Joyn Machine: Putting A New Angle On CNC Joinery

Simon Deeg and Andreas Picker have come up with an interesting new tool that takes a new approach to CNC woodworking. The duo that operate under the name Studio Milz, have created the Joyn Machine that is somewhat of a single purpose CNC router that aims to make things easier to go from concept to structure. Instead of having to go through the typical process of coming up with a design, then figuring out how the different technologies and methods can be used to make it: what parts will be hand produced, what parts will be milled, etc, Joyn does some computation and converts raw wood stock into interlocking puzzle-like structures. This allows for someone who has very little knowledge in actually building to complete a structure very easily.

They drew upon inspiration that they had seen while visiting a few different spaces where people create things:

There are several concepts and ideas that have influenced us. The notion of the prosumer is at the centre of our project. We have embraced the idea of the FabLab, as initiated by Neil Gerstenfeld from MIT, for a long time. On a more practical level, when we started using digital production processes like 3D-printing or CNC several years ago, this opened the door to a whole new world for us as designers. It completely changed our thinking and our approach to almost any project we tackled afterwards.

Essentially, JOYN MACHINE is not just a single tool, it is an all-in-one digital manufacturing machine. The concept combines state-of-the-art technology with a user-centred approach. All processes are streamlined so that almost anyone can design and produce wooden structures faster and more reliably than with other methods. JOYN MACHINE enables you to build very complex structures that would otherwise require advanced woodworking skills and a lot of experience in design and statics.

At Make: we have seen tons of cnc routers, cutters, 3d printers, etc. This approach is pretty unique as it isn’t aiming to be a diverse tool, but rather a highly specialized tool using CNC to make building structures more accessible to more people. You can feed it your designs or theoretically download designs from the web.

The machine isn’t available for purchase, and there is no crowdfunding campaign. The duo are exploring options on how they can bring it to market.

Right now, we are keen to work on use-cases and hands-on projects with our current version of JOYN MACHINE. We are planning to do so in architecture, exhibition design or public interventions.
The next step will of course be to found a company, bring together a team that will work together for a longer period of time and develop a market-ready product with all the functionalities we are envisioning.

The Joyn machine will be part of a permanent exhibition at Futurium, and they will be hosting workshops where people can build structures using the device.