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Thesis Info
- LABS ID
- 00703
- Thesis Title
- Mass Customisation in the Furniture Design Industry: the case of Thonet chairs
- Author
- Mario Barros
- E-mail
- milbarros AT gmail.com
- 2nd Author
- 3rd Author
- Degree
- Ph.D
- Year
- 2015
- Number of Pages
- 290
- University
- University of Lisbon
- Thesis Supervisor
- Jose Pinto Duarte
- Supervisor e-mail
- jduarte07 AT gmail.com
- Other Supervisor(s)
- Bruno Chaparro
- Language(s) of Thesis
- English
- Department / Discipline
- Design
- Copyright Ownership
- Mario Barros
- Languages Familiar to Author
- English, Portuguese, French
- URL where full thesis can be found
- www.repository.utl.pt/bitstream/10400.5/10732/1/PhD%20Thesis_BARROS_Mass%20Customisation%20in%20the%20Furniture%20Design%20Industry.pdf
- Keywords
- Mass customisation; Digital design; Shape grammars; Parametric design; Furniture design
- Abstract: 200-500 words
- The thesis proposes a model for mass customisation in the furniture design industry, with the purpose of improving the patterns of collaboration between the disciplines of design and engineering during the realisation of the design process, and in the definition of the production process. The ultimate goal is to enable the design of products that can be customised by an individual consumer according to his/her own idiosyncratic intentions.
The theoretical model is illustrated by its application to an iconic mass production problem – Thonet bentwood chairs – which was changed to comply with the paradigm of mass customisation.
The proposed model comprises the use of a generative design system and a production system supported by computer-aided design. It enables the characterisation, exploration, evaluation, and production of custom solutions within a predefined design language.
The developed generative design system corresponds to the embodiment design phase of the design process. The development proceeds in two steps: in the first, the design language is codified by means of a shape grammar; in the second, it is transformed to expand the number of solutions generated.
The generative design system encompasses two subsystems: shape generation and shape evaluation. The shape grammar is implemented as a set of parametric design models to permit the interactive generation of customised variants. These customised variants become the input information to the shape evaluation subsystem, which comprises simulation and optimisation, to guarantee the structural feasibility of the customised chairs under operating conditions.
The conceptualised production system corresponds to the detail design and production phases of the design process, in which the production process is formalised. It is proposed a reconfigurable tooling system for automated wood bending which directly reflects the requirements of the design process, the specificities of the product, and the constraints of the material.