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Modular Approach to Designing 3D Printed Products: Custom HCI Design and Fabrication of Functional Products

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Book cover Design, User Experience, and Usability: Design for Diversity, Well-being, and Social Development (HCII 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 12780))

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Abstract

Alongside bringing about new ways to make products, additive manufacturing (commonly referred to as 3d printing) opens up new ways to design them. This article explores a speculative model and vision between HCI and Industrial design, where the use of modular and modifiable ‘CAD’ parts coupled with intelligent systems could be used within lay user/retail settings to enable non-designers to create custom functional objects, with limit prior knowledge. Leading to design outputs that can be fabricated by on-site and on-demand additive manufacturing technologies. This article reports on a design workshop where cycling enthusiasts, supported by industrial designers, utilised, configured and modified a range of ‘CAD parts’ to create custom-made functional objects for additive manufacture. The study findings indicate the practicalities and challenges of implementing an ‘HCI system’ for the production of novel functional objects by novice designers, and signposts further investigation.

The article yields value to HCI researchers through design-led opportunities, based on technological review and workshop insights; developing sustainable, resilient and independent manufacture. The combination of digital manufacture, design opportunity and intelligent HCI systems offer; new HCI models, distribution, design file access, standards compliance, unique Intellectual Property and building functioning customised parts. The (current) Covid-19 context, reaffirms the researches study offering new and agile opportunities that HCI principles can support and build from. The article makes recommendations, forming a design-led HCI software ‘blueprint’. Including guidelines on: part design, their interoperability, the design to production process, and embedding expertise and failure limitation within this process.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute (EP/G065802/1) & conducted while the team were at Brunel University. The authors thank all workshop participants and ‘Look Mum No Hands’ hospitality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Design Products, Royal College of Art, Kensington, UK

    Robert Phillips & Sharon Baurley

  2. University of Brighton, Product Design, UK

    James Tooze

  3. Glasgow School of Art, Innovation School, Glasgow, UK

    Paul Smith

Authors
  1. Robert Phillips
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  2. James Tooze
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  3. Paul Smith
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  4. Sharon Baurley
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert Phillips .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hunan University, School of Design, Changsha, China

    Marcelo M. Soares

  2. World Usability Day and Rabb School of Continuing Studies, Division of Graduate Professional Studies, Bentley University, Newton Center, MA, USA

    Elizabeth Rosenzweig

  3. Aaron Marcus and Associates, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Aaron Marcus

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Phillips, R., Tooze, J., Smith, P., Baurley, S. (2021). Modular Approach to Designing 3D Printed Products: Custom HCI Design and Fabrication of Functional Products. In: Soares, M.M., Rosenzweig, E., Marcus, A. (eds) Design, User Experience, and Usability: Design for Diversity, Well-being, and Social Development. HCII 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12780. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78224-5_43

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78224-5_43

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-78224-5

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