Advances in Additive Manufacturing, Modeling Systems and 3D Prototyping

As 3D Printing process, technologies and tools are rapidly becoming pervasive and used both in industrial and in non-industrial contexts, the risk to have new unsustainable printing processes and production’s behaviours is high and, potentially, can led to the increasing of environmental emergency (unsustainable growth). On the other hand, Design for Sustainability works, since late 80’s, on the mitigation of production’s environmental foot-print and, recently, on the development of socio-technical systems and distributed hybrid solutions empowering both environmental aspects and socio-economic ones. This paper investigates the new concept of Sustainable 3D Printing using recent Design for Sustainability’s research theories and design approaches, in order to evaluate, and later describes, promising design opportunities and research perspectives that can be used and taken into account, simultaneously, by designers, researchers, entrepreneurs and policymakers to support the societal transition toward sustainable ways of design, production and consumption.

The paper suggests to reflect and to discuss on Innovation through the 3D printing applied in the field of guitar design. The use of specific 3D modeling software and the development of 3D printing technologies for the creation of objects through additive production, favors new design processes increasingly oriented to the research of complex and personalized forms of musical instruments and electric guitars in particular. Design studios and small companies, with the collaboration of musicians and violin makers, experiment with new languages ​​and advanced production techniques to make guitars, but also very light and transparent electric violins, as well as the prototype of a sax or the concept of a piano.

The contribution has the aim of analyze the importance of traditional manufacturing systems in different contexts and how these are integrated adding value to the whole process. In the Italian and Tuscan context, in particular, it is useful to highlight how manufacturing production represents not only a production model but also an element of cohesion of the social environment.

This paper addresses the material buildability challenge in extrusion-based 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) applications, since this is paramount to increase production rates of vertical elements such as columns. We utilized oscillatory rheology to determine the early-age structural build-up curves of 3DCP mixes comprising White Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Calcium Aluminate Cement (CAC), limestone filler, sand, viscosity modifying agent, retarder, and a plasticizer. Such curves served as basis to verify whether a geometry is printable, allowing for tuning the printing process parameters. The material characterization approach is validated through a case study, in which a column was designed – defining the structural build-up requirements – and printed using a robot-based 3DCP at a 0.68 m/h vertical build rate. Such case study and lessons thereof provide valuable insights into the link between design, material properties and 3DCP process parameters, setting the basis for a comprehensive study on the early-age structural build-up measurements to support 3DCP mix design.

In Italy, craftsmanship has traditionally been associated with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); these can be demonstrated in distinctive examples of excellence, but on the other hand of great weaknesses; However, Large companies have begun to understand the craftsmanship values, encompassing the role of artisans in their marketing strategies. The artisan’s role of initiator and co-designer is seldom recognized by major brands, and many big companies actively conceal the contributions made by production excellence within SMEs. Maintaining this non-recognition—within the fashion community, between brand and producer—keeps consumers focused on the intangible value of the brand, rather than the tangible value contributed by traditions and innovations within production.

The paper aims to analyze the deep relationship occurring between small proactive communities within urban areas and innovative and collaborative means of production. A categorization is finally given to define different types of products that, by being related to the territory’s unique identity, get to be defined as markers, bringers of value.

Induction heating has been used widely for heating and melting of metal workpieces. We have designed and developed a low-power, high-frequency electromagnetic Induction heater (IH) for metal 3D printing using a zero-voltage switching (ZVS) circuit. During this process, an alternating current pass through inductor and capacitor tank circuit at its resonating frequency and creates an alternating magnetic field inside the helical induction coil. Alternating magnetic field leads to the generation of eddy currents in the workpiece. Due to Joule heating, these eddy currents heat and melt the workpiece in a short time. A real-time monitoring and control of the workpiece temperature were implemented for lead-free solder (Sn99Cu1) using a metal-oxide-semiconductor-field-effect transistor (MOSFET) based control circuit driven by Data Acquisition (DAQ) module and LabVIEW. To demonstrate the 3D metal printing, molten solder was deposited drop-by-drop using a lead-screw based computer-controlled positioning system. Solder was melted inside the aluminium tube attached with the brass nozzle. The nozzle diameter and distance between the nozzle head to the bed surface was 0.4 mm and 7 mm respectively. The droplets were generated by vibrating the whole nozzle filled with molten solder using a vibration motor attached to the nozzle tube. The vibration motor frequency and relative speed of the bed surface were ≈130 Hz and 25 cm/min respectively. A study of varying molten solder temperatures to print multi-layer structures with controlled CNC movement was conducted for printing 3D metal structures. The solder was printed in the form of individual droplets at temperatures close to the melting point (227 °C) while at higher temperatures (235 °C) the molten droplets fused before solidifying.

The design freedom offered by 3D printing is transformative and has been leveraged to fabricate structural electronics with multi-functionality. A proposed approach to extend this concept is to print three-dimensional jigsaw subsections of a structure with mortise and tenon features, populate the superficial surfaces with wires and components and then fuse the pieces together to allow for arbitrary placement of the electronics within the final structure. By constructing the final structure with multiple pieces, a diversity of materials (e.g. stiff and flexible) can also be leveraged in order to create new applications like bladder pumps, shape-to-fit flexible wearables, etc. The paper explores the mechanical utility by measuring shear and butt joint strength of fused vat photopolymerized pieces. Once validated, several demonstrations were designed and implemented to illustrate how consolidating a group of mated complex pieces can enable novel applications including wearables, soft robotics, and spatially-efficient electronics.

This study developed a 3D print modeling system that allows general users to operate only through a simple friendly user interface, which can directly generate G-code files, and does not need to convert the model in different software. This system is currently enable to create pottery design in special surface textures called EZ-print, a Transparent String-like pottery design system. This system based on “from code to design” process. It uses “toolpath modeling” method to replace surface/solid modeling method in order to skip the slicing operation in Slicer Software. Therefore, it can generate G-code files directly in EZ-print system and 3D print the model easily.

In recent years, 3D printing has extended its applications from conventional prototyping to direct fabrication of functional parts. The advantage of 3D printing in its design flexibility and complexity has driven novel design methods that can get over traditional manufacturing constraints, and has been used to designs of lightweight structures or functional products. In the present study, we developed an automatic design of lightweight structures for weight reduction and better ventilation of 3D printed parts. Two automatic design methods of lightweight structures based on finite element (FE) mesh were developed: porous shell structures based on 3D triangular mesh and lightweight cellular structures based on 3D tetrahedral mesh.

This paper presents the simplification of the head movements from the analysis of the biomechanical parameters of the head and neck at the mechanical and structural level through CAD modeling and construction with additive printing in ABS/PLA to implement non-verbal communication strategies and establish behavior patterns in the social interaction. This is using in the denominated MASHI (Multipurpose Assistant robot for Social Human-robot Interaction) experimental robotic telepresence platform, implemented by a display with a fish-eye camera along with the mechanical mechanism, which permits 4 degrees of freedom (DoF). In the development of mathematical-mechanical modeling for the kinematics codification that governs the robot and the autonomy of movement, we have the Pitch, Roll, and Yaw movements, and the combination of all of them to establish an active communication through telepresence. For the computational implementation, it will be show the rotational matrix to describe the movement.

External fixation is an old and well-established method widely used in the treatment of skeletal muscle trauma or fractures. By taking the advantages of 3D printing, we have designed a patient-specific 3D printed fracture external fixator and fabricated successfully with the automatic reduction function and successful applied in the clinic. The fixator had the advantages of accurate reduction, minimally invasion, easy manipulation, aesthetical, and experience-independence. This paper thinks fundamentally to the potential improvement in function, usability and user experience of connected health systems of the personalized external fixation. Through the summarize and analyze of usability in external fixator, compared with traditional usability principles we conducted necessary evaluations and items relate to the design and usability of customized medical devices, efficacy evaluation in satisfying surgical requirements by experts and summative evaluation for user experience by patients. Framework of the technology-pushed medical additive manufacture personalization was established. Meanwhile, usability design process of the customized product enabled by 3D printing was analyzed. In addition, combined with the principle of design for additive manufacture and application, taking patient-specific external fixator design as an example, this paper also analyzed and summarized the patient-specific design process which initializes design from the perspective of functionality achievement of patient specific customized human factor and ergonomics such as safety and effective. Specifically, this study provides a theoretical support for the improvement and design of patient-specific 3D printed products, combing theory and practice. Simultaneously, it provides suggestions for the future customized medical devices.

In this paper, we present a series of case studies of origami-like geometries modelled and animated following the principles of the synthetic method applied through parametric modelling applications. The aim of this research is to analyze the benefits and criticalities of the proposed method in the field of applied origami design. The presented method will be compared with the algebraic-based analytical approach highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of both methods. This paper is based on the PhD thesis of the last Author and we present a selection of the most interesting generative algorithms we have studied and designed.

Current digital design tools rapid prototyping techniques are today still misunderstood due to their poor accessibility and ease of use that limit their diffusion. However, additive manufacturing technology can produce a positive impact both in design and in production processes. Compared to the traditional productions, it produces a renewal of the design activity and, as such, it needs to be more explored. 3D Printing raises a new vision of mass production, which is in contrast to what the Industrial Revolution proposed years ago; it indeed separates the mass-produced items from production machineries, moving directly to a new idea of ‘customization’. Since today the production capacity is no longer based only on the replicability of the single product, this work explores the role of 3D Printing for customizable jewelry products for mass production. It emphasizes the design role by bringing back the idea of production toward a sense of contemporary craftsmanship in which every good expresses an own beauty by imperceptible uniqueness. The essence of this new vision based on designable uniqueness has to be found beyond to the idea of mass production. Current experiments on materials’ expressivity and generative design, contribute to define a new approach based on the idea of ‘customizable mass customization’.

The goal of this article is to show the opportunities and limitations of Robust Design techniques in the design process of developing new applications that combine 3D printing and textiles. Two case studies are discussed in which various elements of Robust Design techniques were used to understand and improve the adhesion strength of 3D printed material on fabric and the pressure exerted by a pneumatic actuator for the purpose of acupressure point manipulation. The advantage of combining 3D printing and textiles is the possibility to transform the properties of a regular textile material by using additive manufacturing. This can be beneficial for the design of specific products and contexts, for example to add mechanical or electronic functions. The experiments presented in this paper were executed as part of an undergraduate course taught to design students in the context of an Industrial Design program.

The essay presents the results of a still ongoing research on the historical center of Manziana and on the cultural landscape around Bracciano Lake. In particular, the contribution studies the visual relationships between the village of Manziana, the other villages nearby, the Hermitage of Montevirginio and the area of the lake through the viewsheds analysis. Viewsheds analysis, generally performed through GIS software, if implemented through algorithmic modeling tools, allows obtaining data immediately usable in modeling software aimed at architectural and landscape design, reducing the gap between the analysis of reality and the design of future interventions.

The study deepens the design of a joining system for bamboo spatial structure by proposing new and advanced solutions that guarantee maximum freedom of composition to the designer. The joint allows to determine and control parametrically the adaptability to any spatial grid configuration of culms with heterogeneous dimensions. Despite the bamboo being one of the main natural building materials in the field of sustainable architecture, currently, it is not used enough due to the lack of adequate connection systems. Bamboo is a rapidly growing renewable resource, naturally available, which is quite strong and lends itself to structural applications. The paper proposes an innovative approach to architectural design by parametric modelling techniques developed in recent years in parallel with advances in the field of computational geometry. The 3D prototyping of different types of joints and the architectural-compositional design of a temporary structure, destined to be used as an exhibition pavilion, have made it possible to validate the technological solution defined.

This paper aims to investigate how the open-design approach can help in the regeneration processes of historical urban heritage through participatory design path. The opportunity to experiment with the methods and techniques of open-design was offered by a research project called Visionaria conducted in the city of Senigallia (Marche, Italy). Visionaria consists of a series of open activities by dedicated young people under 35 years of age, with the aim of regenerating an urban space at an important central location in the city center. The planning of the project was shared and achieved through a digital fabrication workshop based on a mix of parametric modeling and low-cost manufacturing solutions.

The HBIM approach (Historic Building Information Modeling) arouses an increasing interest in the survey of the existing, by virtue of the numerous opportunities that it offers with regard to the optimization of management, maintenance and protection of cultural heritage. However the artefacts with a high cultural-architectural appeal are characterized, in general, by a considerable of geometries’ complexity, which cannot always be perfectly reconstructed through a common BIM workflow. The aim of this research, focused on the study of the vaults of the Renaissance cloister of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan (designed by Bramante at the end of the 500), is precisely to identify and test different workflows to create a mathematical model (starting from a point cloud obtained through laser scanner) that reproduces the real geometries of the case study and that, at the same time, can be parameterized in a BIM environment.

The research activity focused on the construction of four architectural models of selected projects by Pier Luigi Nervi: the Giovanni Berta municipal stadium project in Florence (1929–32), the Flaminio stadium project in Rome (1956–59), the Swindon Stadium tribune project (unbuilt of 1963–66) and the Kuwait Sport Center stadium project (unbuilt of 1968–69). The models were displayed to the public in an exhibition that involved different institutions such as the Alma Mater University of Bologna and the MAXXI in Rome (National Museum of the Arts of the XXI century). The intent was to highlight the formal structural and geometric aspects of the selected works, in relation to specific design phases considered relevant. In particular, for the Flaminio and the Berta stadium projects, the models show some interpretations that do not represent their current configuration but which refer to design choices deducible from the original materials.

This research is aimed at the analysis, communication and dissemination of projective principles at the basis of perspective through the construction of digital parametric models and physical models made with rapid prototyping techniques. The interest in perspective derives from its transversal nature, because it permeates the representation of reality in all its communication forms. The experimentation describes the perspective in its general form, namely solid form, and in the particular cases that correspond to the plane perspective and to the real space. It involves the realization of the physical models starting from the virtual models, with which the observer can interact, observing perspective from inside and outside, thus revealing the reasons of its illusory power.

The development of different types of digital representations has shifted the designer’s attention from the morphological description of the object to the associative relationships of the parts that compose it. The integration between different models has therefore become a central and critical activity. It is precisely in the integrated and simultaneous reading of ideal models of digital form that the contribution to the knowledge and transmission of a cultural asset could be provided. The present essay proposes a critical analysis of the use of generative procedural models applied to the digital representation of cultural heritage to analyze the potential of procedural models for integration with qualitatively different models. The proposed case study is the Arch of Titus in Rome, characterized by a strong sculptural and architectural value. For this reason, it appeared to be a particularly significant case study for developing an experimental investigation about integrated digital modeling.

In recent years, generative modeling has assumed a very important role in the training of the designer. The generative approach, in fact, educates to a conscious and rigorous representation of the form through a logical process that describes its geometric genesis by making explicit the dimensional and proportional relationships between the parts that compose it, information that can always be accessed to verify the quality of the project reading and with which it is possible to interact. Through the exposure of selected case studies, drawn from the tradition of interior design, we will see how the generative model is able to express in a summarized and comprehensive form the information necessary and sufficient to define the genesis of the shape of an object and, in as such, to educate the student to a conscious and controlled design of the form.

In recent years, the use of Image-Based Modeling (IBM) and Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetric techniques is increasing in the area of surveying. The quality parameters of this type of survey, widely practiced, are not today univocally defined. In fact, in order to be tested, metric quality often requires comparison with the acquisitions made with other technologies and, at the same time, the definition of color quality is a field still little explored, although it provides significant information content. The experimentation presented is aimed at finding a methodology for measuring the quality of an image-based model, with particular reference to chromatic definition, expressed in terms of overall sharpness and resolution. The proposed algorithm, which is general and therefore valid regarding any subject whatever the shooting conditions, must be understood as a basis for discussion about this significant issue and as an invitation to explain the construction processes at the basis of the realization of these types of models.

The research investigates experimental digital models, used to enhance the educational methodology, concerning the fundamentals of graphic representation, especially in the general sense of perspective models. In this experimentation, we examine the high communicative efficacy of a generative parametric interactive models, constructed on the basis of visual nodal programming, which: on one hand makes it possible to explain in graphic form the hierarchical and temporal relation of geometrical operations and projective on which the representation is based; on the other hand it allows to experiment the parametric dynamic models, in order to appropriate the perceptual changes that arise from the projective variations that can be established between the geometrical entities present in the models. A possibility, this dynamic interaction, which has not yet been sufficiently experienced and that deserves attention and research.

This study reports on a social project involving a collaborative process to co-create toys together with hospitalized children, using Virtual Reality, play practices and 3D Printing technologies. The project had two main phases: the co-creative process with the children and the production of prototypes based on the children’s creative drawings. For the activities involving the children, static virtual reality environments were created to stimulate the children to draw. These drawings were used as reference for the design of 3D toys that then were printed in plastic. A positive effect of the experience on the children’s behaviour was observed during the hospital routine procedures. Despite the technology required and considerably high cost for producing custom pieces with 3D printing, the project was executed successfully. This initiative shows the potential for practical interdisciplinary collaboration approaches between product design and health sciences.

This study reports on experiences with a user centered design approach for the development of a customized mechanical transradial prosthesis for a patient who were unable to adapt to a standard prosthesis. The development process explored the needs, preferences and expectations of the user, as well as physical and functional aspects. The production process was based on 3D printing technologies, with emphasis on originality and customization. During the design process, the user participated in the design and evaluation phases through practical handling tests. The results indicated that the participation of the user in the design process using a user-centered design approach lead to a customized product that matched the user’s preferences. This acceptance and satisfaction with the product help minimize the risk of product abandonment.

Physical prototypes allow the testing of ideas quickly with models that look similar to the final product. Rapid Prototyping (RP) based on additive or subtractive technologies allow trial usability tests to avoid errors and failures in the final product production. These technologies are increasingly used in orthosis production. Design processes involving RP can facilitate usability tests to asses comfort, safety, and performance of the orthoses. The objective of this study was to review the use of RP for orthoses prototype production for user evaluation. The results show that FDM was the most common technique. Half of the studies involved user’s participation or evaluation in the design processes, although, only three out of thirty-eight studies used RP in proof of concept production.

This study reports on the development of a 3D printer and its implementation in Product Design Education as a tool for prototyping and supporting students in the design process. First, it is presented the design and production of the new 3D printer, focused on the user and with differential features that favor the application of concepts of Ergonomic Design. Next, it is described the teaching experience of implementing the 3D printer as a tool for guiding students in prototyping their products to be further tested. The experience demonstrated that students were able to benefit from the possibility of rapid prototyping their concepts of products, as well as to adjust the design of their products taking into consideration the production process of 3D printing.

In the absence of the upper limb, prosthetic devices attempt to assist the user in performing the basic activities of daily life, such as holding and manipulating objects. However, such equipment has high costs, which makes it difficult for the users to acquire it. In this context, alternative solutions for prosthesis began to emerge in order to reduce costs as well as to improve usability. With the recent technological advancements, areas such as robotics and electronics tend to become more accessible. The current study reports on the process of producing a transradial myoelectric bionic prosthesis and to analyze the potential of using rapid prototyping and low cost technologies. The results present the improvement in the design of upper limb prosthesis, highlighting the potential contributions of a low cost myoelectric prosthesis in terms of functionality and aesthetics.

This study addressed the participation of rehabilitation professionals in the use of Additive Manufacturing to produce assistive technology devices. A literature review based on articles published in scientific journals indexed in the Scopus database was conducted by searching for papers addressing the use of Additive Manufacturing Technologies in the development of orthotic and prosthetic devices in rehabilitation programs. The 46 articles that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed in terms of the participation of the health professionals in the process of design of orthotic and prosthetic devices. The analysis revealed that in most cases the use of 3D printing technologies in the design of assistive devices do not comprise interdisciplinary teams with active participation of rehabilitation professionals.

Geometric shape deviation models constitute an important component in dimensional accuracy control for additive manufacturing (AM) systems. The low-volume production inherent in AM results in the fundamental challenge of specifying deviation models for new classes of shapes to come in an AM system without data on their deviations. A methodology that can make full use of prior data and knowledge on deviation features for previously manufactured, and different, shapes is necessary to enable deviation modeling for new shapes to come in an AM system. We present a straightforward framework that addresses this requirement. Our framework specifies a new shape’s deviation model according to a decomposition of its computer-aided design model into convex and concave blocks, and simple, interpretable combinations of prior deviation feature models from previous shapes for the different blocks. We illustrate our framework for a freeform shape manufactured under stereolithography.

Aerosol jet printing (AJP) is a direct-write, additive manufacturing technique, which has emerged as the process of choice for the fabrication of a broad spectrum of electronics – such as, interconnects, sensors, transistors, electrodes, and antennae – toward consistent and uniform manufacture of flexible and hybrid electronic devices. The AJP has paved the way for rapid high-resolution device fabrication; it accommodates a wide range of ink viscosity and allows for material deposition with high placement accuracy, edge definition, and adhesion on non-planer surfaces. Despite the unique advantages and engendered strategic applications, the AJP process is intrinsically unstable and complex, prone to non-linear gradual drifts, which stem from process, machine, and metrical interactions. Consequently, real-time process monitoring and control, corroborated with physical models, is a burgeoning need.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has been growing in interest due to its non-traditional approach to producing objects by which components are fabricated directly from computer models by selectively depositing and consolidating or curing raw materials in successive layers. Currently, most polymer AM processes are limited by a narrow field of available and compatible materials. Typical thermoplastics common to the injection molding industry are created from petroleum, a limited and nonrenewable resource and have been widely adopted for use in AM. Recently plastics that are more sustainable, such as polylactic acid (PLA), have started to gain traction as a competitor to these traditional plastics. For this study, cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB), cellulose acetate propionate (CAP), hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), nylon 11, and polycaprolactone (PCL) were formulated and tested for AM. In addition, ABS and PLA were tested as control materials. Results showed the technical feasibility of some bioplastics for AM.

In this paper, the consolidation of an experimental approach for the evaluation of the mechanical properties of FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) 3D printed objects is proposed. ASTM standards addressed to polymers were adapted to FDM 3D printed specimens in order to derive a complete mechanical characterization of PLA (PolyLactic Acid). The tensile test aimed to the determination of the in-plane mechanical properties of pseudo-isotropic specimens. The compression test allowed the evaluation of the out-of-plane mechanical properties of 3D printed parts. The three-point bending test on sandwich specimens helped to assess the not studied potential of FDM in the production of complex and integrated structural elements. The quantitative results show that this common, non-structural, environmentally friendly polymer can be successfully employed to produce customized and integrated structural elements for non-critical operating environment.

The Sandia National Laboratories Human Factors team designed and executed an experiment to quantify the differences between 2D and 3D reference materials with respect to task performance and cognitive workload. A between-subjects design was used where 27 participants were randomly assigned either 2D or 3D reference material condition (14 and 13 participants, respectively). The experimental tasks required participants to interpret, locate, and report dimensions on their assigned reference material. Performance was measured by accuracy of task completion and time-to-complete. After all experimental tasks were completed, cognitive workload data were collected. Response times were longer in the 3D condition vice the 2D. However, no differences were found between conditions with respect to response accuracy and cognitive workload, which may indicate no negative cognitive impacts concerning the sole use of 3D reference materials in the work-place. This paper concludes with possible future efforts to address the limitations of this experiment and to explore the mechanisms behind the findings of this work.

3D scanning and modeling in yacht design and manufacturing allow for a high level of geometric precision and formal freedom while also achieving many of the functional performance criteria required in the marine industry. Additive manufacturing technologies present new opportunities for design manufacturing, shifting prototyping from an intermediate operation to more direct applications in the production field limited only by the scale and material constraints of current 3D printing equipment. Future scenarios for this type of application in yacht manufacturing introduce the possibility to conceive of alternative design systems including larger elements integrating different materials with varied thicknesses and densities to satisfy the complex material, structural, and mechanical requirements of sophisticated marine components. In the not too distant future we can imagine 3D printing as a feasible way to produce entire yachts, especially for small series or one-off productions.

This paper presents an overview of the advantages and pitfalls of adopting additive manufacturing (3D printing) as a tool in the product design and development repertoire. The technology offers considerable advantages and flexibility to the designer but necessitates a fresh look at the design parameters. The technology should not be used to do what can already be done, but with a new tool. Rather it should form the basis of creating a new form which meets functional requirements, which uses the holistic approach we advocate and which cannot be made using classic technologies such as machining or casting.

Improving additive manufacturing (AM) products is important since these technologies still have some limitations that restrict production.These limitations are associated with the size of the build envelope, the materials available and the possibility of multi-material fabrication. For this particular case, there are two different strategies: (i) one, is to build fittings that can act as mechanical connections for different parts, or (ii), to embed the parts as external components in the AM build process of the fittings. This paper presents exploratory research to quickly improve AM ceramic products by AM polymeric fittings in the two strategies presented. The overall aim is to describe a methodology that can optimize products using AM material extrusion technology and that can be used for the production of hybrid products.

The optimization strategies development by the industry of additive manufacturing have been diversified according to the pre-process, process, and post-process always based on the manufacturers’ and customers’ needs. The present research exposes an analysis of the characteristics and properties of geometries that must be considered during the design process of elements that will be manufactured using Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF). The methodology integrated three phases: a literature review as the first phase, development of geometries and integration of templates as a second phase, and the analysis of geometries and template number five in the FFF software pre-printing process as a third phase. As a result, a set of five modified geometries and five templates are presented. Each one proposes the characteristics that could be considered by designers, manufacturers, and users of FFF.

At present, the application of 3D printing technology in the construction industry is still in its early stages. As such, several problems occur when using construction 3D printing techniques, such as the limitation of printer size and lack of printing materials. Therefore, research on construction 3D printing is becoming a trend because it marks the continuous progress of civil engineering toward automation and modernization. This study aims to analyze the application of 3D printing technology in the construction industry and explore development strategies for popularizing construction 3D printing. A critical literature review was provided as a clear introduction of background information and transition of the developing process. Practical cases were compared to identify the main characteristics of this particular technology. Consequently, development prospects were investigated by external and internal factor analyses using expert grading method. Finally, with the help of SWOT analysis, development strategies of 3D printing in the construction industry were put forward.

Traditional manual driving task sets the boundary conditions of possible driver’s postures and interior design—for example, the constant necessity for all control elements to always be easily accessible is essential. With the development of the automated vehicles (AVs), the driver is able to carry out different activities and be out of the loop of vehicle dynamic control at a level 3 or higher level of automation [1]. This fact shifts the focus of interior development from the driving task (DT) to non-driving-related tasks (NDRTs). However, unknown non-driving postures (NDPs), unknown corresponding digital human models (DHMs), unknown interior concepts and their interaction with mutual dependency result in a chicken-egg dilemma.This work offers a detailed insight into this problem, states the challenges and opportunities for discovering new NDPs, developing new DHMs for AVs, and proposes an iterative user-centered interior development process to resolve this deadlock.

In times of online shopping, it is a challenge to select the right size of the desired clothing without fitting it before ordering. Therefore, this study describes three techniques to predict 3D upper body dimensions. The first method used basic personal parameters (gender, age, weight and length), the second technique used also the shoulder width and the last method used a 3D Styku scan to add extra input parameters. The accuracy of the three prediction methods was compared against hand measurements for 17 upper body dimensions of 37 subjects. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient increases with 11.2% for the Styku method compared to the other methods. For chest, hip and waist measurements, the basic method is reliable to predict 3D body dimensions and indicate the right size from an existing collection. For more accurate upper body dimensions as needed for producing custom made clothing, a 3D Styku scan can supply the desired input.

The interaction between the human body and seats is a complex area of research. Due to the biological variation of soft tissues across human beings and the differences in research methods between investigators, the scientific knowledge on buttock deformation is inadequate. To achieve an objective characterization of how the buttock deforms during sitting, a new method was developed involving a motion capture system. With this method, correlations were identified between buttock compression and various anthropometric measurements obtained. Additionally, the method provided relevant insight into the variation in buttock deformation attributes across body-type categories. The results obtained were found applicable to digital human modelling, which is often used in the anthropometric assessment of various seated tasks.

The objective of this paper is to simulate the human hand when grasping an object, considering the angles of the finger joints and the fingertip deformation. To study the grasp of an object used in activities of daily life (ADL) we focus on the equations given by grasps with force-closure. In this paper we address several topics and study grasping holistically, including power and precision grasping, the position of the finger and joint angles, fingertip deformation and fingertip forces (normal and frictional forces), and assess how all these features combine to perform a complete grasping action.Conclusions: We describe the strategy used to solve the problem of calculating the force when grasping with five fingers; the same strategy is used in both power and precision grasps.

Analyses of human action forces is a standard function of current digital human models. However, research has been indicating that this feature needs to be improved as it lacks accuracy. Muscle-torque based modeling can be used to calculate action forces. Because it is not efficient to measure torques in all spatial directions, different calculating approaches have been developed. The question is which one is the best to calculate action forces? In this paper, we will therefor explain four different calculations - a spherical, linear, independent and fluid approach. To compare their quality, a study based on 366 measurements of maximum torques has been conducted. Results show that the spherical approach predicts maximum muscle torques to about 1.7% accuracy. The fluid approach increases the accuracy significantly (R2 0.9), but needs more input data. Hence, a mix using both approaches is proposed as the best solution to calculate action forces in digital human models.

In pursuit of ideas becoming a reality in a fast way, today’s digital design tools allows to go beyond ideation and modelling. Their trendsetting concept of digital continuity is a major reason to make them part of tomorrow’s innovators competence portfolio. In cooperation with Dassault Systemes, the Department of Design, Media and Information of Hamburg’s University of Applied Sciences took the challenge to drive manned drone design from a conceptual sketch to an interactive virtual reality experience. In a project challenge, students were instructed to transform their basic ideas on the drone’s design from paper to three dimensions and then into an immersive design reviewing experience. Following this path, digital continuity turned out as a comprehensible and at the same time exciting way of product development.

This paper proposes a relational model able to predict thermal comfort/discomfort from users’ attributes and environmental conditions. The model uses a new subject attribute: the “thermotype”, which synthesizes its climatic preferences, body shape and thermal response using Artificial Intelligence (AI). A thermal avatar was created by mapping thermal layers to a 3D body representation, derived from the same infrared images. The result is a Digital Human Model that permits associate the perception to the thermal comfort preferences, integrating both the thermotype and the thermal avatar.We have evaluated the model with real subjects in a thermal chamber simulating different environmental conditions that can be found in vehicles equipped with Heating and Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. Our model can provide product design and evaluation strategies to companies, to personalize intelligent self-adjustable thermal systems to achieve thermal comfort predictions.

In this paper, we visualize and quantify the differences between two three-dimensional (3D) surfaces. A human participant was scanned in standing and cycling poses using a 3D scanner. We rigged the standing scan and re-posed them to a cycling pose. The two scans were then inspected for the differences in the various segments of the body. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the potential of using a simple rigging method (Linear Blend Skinning) to re-pose a scan from one configuration to a pose of choice. This forms the first step of an innovative and accurate method to visualize human beings in any pose desired by a designer, engineer, or sports analyst. Applications of this method could be in the fields of fashion, ergonomics, and professional athlete services such as aerodynamic drag force analysis using computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

The main objective of this paper is to elicit an understanding of the anthropometric variation for the face and head. All face and head dimensions in ANSUR II were compared between male and female as well as among different population subgroups. The averages of all head and face dimensions for male personnel were larger than those for female personnel by 5 to 13 mm for the head dimensions, with Head Circumference showing the maximum difference, and by 2 to 28 mm for the face dimensions, with Bitragion Submandibular Arc showing the maximum difference. Furthermore, results also revealed statistically significant differences for the head and face dimensions among different population subgroups. A multivariate analysis (PCA) was conducted on the male and female databases separately. Three PCs were extracted from the male database that explained 70% of total variance. Three PCs were also extracted from the female database that explained 69% total variance.

In this paper we present a new quantitative kinesiophobia assessment that consists of a combination of Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK-DV) questionnaire with posturographic measures calculated by a pressure plate and a wearable mocap system in standing before and after 10 bending forward in open and closed eyes. Sixteen subjects aged between 18 and 65 years old were considered in the clinical pathway for chronic low back pain. A cut-off of TSK-DV > 37 was used to discriminate low back pain subjects with kinesiophobia (TSK-DV > 37) to subjects with low back pain. Our findings, are in line with the previous studies showing that low back pain and not specific low back pain provoking an increase in postural sway amplitude and velocity. From our study emerged that minimal mean velocity in medio-lateral excursion of the pelvis during imposed forward bending and a higher COP excursion in y (anterior-posterior) during standing followed by a higher COP sway path (≥230 mm) with a sway velocity (≥0.0030 m/s) in closed eyes can be considered as a sign of the presence of kinesiophobia.

This paper presents the results of predicting anthropometric measurements from three-dimensional (3D) body scans based on the data from the US Army anthropometric survey 2012 (ANSURII). The goals are to understand how well 3D surface data are correlated with various anthropometric measurements, and to evaluate a number of statistical prediction methods for their performance in the stated task.

Forty male test participants (active duty military personnel) were 3D whole body scanned in all test configurations; Semi-nude and all tested body armor sizes (Initial, Decreased, Increased and Longer). The area of surface coverage (AoSC) was computed in absolute values (in2 and cm2) and converted to relative AoSC values in percentages. As the fit of the body armor system changed from Increased to Decreased, so did the AoSC and mobility degradation. Within the same size of body armor, however, mobility degradation was not associated with the absolute value of AoSC, but with the relative AoSC. Because AoSC is heavily dependent upon the volumetric characteristics of the wearer, absolute values of AoSC alone do not convey the accurate level of protection, proportional to wearers’ overall body size and shape. For a requirements document, AoSC should be developed per body armor size or represented as percent values.

Taking a holistic perspective is central in production development, aiming to optimize ergonomics and overall production system performance. Hence, there is a need for tools and methods that can support production companies to identify the production system alternatives that are optimal regarding both ergonomics and production efficiency. The paper presents a devised case study where multi-objective optimization is applied, as a step to towards the development of such an optimization tool. The overall objective in the case study is to find the best order in which an operator performs manual tasks during a workday, considering ergonomics and production system efficiency simultaneously. More specifically, reducing the risk of injury from lifting tasks and improving the throughput are selected as the two optimization objectives. An optimization tool is developed, which communicates with a digital human modelling tool to simulate work tasks and assess ergonomics.

The ‘collaborative model’ (co-model) is a modeling of the Research Through Co-design (RTC) that is based on a new methodology that uses the control system theory as an intuitive language for defining RTC as an essential key. Closed-loop control system theory is discussed and used to identify the most complex parts of the RTC system such as the human-collaborative approaches and processes during the development of the research question. This collaborative model improves the state-of-art in RTC ensuring quality and efficiency for the knowledge acquisition. This allows practitioners, researchers, human factor experts doing RTC using a collaborative model and co-logical aids to find the desirable research answer.

The susceptibility of female occupants to Whiplash Associated Disorders (WADs) has been the focus over the past decades. To improve occupant protections, it is required to understand how gender differences affect the WAD injury mechanisms. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential impact of the whole spinal alignment on the cervical vertebral kinematics and ligament elongation during a rear impact by analysing rear impact reconstruction simulations. The simulations demonstrated a potential impact of gender differences in whole spinal alignment on cervical vertebral kinematics and ligament elongations. It seems that the average female spinal alignment may expose women to larger deformation of the cervical soft tissues considered related to WAD, due to greater cervical vertebral kinematics, compared to the average male spinal alignment. The findings highlight the importance of the whole spinal alignment when developing female models to evaluate WAD countermeasures, and may thus improve occupant protection for women as well as men.

E-textile system made of conductive fabric directly contacts with human skin so that electrical resistance of conductive fabric is interactive with microclimate between human skin and the fabric. In order to simulate the microclimate using sweating guarded-hotplate, a device was designed to keep the fabric and hotplate separate from each other. This device includes a sensor to measure the temperature and relative humidity. The microclimate is determined by measuring the water-vapour resistance to the air layer (Ret_al), the relative humidity (RH) and temperature between the hotplate and the fabric. For the measurement of electrical resistance, four electrode-four wire method was set up on the device using the measurement principle of Kelvin method with a DC current source. The electrical resistance of conductive fabric was measured under simulated microclimate using the new combined test method.

A collaborative logical aid (co-logical aid) in Research Through Co-design (RTC) system is an innovative assessment instrument in collaborative research context sharing and augmenting the knowledge among practitioners, researchers, human factor experts in applied human factor and ergonomics field with the specific aim to prevent a shared scenario of the research. The co-logical aid associates the variables of the RTC co-model according the logic and the structure of the Logical Framework (LF) to support a research project. The result is a supportive tool for experimenting, testing, evaluating as well as managing the collaborative logic in a RTC research process.

Technological advancements in the development of autonomous vehicles have been focusing on the very fundamental issues such as functionality and safety. On the other hand, design researchers have started to explore possible everyday life interactions between people and automated vehicles, as well as probing the acceptance of such a disruptive technology by people and the emergence of trust from humans towards such cars. In this paper, I speculate on the possibility that autonomous driving might enable new human-to-human relationships. Departing from the Co-Drive concept, which envisions a new way of travelling and socializing inside the car by sharing a car trip with a remote virtual companion, I focus on the design challenges into the creation of one’s own virtual avatar who inhabits the car as the remote passenger and I draw possible design approaches into the construction of a (virtual) self-representation from the philosophy of mind.

The average age of people all over the world, especially in the most developed countries is constantly increasing, and with it is growing even the request of assistance and health care for older people. The most diffused pathologies related to the degeneration of the neurological system are the ones related to Dementia, in this article will be considered specifically as users older people affected by Parkinson’s Disease, a pathology that worsens movements and gait. Thanks to the new available technologies, is now possible for designers to imagine new devices that help the person to prolong his autonomous life in the own environment, enhancing his quality of life. The authors elaborated an overview of smart objects that satisfy the needs of older patients affected by Parkinson’s disease, to observe how Design Research is facing the requirements expressed by this users.

A 3D head and face scan data can be usefully applied in the ergonomic design of a wearable product such as an oxygen mask or a virtual reality (VR) headset to support the safety as well as comfort for a certain amount of a target population. This study is aimed to develop analysis and design methods of an ergonomic facial wearable products (e.g., pilot oxygen mask, VR headsets) based on numerous 3D face scan data (366 faces and 2,299 heads) through the template registration and the finite element (FE) analysis methods to predict the contact pressure between the face and a product. The application of the FE analysis on numerous 3D images to find an optimal form of a product is a novel approach in product design. The proposed methods on contact pressure analysis could be usefully applied for wearable products, which fit body parts.