Design for Cnc: Furniture Projects and Fabrication Technique - Paperback

Design for CNC: Furniture Projects and Fabrication Technique is a practical guide crafted for homeschool families and their kids who want to explore DIY furniture through CNC routing. This paperback edition guides you from the basics of CNC fabrication to the design process, production, and the construction of your own furniture designs, with the AtFAB project series integrated throughout.

Key Features & Design

• Format: Paperback edition with 337 pages and compact dimensions (approximately 0.5 x 9.7 x 8 inches), making it a portable reference for home workshops or classroom use.
• Authors: Gary Rohrbacher, Anne Filson, and Anna Kaziunas France—leaders in architecture, design, and digital fabrication, co-founders of Filson and Rohrbacher and the AtFAB program.
• What you learn: The book covers the basics of CNC fabrication, the design process, production planning, and assembly of furniture designs, along with an overview of digital techniques and design thinking.
• Projects: Through the AtFAB series of projects, you’ll explore real furniture designs you can design, fabricate, and assemble, resulting in tangible pieces you can use or pass on as heirlooms.
• Audience: Particularly well-suited for homeschool families, maker spaces, and schools exploring hands-on design and fabrication with a CNC router and wood materials.

Performance / Benefits

• Hands-on learning aligned with homeschool curricula: Combines design thinking, digital fabrication concepts, and practical woodworking to support STEAM education and project-based learning.
• Skills you’ll gain: How to design for CNC, select suitable materials, prepare toolpaths, set up a CNC job, and assemble and finish parts into sturdy furniture pieces.
• Curriculum connections: Integrates with STEM/STEAM programs, engineering fundamentals, math measurement and geometry, and creative problem solving—providing a flexible resource for formal or informal study.
• Real-world relevance: Bridges digital concepts with tangible artifacts, helping kids see how digital fabrication translates into functional, durable furniture.
• Unique value: Emphasizes large-scale, durable builds and iterative design processes that leverage CNC workflows and production thinking, setting it apart from more generic crafting guides.

For families building a hands-on, project-based homeschool maker curriculum, this book offers a structured path to mastering CNC furniture fabrication—combining design thinking with practical, build-ready projects.