Support structure generation is a critical requirement in additive manufacturing (AM) to prevent material collapse in overhanging regions. However, it increases print time, material waste, and overall production cost, especially in extrusion-based AM. To mitigate these problems, design engineers often resort to manually finetuning or even redesigning prototype geometry to minimise support structures, which is time-consuming and inefficient. A direct geometric optimisation that preserves locality of shape changes whilst corresponding to the part orientation remains an underdetermined problem. In this paper, we present a novel alternating optimisation framework that finds the corresponding part geometry and orientation to minimise support structures under minimal geometric deviation. Whilst global-level support structure reduction is realised by the part orientation change, we introduce an efficient energy minimisation-based geometric optimisation framework, which is governed by saliency-aware elementwise projections and a set of manufacturing constraints. The proposed framework is validated through extensive computational and physical printing experiments employing multiple 3D printers and support structure types, on a diverse set of complex models including topologically non-trivial parts such as gyroid structures. Our results show an average reduction of 50 % in support structure print time, 27 % in material usage and 25 % in total print time, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed framework and its potential as a paradigm shift in manufacturing-oriented design.

• A new salient feature map is proposed to find critical points with respect to multi-axis tool orientation. • A relationship between the tool orientation compliance and the part orientation is revealed through a vector field-based approach. • A direct technique to compute a volumetric iso-tool orientation vector field for multi-axis tool path design. Part orientation is a crucial element that governs the impact of several manufacturing constraints in material extrusion-based additive manufacturing (AM). Although part orientation optimisation has been extensively investigated to improve the manufacturability in 2.5-axis AM configuration, its influence on material extrusion-based multi-axis AM remains underdetermined. In this paper, we propose a computational framework to find the optimal part orientation that maximises the compliance of the tool orientation vector field with respect to several constraints required for support-free multi-axis AM. By combining topological significance, mesh saliency and curvedness metrics, we introduce a new salient feature map to formulate the link between the part orientation and the tool orientation vector field compliance. Once the optimal orientation is computed, our method enables a direct computation of a compliant iso-tool orientation vector field for a set of input iso-tool path points. We demonstrate that the part orientation can indeed be changed to minimise tool angle variation whilst adhering to overhang angle constraints for a range of 3D mesh models. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by comparing our method with existing tool orientation vector field design methods. Our promising results reveal the potential in part orientation optimisation as a means to address manufacturing constraints in multi-axis tool path design.

We introduce Rhapso, a 3D printing system designed to embed a diverse range of continuous fiber materials within 3D objects during the printing process. This approach enables integrating properties like tensile strength, force storage and transmission, or aesthetic and tactile characteristics, directly into low-cost thermoplastic 3D prints. These functional objects can have intricate actuation, self-assembly, and sensing capabilities with little to no manual intervention. To achieve this, we modify a low-cost Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printer, adding a stepper motor-controlled fiber spool mechanism on a gear ring above the print bed. In addition to hardware, we provide parsing software for precise fiber placement, which generates G-code for printer operation. To illustrate the versatility of our system, we present applications that showcase its extensive design potential. Additionally, we offer comprehensive documentation and open designs, empowering others to replicate our system and explore its possibilities.

Designing robotic hands has been an active area of research and innovation in the last decade. However, little is known about how people perceive robot hands and react to being touched by them. To inform hand design for social robots, we created a database of 73 robot hands and ran two user studies. In the first study, 160 online users rated the hands in our database. Variations in user ratings mostly centered on the perceived Comfortableness , Interestingness , and Industrialness of the hands. In a second lab-based study, users evaluated seven physical hands and had similar ratings to results from the online study. Furthermore, we did not find a significant difference in user ratings before and after the users were touched by the hands. We provide regression models that can predict user ratings from the hand features (e.g., number of fingers) and an online interface for using our robot hand database and predictive models.

Touchscreens provide a platform for adaptable and versatile user interfaces making them a popular choice for modern smart devices. However, touchscreens lack physicality. Existing solutions to add tangible user interfaces to smart devices often require complicated assembly or occlude part of the touchscreen. We propose ClipWidgets: 3D-printed modular tangible UI extensions for smartphones. ClipWidgets uses a conical mirror and a custom phone case to redirect the field of view of the rear camera of a smartphone to the phone’s periphery. This allows the phone to optically sense input from modular passive 3D-printed widgets that are attached to the phone case. We developed three different widget types (button, dial and slider) that require minimal calibration and minimal assembly. To demonstrate the functionality of ClipWidgets we used it to prototype three different applications: a game controller, a music interface and an interactive graph tool.

Researchers have developed various tools and techniques towards the vision of on-demand fabrication of custom, interactive devices. Recent work has 3D-printed artefacts like speakers, electromagnetic actuators, and hydraulic robots. However, these are non-trivial to instantiate as they require post-fabrication mechanical– or electronic assembly. We introduce AirLogic: a technique to create electronics-free, interactive objects by embedding pneumatic input, logic processing, and output widgets in 3D-printable models. AirLogic devices can perform basic computation on user inputs and create visible, audible, or haptic feedback; yet they do not require electronic circuits, physical assembly, or resetting between uses. Our library of 13 exemplar widgets can embed AirLogic-style computational capabilities in existing 3D models. We evaluate our widgets’ performance—quantifying the loss of airflow (1) in each widget type, (2) based on printing orientation, and (3) from internal object geometry. Finally, we present five applications that illustrate AirLogic’s potential.

Toolkits for shape-changing interfaces (SCIs) enable designers and researchers to easily explore the broad design space of SCIs. However, despite their utility, existing approaches are often limited in the number of shape-change features they can express. This paper introduces MorpheesPlug , a toolkit for creating SCIs that covers seven of the eleven shape-change features identified in the literature. MorpheesPlug is comprised of (1) a set of six standardized widgets that express the shape-change features with user-definable parameters; (2) software for 3D-modeling the widgets to create 3D-printable pneumatic SCIs; and (3) a hardware platform to control the widgets. To evaluate MorpheesPlug we carried out ten open-ended interviews with novice and expert designers who were asked to design a SCI using our software. Participants highlighted the ease of use and expressivity of the MorpheesPlug.

We investigate the design of a shape-changing dial, i.e. a dial that can change its circumference and height to adapt to different contexts of interaction. We first explore how users grasp 3D printed dials of different heights and circumferences in order to inform the form factor of shape-changing dials. We then design a prototype, ExpanDial, inspired from morphing origami. We then use our prototype as a probe within design sessions and use the participants' feedback to devise a set of applications that can benefit from such reconfigurable devices. We also used the design sessions to better understand what kind of interaction and manipulation could be harnessed from such device.

Uncertainty is common when working with data and becomes more important as processing big data gains attention. However, no standard tangible interface element exists for inputting uncertain data. In this article, we extend the input space of two traditional TUIs: dial and slider. We present five designs that are based on dials and sliders and support uncertain input. We conduct focus group interviews to evaluate the designs. The interviews allow us to extend existing design requirements for parameter control UIs to support uncertain input.

Physical controls are widely used by professionals such as sound engineers or aircraft pilots. In particular knobs and sliders are the most prevalent in such interfaces. They have advantages over touchscreen GUIs, especially when users require quick and eyes-free control. However, their interfaces (e.g., mixing consoles) are often bulky and crowded. To improve this, we present the results of a formative study with professionals who use physical controllers. Based on their feedback, we propose design requirements for future interfaces for parameters control. We then introduce the design of our KnobSlider that combines the advantages of a knob and a slider in one unique shape-changing device. A qualitative study with professionals shows how KnobSlider supports the design requirements, and inspired new interactions and applications.

Users interact with many reconfigurable objects in daily life. These objects embed reconfigurations and shape- changing features that users are familiar with. For this reason, everyday reconfigurable objects have informed the design and taxonomy of shape changing UI. However, they have never been explored systematically. In this paper, we present a data set of 82 everyday reconfigurable objects that we collected in a workshop. We discuss how they can inspire the design of reconfigurable interfaces. We particularly focus on taxonomies of reconfigurable interfaces. Taxonomies have been suggested to help design and communication among researchers, however despite their extensive use, taxonomies are rarely evaluated. This paper analyses two established taxonomies - Rasmussen's and Roudaut's - using daily reconfigurable objects. We show relationships between the taxonomies and area for improvements. We propose Morphees+, a refined taxonomy based on Roudaut's Shape Resolution Taxonomy.