University of Twente Student Theses
Adaption of the X-Carve to UT education
Vogelsang, D. (2016) Adaption of the X-Carve to UT education.
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| Abstract: | This thesis describes the process undertaken to give meaning to the task that was set for the bachelor assignment. The assignment can be comprehensively described as: “Modifying the X-Carve CNC-milling machine to be used within educational tracks of the University of Twente”. To fill in this assignment the X-Carve was researched in-depth. Starting with researching its current capabilities and possible future additions, as well as the current workflow. Through this, several aspects with room for addition and improvement became clear. The X-Carve provides a user-friendly carving experience out of the box. But to improve the X-Carves current capabilities and adhere to the assignment, improvements and changes were needed. These changes have been divided in two areas: - Workflow enhancement - Mechanical enhancement Both areas were looked at separately, and ideas for enhancement of both were generated. The workflow enhancement focusses on providing a comprehensive and enabling workflow for the user. Providing them with information in real-time or eliminating difficult aspects to make the X-Carve more useable for even the least experienced user. The mechanical enhancement focusses on providing the X-Carve with greater accuracy, as this was an aspect found to be lacking during the orientation. Comparing both aspects, the decision was made to continue with workflow enhancement. As, no matter how accurate the X-Carve would be, working with it for most users would be rather difficult without a proper workflow. The problem stated to be solved with the workflow enhancement was: “The (3D carving aspect of the) X-Carve is difficult to utilise and grasp for new users with no previous experience in CNC-machining and the workflow lacks streamlining and clarity.” To find the idea which would offer the best possibility in solving this problem, the generated ideas for workflow enhancement were compared once more and eventually several were combined to form the idea of an interactive manual. This interactive manual was then developed by researching and contemplating the interface needed to distract the user as little as possible, so they can focus on working with the X-Carve. While also offering enough flexibility that it could be used by both experienced and completely new users. To provide cross-platform flexibility in usage of the manual and provide possibilities for eventual expansion, the manual was created as a web-app. Through this the manual will be able to communicate with the X-Carve, be accessible to the user regardless of location and provide for easy expansion and editing in the future. The content for the manual was chosen to be a combination of text, images and videos, to provide an efficient and comprehensive method for offering information to the user. The final product was tested with several users, and their experiences and comments were used to evaluate the manual and provide several recommendations. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | ET: Engineering Technology |
| Subject: | 20 art studies |
| Programme: | Industrial Design BSc (56955) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/71158 |
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