TY - JOUR
T1 - An ergonomic analysis of stress caused by maintenance and material loading in FDM-Based 3D printing
AU - Blickensderfer, Beth
AU - Meyers, Matthew
PY - 2017/10/20
Y1 - 2017/10/20
N2 - The primary goal when designing fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printers is functionality. While this is not inherently bad, the large number of subsystems involved in the design process causes the safety of the user and the usability of the device itself to be one of the last aspects considered. As a result, using commercial 3D printers in any capacity can be a challenge; this is especially true when troubleshooting them. The poor design of these printers from an ergonomic viewpoint requires that users apply large amounts of force while maintaining off-nominal postures, which can have long lasting consequences if not resolved. This report aimed to alleviate some of these stressors by conducting an ergonomic and biomechanical analysis of specific tasks involved with using and troubleshooting FDM printers. The specific tasks covered in this analysis include the loading and locking in place of the filament, the manual leveling of the bed height, and the removal of jammed filament from the extruder. A comprehensive analysis of these tasks provides insight as to which design alternatives would be best suited to solving the problems addressed in this report.
AB - The primary goal when designing fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printers is functionality. While this is not inherently bad, the large number of subsystems involved in the design process causes the safety of the user and the usability of the device itself to be one of the last aspects considered. As a result, using commercial 3D printers in any capacity can be a challenge; this is especially true when troubleshooting them. The poor design of these printers from an ergonomic viewpoint requires that users apply large amounts of force while maintaining off-nominal postures, which can have long lasting consequences if not resolved. This report aimed to alleviate some of these stressors by conducting an ergonomic and biomechanical analysis of specific tasks involved with using and troubleshooting FDM printers. The specific tasks covered in this analysis include the loading and locking in place of the filament, the manual leveling of the bed height, and the removal of jammed filament from the extruder. A comprehensive analysis of these tasks provides insight as to which design alternatives would be best suited to solving the problems addressed in this report.
U2 - 10.1177/1541931213601942
DO - 10.1177/1541931213601942
M3 - Article
VL - 61
JO - Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
JF - Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
ER -