. CNC Routing is also used by large modular furniture brands to manufacture high-quality products in numbers, employing a smaller workforce to do so. CNC Routing is not new internationally or in India, but unbeknownst to us, it is behind objects we are interacting with everyday in our interior spaces.
FIRST, LET’S SIMPLIFY HOW CNC ROUTING WORKS
Crafting, calculation and construction are 3 important ingredients for creating precise objects. Craft is the work of the creative; calculation – the work of a logician; and construction – the work of a confidante who goes by the name of vendor, contractor, fabricator and others.
CNC stands for computer numerical control. CNC routing is akin to Routing with a hand-held router used for woodworking. A CNC routing machine is controlled by a computerised system and can be used to cut a range of hard materials such as wood, metals, MDF, chipboard and other composites.
The process is as follows – the designer or architect sends Aptech their CAD drawings. These are then converted to CAM (computer-aided machinery) drawings by a licensed software. These CAM drawings are routed via a computer to relay the x,y, and z coordinates of each point on the surface (contour) to a cutting machine.
The base plane (0,0,0) for the cutting machine is the surface of the material being cut or milled. Simply put, a software converts complicated three-dimensional CAD to CAM drawings, calibrates the X, Y and Z coordinates, routes them to a cutting machine that mills the surface of a material. That’s basic robotics.
If the objects can be made using two-dimensional cuts, a two-axes CNC machine is used (that only reads x and y coordinates) versus a three-axes machine which is used to create an undulating surface like that of a sand dune or a crumpled paper. To understand this better, refer to the side-boards from MuseLAB’s Living Library and Free Spirited projects, in the images. Let’s look at the example of MuseMart’s ‘Say Cheese’ Wine Rack to understand how Aptech collaborates with designers, and the value they bring.
THE ‘SAY CHEESE’ WINE RACK BY MUSEMART
MuseMart is a product brand by MuseLAB Design Engine, a Mumbai-based studio specialising in architectural and interior design. The ‘Say Cheese’ Wine Rack from MuseMart is a modular take on wine-and-cheese, exploring flexibility: a yin-yang form that can be rotated, stacked, or placed on a wall or table in different permutations and combinations, and can still function well.
The rack makes use of 8 layers of 25mm birch ply, an innately beautiful material, CNC milled and laminated together to give a wine rack. The surface has small scattered depressions that emulate cheese, to complete the ‘wine-and-cheese’ metaphor. The holes of the stand can store 4 bottles and one more can be accommodated on the slight dip in its elbow.
The product was designed by MuseLAB, routed by Aptech, and the sheets were manually laminated and hand-polished.
The product by itself is made up of 8 layers of 25mm ply which are laminated together. If you take each sheet, the outline and the circles are routed. This uses a 2-axes where each sheet is cut like one would laser-cut. However, the ‘cheese’ depressions on the surface are cut using a 3-axes router on the surface of the top ply.
APTECH, A DESIGNER’S CONFIDANTE
There are 2 types of people, one who will manufacture things for an architect. They bring no added value in terms of how to save on material, how to save time and cost either. The other type are Pritesh and Ajaz who simplify the complicated designs and optimise the process – their appreciation of design is the difference.
Huzefa Rangwala, architect and co-founder at MuseLAB Design Engine
All these units have the right machines; they manufacture products for modular furniture brands at a fairly large scale (all modular furniture is CNC milled). The process reduces human labour and is definitely an efficient way of working but when it comes to complex designs, “you need to collaborate with people who understand the design intent and that’s where Aptech comes in. They work with Nuru Karim, Sameep Padora and other such boutique practices that do “cool” work that’s parametrically complex. They (Aptech) understand design. It’s a one-stop-shop for designers like us,” says Huzefa.
Considerate to material, technique and intent; by ‘logicing’ manufacturing to a degree that purely as a designer, one might not be able to. During my visit, I saw prototypes of innovative prosthetics developed by students of IDC, IIT Powai being milled. It is this spirit of experimenting and collaborating with architects and designers, that sets the work of Aptech apart ⊗
Initiated in the year 1999, APTECH has come to be known as one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers in the domains of Laser Cutting, Laser Engraving, 3D and 2D CNC Routing, CNC Cuttings, Murals and Designer installations making, Signage Products and Thermoforming. Aptech’s clients include brands such as L & T, Lodha Group, Kalpataru Group, Raheja Group, Phoenix Mills Group, Godrej Group, Sheth Creators, Narang Realities. For the purpose of this article, we’ve focused on their work with architects and designers.
ANUSHA NARAYANAN (Author) studied architecture from SMVDU, Jammu & Kashmir. She is a Partner at Fish Do It Consultants, a writer/editor and former curator of Colour Quotient by Asian Paints. In the past, she has been the associate editor at Kyoorius, a writer at Indian Architect & Builder, and a freelance contributor to Insite (IIID).
