2019 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Computational Fabrication Approach to Extend the Softness Capabilities of 3D Printers
| Project/Area Number |
19K20321
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| Research Institution | Osaka University |
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Principal Investigator |
プンポンサノン パリンヤ 大阪大学, 基礎工学研究科, 助教 (90812222)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2019-04-01 – 2021-03-31
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| Keywords | digital fabrication / 3D printing / human perception / user interface design |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Digital fabrication has enabled massive creativity in product design both personal and industrial. The reduction of price and increase of quality of 3D printer enable individuals to fabricate every object that meets a personal need. However, these objects often lack the haptic softness desired by users due to the limited number of available material. In this research, I seek the method to enable feel variation of haptics ‘softness’ desired out from a limited number of available materials of 3D printing.
In this fiscal year, I investigated the printing factors that correlated between perceived softness, physical softness, and material properties by applying the psychophysical experiment method. I have conducted several experiments and found out the optimal factors that modify the perceived softness of 3D printed objects; infills and surface textures. By comparing the softness of a standard soft gel (Hitohada gel, EXSEAL Inc.) with a target soft object, I found that the concentric infill structure provided optimal perceived softness while keeping a steady object’s structure when fixed the touch interaction at approximate 15N measured by a 6-axis force sensor.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
The research progress follows the ‘research plan for fundamental investigation, research facilities, and materials’ submitted with the initial research grant support application, smoothly. The key factors of this study have been achieved in this fiscal year. For example, I have found the relationship between the infill parameters and the softness perception, and the type of surface textures that changes the perceived softness; the concentric structure works best as the softness material structure. Therefore, it is possible for the next step to find out the optimal parameters that allow modifying the perceived softness such as the diameter of the surface textures, the printing direction and optimal flowing rate of the printer, and to evaluate the computational model, user experience, and build up the end-to-end framework software for the next fiscal year.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
In the incoming fiscal year, I plan to conduct the psychophysical experiment to obtain the computational model and implement the end-to-end workflow such that allows users to fabricate the personal soft objects from 3D printers. To do so, I will recruit the participants to participate in a psychophysical experiment and compare the different softness parameters from the different surface textures obtained from the current achievements. The obtained computational model is used to design the softness designing software. In addition, I also plan to integrate these results with 3D reconstruction software that allows a user to replicate everyday objects with softness needed. Finally, I will verify the proposed methods with various types of 3D printers, with the number of available materials.
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| Causes of Carryover |
The incurring amount of grant to be used next fiscal year due to several reasons (1) the academic conferences and international research discussion plan to hold in the US and Thailand in February and March 2020, respectively, has been postponed due to the new corona-virus (COVID-19) pandemic. Both academic events are rescheduled to be held physically in the next fiscal year. (2) The release date of the planned purchase 3D printer has been delayed, and (3) the limited stock of the 3D printing materials (TPU filaments) used in the project. While the delay of purchased products and attend the academic conference does not affect the progress of this research, the same amount of grant to be used purchasing the hardware in the next fiscal years (included the postponed conferences schedule).
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