Abstract

In user-centered design, the way users feel when interacting with products is taken under consideration in the design process. In this research, the user-centered design of compliant mechanism and origami-based products is explored. Examples of user-centered compliant mechanism and origami-based design projects are presented: first, for novel furniture designs, in which the safety, comfort, and visual aesthetics are important; and second, for compliant handheld dart launchers, where the feel of blaster actuation is taken into consideration. The feel of a product and a person's emotional response to it are important to products meant to be interacted with, but especially in toys and in haptic technology, where the feel is the primary purpose of the product. To design products which elicit specific emotional responses, a designer needs to understand what kind of feel is associated with which emotional response. In this research, several buttons are designed which use compliant mechanisms to achieve different "feels"---where in this case, the feel is the actuation, in terms of a force-deflection curve, of the button. These buttons with unique force-deflection curves are then presented to fifty-six participants for a perception test, where participants identify which is their preferred button and which is most surprising to them. From these results, participant preferences are identified and statistically verified; participants preferred buttons which were easier to press (had a lower maximum force), and were surprised by buttons which were harder to press (had a higher maximum force) or had nonlinear force-deflection curves. A difference of preference was also noted with occupation; non-engineers preferred the linear button much more strongly than engineers. Using the results from these tests, designers can more easily choose actuation paths for their products that will elicit specific emotional responses from users. These results, as well as those from the dart launcher case study, indicate that in user-centered design, it is important to take into account the force profile of human-powered actuating parts, because people have strong preferences. Designers can use the results from this study to aid them in their own design. Designers can also use the framework of this study to explore an even greater range of force-deflection curves or actuation methods and user perceptions of these profiles. The prototyping phase is an important part of design. Although 3D printers are growing in popularity, in the case of compliant mechanism and origami-based design, it can often be difficult to use 3D printers. Design of compliant mechanisms for specific applications often requires them to achieve specific motions, which can be designed for through knowledge of their material properties. When 3D printing with polymers, however, the material properties can vary widely. Through a thorough study involving systematically changing the parameters of the slicer and performing a three-point bending test on the 3D-printed part, mechanical properties for a variety of parameters are recorded. Through using the results from these tests, or else through using the framework presented here on their own 3D printer or material, designers can more effectively use 3D printing in the design process of compliant mechanisms. Compliant mechanisms are also particularly useful for designers in cases where a product must scale. The design of the compliant dart launcher, which was designed to scale to 1/100th its original size, is also presented. This mechanism is used to discuss the nonintuitive rules of stress as it relates to scaling, which is particularly applicable in compliant mechanisms since they lend themselves so readily to scaling. A simple compliant mechanism, a parallel-guiding beam, is used to demonstrate the basic concepts of a deflection-driven mechanism and the unscaling property of stress. This is also demonstrated through the more complex compliant blaster. The blaster is shown in its multiple scales and data are included to confirm that the stress does not scale with size.

Degree

College and Department

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering; Mechanical Engineering

Rights

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