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Design of 3D Printed Cellular Meta-materials for Improved Tool-Handle Ergonomics

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Advances in Manufacturing, Production Management and Process Control (AHFE 2020)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 1216))

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Abstract

Researchers focussed on the sizes and shapes of the tool-handle, however they neglected the tool-handle materials, which could further improve the ergonomics. It has been shown that foam rubber grip can be used to provide more uniform distribution of forces and pressures on the hand resulting in higher comfort ratings. Well-chosen foam and limited foam thickness can maintain low deformation rate for maintaining desired rate of stability of the hand tool in the hands. Therefore, we designed and manufactured a 3D printed cellular metamaterial with deformable inner structure and pre-engineered mechanical response, where at initial low grasping forces, the material stays firm and starts to deform only when critical contact pressure is reached to provide greater contact area and provide more uniform pressure distribution. Test subjects rated the 3D printed handles as more comfortable compared to handles made from plastic.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Slovenian Research Agency (research core funding No. P2-0063).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LIO - Laboratory for Product Design, Faculty for Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia

    Andrej Cupar

  2. Laboratory for Intelligent CAD Systems, Faculty for Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia

    Jasmin Kaljun, Bojan Dolšak & Gregor Harih

Authors
  1. Andrej Cupar
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  2. Jasmin Kaljun
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  3. Bojan Dolšak
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  4. Gregor Harih
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrej Cupar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering Management, Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland

    Beata Mrugalska

  2. Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland

    Stefan Trzcielinski

  3. University of Central Florida, Winter Park, FL, USA

    Waldemar Karwowski

  4. Architecture Department, University of Chieti-Pescara, Pescara, Pescara, Italy

    Massimo Di Nicolantonio

  5. Lincoln School of Design, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

    Emilio Rossi

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Cupar, A., Kaljun, J., Dolšak, B., Harih, G. (2020). Design of 3D Printed Cellular Meta-materials for Improved Tool-Handle Ergonomics. In: Mrugalska, B., Trzcielinski, S., Karwowski, W., Di Nicolantonio, M., Rossi, E. (eds) Advances in Manufacturing, Production Management and Process Control. AHFE 2020. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1216. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51981-0_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51981-0_14

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-51980-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-51981-0

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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