A method to Formalise the Rapid Prototyping Process

Facing the increasing complexity of the product design area, (reduction of cycle times, introduction of simultaneous engineering, introduction of digital mock-up, ... ) a research department which wants to define a rapid prototyping process is confronted to the problem of the tools’ choice. Therefore, we will propose in this article, a method allowing to conceive such a process. In a first chapter, we present the rapid prototyping area in the product design environment, in a second chapter we will propose our method illustrated by an industrial case

Mobile learning: benefits of augmented reality in geometry teaching

As a consequence of the technological advances and the widespread use of mobile devices to access information and communication in the last decades, mobile learning has become a spontaneous learning model, providing a more flexible and collaborative technology-based learning. Thus, mobile technologies can create new opportunities for enhancing the pupils’ learning experiences. This paper presents the development of a game to assist teaching and learning, aiming to help students acquire knowledge in the field of geometry. The game was intended to develop the following competences in primary school learners (8-10 years): a better visualization of geometric objects on a plane and in space; understanding of the properties of geometric solids; and familiarization with the vocabulary of geometry. Findings show that by using the game, students have improved around 35% the hits of correct responses to the classification and differentiation between edge, vertex and face in 3D solids.This research was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Design Star CDT (AH/L503770/1), the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) projects LARSyS (UID/EEA/50009/2013) and CIAC-Research Centre for Arts and Communication.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Real time integration of user preferences into virtual prototypes

Within new product development (NPD), both virtual prototypes and physical prototypes play important roles in creating, testing and modifying designs. However, in the current design process, these two forms of prototyping methods are normally used independently and converted from one to the other during different design phases. This conversion process is time consuming and expensive and also introduces potential information loss/corruption problems. If the design process requires many iterations, it may simply be impractical to generate all the conversions that are theoretically required. Therefore, the integration of virtual and physical prototyping may offer a possible solution where the design definition is maintained simultaneously in both the virtual and physical environment. The overall aim of this research was to develop an interface or a tool that achieves real time integration of physical and virtual prototyping. “Real time integration” here means changes to the virtual prototypes will reflect any changes that have been made contemporaneously to the physical prototypes, and vice versa. Thus, conversion of the prototype from physical to virtual (or vice versa) will be achieved immediately, hence saving time and cost. A review of the literature was undertaken to determine what previous research has been conducted in this area. The result of the review shows the research in this area is still in its infancy. The research hypothesis was developed through the use of a questionnaire survey. Totally 102 questionnaires were sent to designers, design directors or design managers to address the issue: will industrial designers want to make use of real time integration and if so, how? The outcome from the literature review drove further development of the research hypothesis and an initial pilot experiment to test this. The pilot trial was designed to address the research questions: • Can real time physical and virtual prototyping integration be conveniently demonstrated? • Will designers and users be comfortable using the integration method? • Will users recognise the benefits of the integration? The results showed that real time integration between physical and virtual prototyping is necessary in helping designers develop new products and for getting users more closely involved. The future research suggested is that more investigations and experiments are needed to explore a proper method that simultaneously employing these two types of prototyping in product development process. Keywords: Physical Prototyping; Virtual Prototyping; Integration; Real Time.</p

Digital design of medical replicas via desktop systems: shape evaluation of colon parts

In this paper, we aim at providing results concerning the application of desktop systems for rapid prototyping of medical replicas that involve complex shapes, as, for example, folds of a colon. Medical replicas may assist preoperative planning or tutoring in surgery to better understand the interaction among pathology and organs. Major goals of the paper concern with guiding the digital design workflow of the replicas and understanding their final performance, according to the requirements asked by the medics (shape accuracy, capability of seeing both inner and outer details, and support and possible interfacing with other organs). In particular, after the analysis of these requirements, we apply digital design for colon replicas, adopting two desktop systems. ,e experimental results confirm that the proposed preprocessing strategy is able to conduct to the manufacturing of colon replicas divided in self-supporting segments, minimizing the supports during printing. ,is allows also to reach an acceptable level of final quality, according to the request of having a 3D presurgery overview of the problems. ,ese replicas are compared through reverse engineering acquisitions made by a structured-light system, to assess the achieved shape and dimensional accuracy. Final results demonstrate that low-cost desktop systems, coupled with proper strategy of preprocessing, may have shape deviation in the range of ±1 mm, good for physical manipulations during medical diagnosis and explanation

Designing with and for people living with visual impairments: audio-tactile mock-ups, audio diaries and participatory prototyping

© 2015 Taylor & Francis. Methods used to engage users in the design process often rely on visual techniques, such as paper prototypes, to facilitate the expression and communication of design ideas. The visual nature of these tools makes them inaccessible to people living with visual impairments. In addition, while using visual means to express ideas for designing graphical interfaces is appropriate, it is harder to use them to articulate the design of non-visual displays. In this article, we present an approach to conducting participatory design with people living with visual impairments incorporating various techniques to help make the design process accessible. We reflect on the benefits and challenges that we encountered when employing these techniques in the context of designing cross-modal interactive tools

Changeable Context of the New Technology Artefact and the Changeable Research Outcomes

Computer Aided Drawing (vector based) and painting (raster based) packages, allow the mock-up of designs in virtual space. Whilst this is beneficial for visualising the end product, both methods of drawing have been applied to new and existing machining technologies so that some aspect of the product is derived from a computer file. Today, the applied artist now has an abundance of CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Drawing / Computer Aided Manufacturing) technologies awaiting them. So much so, that in the past fifteen years, many makers have embarked upon practice-led research to find out what a particular technology can do with regard to their design interests. Within such research, the object is the manifestation of what has been discovered through the research activity. This paper considers the relationship between the content of the research object and the context for the object’s reception. This is examined with regard to the author’s research with new technologies for the applied arts. Examples will highlight how the characteristics of artefacts that arise from the research can help determine who the audience for the work is, and how the technology might be used by different kinds of craft practitioners. References will also be made to the work of other designer-makers working with and researching similar technologies. Evidence from practical examples will also be supported by a more theoretical discussion. The implications of supplying, or not supplying, background information for an audience within a variety of settings on the perceived content/context of the object, and the communication of the research, will also be discussed. It is concluded that when developing new processes, keeping the work open to a number of audiences can maximise the outcomes and increase the chances of the process being integrated within practice. The discussion also highlights a trend of positioning the consumer/viewer at the forefront of the research, and a need to evaluate their experiences

A method to Formalise the Rapid Prototyping Process

Facing the increasing complexity of the product design area, (reduction of cycle times, introduction of simultaneous engineering, introduction of digital mock-up, ... ) a research department which wants to define a rapid prototyping process is confronted to the problem of the tools’ choice. Therefore, we will propose in this article, a method allowing to conceive such a process. In a first chapter, we present the rapid prototyping area in the product design environment, in a second chapter we will propose our method illustrated by an industrial case