A Design Case Study: 3D Printer Software Interface Design based on Home Users preferences Knowledge
Year: 2019
Editor: Wartzack, Sandro; Schleich, Benjamin; Gon
Author: Li, Xuenan; Zhao, Danhua; Zhao, Jianghong
Series: ICED
Institution: Hunan University, China
Section: Design for additive manufacturing
DOI number: https://doi.org/10.1017/dsi.2019.68
ISSN: 2220-4342
Abstract
The rapid development of 3D printing technology has an impact on all aspects of modern manufacturing, design and society. However, the home use of 3D printers is still limited by the difficulty in deploying the software and the technology which both need professional understanding and training. How to enable non-technical home users to use 3D printers without the need for training, becomes an urgent problem for both academics and the industry. This paper is concerned in an investigation into home use of 3D printers, their needs and preferences, their impacts on the interaction design of 3D printing. First, a questionnaire survey supported by 127 non-technical users is conducted to understand their preferences on several key steps of the 3D printing procedure. Then, we integrate the survey results into the interaction design process to improve the usability of the 3D printing software. Finally, the advantage of our implementation is tested via the user satisfaction and feedback towards the post-use period. Our design project shows a simple method to extend 3D printing interactive software to non-technical users, and pushes forward the landscape of the home use of 3D printers.
Keywords: Design methods, 3D printing, User centred design, Human-Machine Interfaces, User preference