Date of Award

8-2018

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME)

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Committee Chair

Karthik Ramani

Committee Member 1

Raymond Cipra

Committee Member 2

Tahira Reid

Abstract

Current Rapid prototyping tools although reduce development time, they still have several restrictions such as print volume and print times. Through this thesis, two prototyping kits are proposed, a rod connector based, user controlled computational support system that re-purposes surface models and transforms them into structurally scaffolded constructs with movable joints; and a planar connector based system that implements movable joints to create functional prototypes. The rod based system enables users to interactively personalize scaffolded structures by re-purposing existing surface mesh models; analyze scaffolded constructs in-situ for better structurality, add movable joints to increase functionality, and attach personalized appearances to the scaffolding for increased customization. The planar connector system uses movable and electronic embedded connectors to functionalize planar surfaces to create multi-fidelity prototypes capable of interacting with the environment.

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