Increasing product attachment through personalised design of additively manufactured products

The research reported in this paper has demonstrated that emerging digital technologies are offering new methods for designers to work with end users to help them create personalised products. Additive manufacturing provides a manufacturing process that is capable of producing virtually any geometry with little or no cost and time differentials. The most difficult part of the process is the CAD modelling effort required to create highly complex personalised shapes. Conventional CAD struggles to support the user creativity required whereas the advent of Virtual Clay modelling seems to offer some potential in this area. Overall, the combined use of co-design and additive manufacturing results in an exciting new environment for creative designers and users to work together. They can work in a digital medium that mimics the flexibility of 3D physical modelling and yet offers the speed, repeatability and cost benefits of automated production. The increased emotional bonding that users have with personalised products has been shown to be a potential source of greater product usage life and hence improved sustainability.