RoamFab: A Design Tool for Reconfiguring Parameterized Mechanisms to 3D Models With Structural Optimization

Abstract

Creating personalized 3D printing objects has become increasingly popular with the advance in end-user modeling tools and fabrication techniques. However, it remains challenging for novice makers to design and fabricate functional objects with mechanical motion such as linear or rotational. To empower users to add mechanical movements to their models for particular needs, we first investigate the commonly used 3D printable mechanisms and parameterize four mechanical primitives. We then provide a computational approach to reconfigure the mechanical primitives to user-provided 3D models, with an underlying structural optimization procedure according to a specified bending force. We further showcase a set of design examples and conduct a user study to demonstrate the potential of our approach in creating personalized functional artifacts.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This paper is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52075478) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFF0900603).

Notes on contributors

Shijian Luo

Shijian Luo is a doctor and professor at the Department of Industrial Design, College of Computer Science and Technology, Zhejiang University. He is the dean of International School of Design, Zhejiang University, Ningbo. He has professional experience on User Experience Design, Service Design, and Computer-Aided Industrial Design.

Zhitong Cui

Zhitong Cui is a Ph.D. Candidate at Zhejiang University. As an HCI researcher with a computer science background, his research area is computational design and fabrication. He keeps exploring computational techniques and domain-specific knowledge for novel ways of 3D modeling while reducing expertise and design effort.

Jiancheng Gu

Jiancheng Gu is a postgraduate student in Industrial Design at Zhejiang University. His research focuses on interactive design tools to lower the design barrier. Currently, he is exploring the design co-creation model from the creative to the creator economy.

Ting Chen

Ting Chen is a postgraduate student in design science at Zhejiang University. His research involves computer graphics, computer-aided design, and computational design and fabrication. He has experience developing VR and AR applications, paying attention to their social attributes and user interaction behavior.

Chengyi Shen

Chengyi Shen is a Ph.D. Candidate at Zhejiang University, Design Major. His main research area is user experience and product innovation design, ergonomics, and human-computer interaction.

Yang Lu

Yang Lu is a Ph.D. Candidate in design at Zhejiang University. Gained undergraduate degree from Shanghai University. Main research interests are related to user experience design, service design, game design and interaction design.

Yanan Wang

Yanan Wang received her Ph.D. degree in Digital Art and design from Zhejiang University. Currently, she is a Lecturer at the College of Fashion and Design of Donghua University. She focuses her research on human-interaction design, olfactory interfaces, and digital fabrication.

Preben Hansen

Preben Hansen is a Docent and Associate Professor in Human-Computer Interaction and Information Seeking at Stockholm University, Department of Computer and Systems Sciences. He is also an Honorary Research Fellow at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.