ParSketch: a Sketch-based Interface for a 2D Parametric Geometry Editor

ParSketch is a software prototype to evaluate the usability and functionality of a sketching interface aimed at defining 2D parametric sections. Currently, ParSketch interprets strokes which can be recognized as geometry (line, arc, circle, ellipse, or composed entities that are automatically segmented into those basic entities), or graphic gestures representing constraints (dimension, parallel, perpendicular, tangent, concentric, horizontal or vertical). From the functionality point of view, ParSketch compares to current commercial parametric CAD applications, as it offers many of the features provided by such applications. A theoretical analysis of the efficiency component of usability is provided that justifies the potential capability of sketching interfaces to compete with classical WIMP applications. Finally, a usability study is presented, which makes special emphasis in the satisfaction component of usability.The Spanish Ministry of Science and Education and the European Union (Project DPI2004-01373) supported this work. It was also partially supported by Fundació Caixa Castelló-Bancaixa under the Universitat Jaume I program for Research Promotion (Project P1-1B2004-02)

A taxonomic classification of visual design representations used by industrial designers and engineering designers

In the context of new product development (NPD), research has shown that not having a common understanding of visual design representations (VDRs) has affected collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers. The aim of the research presented in this paper was two-fold. Firstly, to identify the representations employed by industrial designers and engineering designers during NPD from a literature survey. Secondly, to define and categorize these representations in the form of a taxonomy that is a systematic organization of VDRs that are presently dispersed in the literature. For the development of the taxonomy, four measures encompassing orthogonality, spanning, completeness and usability were employed. It resulted in four groups consisting of sketches, drawings, models and prototypes. Validation was undertaken by means of an interview survey and further, presenting the taxonomy at an international conference. The results showed that no issues were raised by the respondents concerning the structure of the taxonomy or its components

Digital information support for concept design

This paper outlines the issues in effective utilisation of digital resources in conceptual design. Access to appropriate information acts as stimuli and can lead to better substantiated concepts. This paper addresses the issues of presenting such information in a digital form for effective use, exploring digital libraries and groupware as relevant literature areas, and argues that improved integration of these two technologies is necessary to better support the concept generation task. The development of the LauLima learning environment and digital library is consequently outlined. Despite its attempts to integrate the designers' working space and digital resources, continuing issues in library utilisation and migration of information to design concepts are highlighted through a class study. In light of this, new models of interaction to increase information use are explored

Creating new 3D forms in collaborative product design

Peer reviewe

Understanding the Roles of sketching in product design

Sketching is an essential part of the tradition and practice of design. However, despite the extensive literature on the subject, the roles of sketching in the design are still not fully understood. Therefore, this PhD study was carried out to understand the roles of sketching in the product design field and to develop the means to support the design sketching process. Hypotheses emerged from the review of the literature and led to three descriptive studies: a pilot study to identify the roles of sketching in design; a survey of design students; a survey of design professionals. Data collected from these studies were used to test and verify the hypotheses. It was found that the major roles of sketching in design were related to design ideation and design communication. The comparison between design students and professionals showed that they tend to perceive the major roles of sketching differently, but shared similar opinions on the major roles of talking sketches, sketching expertise and as a practical supporting tool. In addition, an Ideation Segment Model was proposed, which describes the process that sketching ideas evolve into final design outcomes and locates the potential supporting tools in the sketching process. Consequently, a practical supporting tool was developed to enhance understanding of design sketching, to provide external stimuli, and to improve sketching expertise. The supporting tool, entitled the PD-Sketching Primer and PD-Sketching Toolkit, was tested with education and positive feedback was received. This research has contributed towards understanding the roles of sketching in design, e.g. it is the first empirical study of ‘non-working sketches’ in the design field. It has generated new knowledge and tools to support the design sketching process. This supporting tool is one of only a few resources designed to support sketching activity and creative performance in the product design field.Open Acces

A 4D printing communication framework for designers and engineers

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London“Communication is an essential part of any design process.” (Clarkson and Eckert) [1]. The rapid emergence and growth of 4D printing technology are expected to impact the technology's development significantly. Due to the high level of interest shown by the research and manufacturing sectors, the technology is expected to jump in its development rapidly. Since 4D Printing technology is still in the early stage, it is also required to focus on advancements in the progress of emerging needs for development in various areas such as application, design, materials, etc. This thesis investigates the communication barriers between designers and engineers in communicating the 4D Printing design process, which has revealed there are only ambiguous ways of communicating without standardization, which led to misinterpretation in the communication of the 4D Printing design process. This thesis aims to develop a concept of design representations that can be used to communicate the 4D Printing design process. The study proposed a communication framework for a communication tool to aid the communication barriers between designers and engineers in the 4D Printing design process to optimize the effectiveness of the 4D Printing technology through the design process. The 4D Printing communication framework has been developed from idea generation through a series of iterative stages to bridge the communication gaps. The communication framework aimed to guide how to constructively design representation symbols for effectively communicating in the 4D Printing design process. With the standardization of communication tools, the designer and engineer could fluently refine and connect their approach design ideas and maximize the potential of 4D Printing technology

Tools and Methods to Analyze Multimodal Data in Collaborative Design Ideation

Collaborative design ideation is typically characterized by informal acts of sketching, annotation, and discussion. Designers have always used the pencil-and-paper medium for this activity, partly because of the flexibility of the medium, and partly because the ambiguous and ill-defined nature of conceptual design cannot easily be supported by computers. However, recent computational tools for conceptual design have leveraged the availability of hand-held computing devices for creating and sharing ideas. In order to provide computer support for collaborative ideation in a way that augments traditional media rather than imitates it, it is necessary to study the affordances made available by digital media for this process, and to study designers\u27 cognitive and collaborative processes when using such media. In this thesis, we present tools and methods to help make sense of unstructured verbal and sketch data generated during collaborative design, with a view to better understand these collaborative and cognitive processes. This thesis has three main contributions

Development of a design feature database to support design for additive manufacturing (DfAM)

This research introduces a method to aid the design of products or parts to be made using Additive Manufacturing (AM), particularly the laser sintering (LS) system. The research began with a literature review that encompassed the subjects of design and AM and through this the need for an assistive design approach for AM was identified. Undertaking the literature review also confirmed that little has been done in the area of supporting the design of AM parts or products. Preliminary investigations were conducted to identify the design factors to consider for AM. Two preliminary investigations were conducted, the first investigation was conducted to identify the reasons for designing for AM, the need for a design support tool for AM and current challenges of student industrial designers designing parts or products for AM, and also to identify the type of design support they required. Further investigation were conducted to examine how AM products are developed by professional industrial designers and to understand their design processes and procedures. The study has identified specific AM enabled design features that the designers have been able to create within their case study products. Detailed observation of the case study products and parts reveals a number of features that are only economical or possible to produce with AM. A taxonomy of AM enabled design features was developed as a precursor for the development of a computer based design tool. The AM enabled design features was defined as a features that would be uneconomical or very expensive to be produced with conventional methods. The taxonomy has four top-level taxons based on four main reasons for using AM, namely user fit requirements, improved product functionality requirements, parts consolidation requirements and improvement of aesthetics or form requirements. Each of these requirements was expanded further into thirteen sub categories of applications that contained 106 examples of design features that are only possible to manufacture using AM technology. The collected and grouped design features were presented in a form of a database as a method to aid product design of parts or products for AM. A series of user trials were conducted that showed the database enabled industrial designers to visualise and gather design feature information that could be incorporated into their own design work. Finally, conclusions are drawn and suggestions for future work are listed. In summary, it can be concluded that this research project has been a success, having addressed all of the objectives that were identified at its outset. From the user trial results, it is clear to see that the proposed tool would be an effective tool to support product design for AM, particularly from an educational perspective. The tool was found to be beneficial to student designers to take advantage of the design freedom offered by AM in order to produce improved product design. As AM becomes more widely used, it is anticipated that new design features will emerge that could be included in future versions of the database so that it will remain a rich source of inspirational information for tomorrow s industrial designers