  Fabrication today relies on disparate, large machines spread across
industrial facilities. These are operated by domain experts to construct and
assemble artefacts in sequential steps from large numbers of parts. This
traditional, centralized mass manufacturing paradigm is characterized by large
capital costs and inflexibility to changing needs, complex global supply chains
hinged on economic and political stability, and waste and over-manufacturing of
uniform artefacts that fail to meet the technical and personal needs of today's
diverse individuals and use cases. Today, these challenges are particularly
severe at points of need, such as the space environment. The space environment
is remote and unpredictable, and the ability to manufacture in situ offers
unique opportunities to address new challenges as they arise. However, the
challenges faced in space are often mirrored on Earth. In hospitals, disaster
zones, low resource environments and laboratories, the ability to manufacture
customized artefacts at points of need can significantly enhance our ability to
respond rapidly to unforeseen events. In this thesis, I introduce digital
fabrication platforms with co-developed hardware and software that draw on
tools from robotics and human-computer interaction to automate manufacturing of
customized artefacts at the point of need. Highlighting three research themes
across fabrication machines, modular assembly, and programmable materials, the
thesis will cover a digital fabrication platform for producing functional
robots, a modular robotic platform for in-space assembly deployed in
microgravity, and a method for programming magnetic material to selectively
assemble.
