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Virtual try-on (VTO) technology with three-dimensional (3D) body scanning in a mobile application is a relatively new technique for selling custom-fit apparel. VTO involves scanning and measuring one's body and visualizing the fit of a garment on a 3D avatar. The purpose of this study is to explore consumers' experiences toward the custom-fit T-shirts and online mass customization (MC) services using the VTO technology found in online consumer reviews (OCRs).

A total of 297 OCRs were collected from the Amazon's Made for You site that uses VTO technology for the MC process. A qualitative content analysis, within a mixed method research process, was used to determine systematically the meanings within qualitative data with quantitative results. In the qualitative approach, combinations of two coding processes were employed, which were concept-driven (i.e., deductive/a priori) and data-driven (i.e., inductive/emergent) coding processes. In the quantitative approach, the prevalence of each coding in terms of its valence was calculated based on frequencies. Intercoder reliability reached 96 per cent.

In OCRs of customized apparel products and online MC services using VTO technology, consumers described expectations, perceived performance, dis/confirmation, dis/satisfaction, outcomes of dis/satisfaction and descriptive information. Those with expectations often expressed skepticism about the product and the MC process using VTO technology at the pre-consumption stage. In OCRs, they used four product dimensions and two service dimensions of perceived performance. Consumers had positive (negative) confirmation when the performance of the T-shirts and/or services worked better (worse) than their expectations. The OCRs also included dis/satisfaction with a product and/or service, its outcomes and descriptive information.

This study identified a resulting framework to identify the content in OCRs of the custom-fit T-shirts and online MC services that use VTO technology. This study extends the expectation confirmation theory by adding multiple dimensions (i.e., four product dimensions and two service dimensions) as well as more outcomes of dis/satisfaction (not limited to repurchase intentions). This study provides practical suggestions for online MC companies who are using or planning to use VTO technology on how to improve consumers' satisfaction with customized T-shirts using VTO technology.

“Rapid Manufacturing”, which is the use of additive fabrication (AF) processes to deliver end‐use parts and products directly from digital data, is increasingly gaining wider acceptance. And, although the market for this will take years to develop fully, compelling examples of rapid manufacturing are already stimulating the development of the next generation of systems. The aim of this paper is to discuss the Custom‐Fit project whose aim is to keep Europe in the forefront of rapid manufacturing developments.

The paper investigates the Custom‐Fit project.

The paper finds that this industry‐led project has been investigating, since 2004, the possibility of moving towards knowledge‐based manufacturing and customized production through integration of knowledge in rapid manufacturing, information technology and material science.

The paper provides useful information in one of Europe's forerunners in rapid manufacturing developments.

A three-dimensional (3D) printed custom-fit respirator mask has been proposed as a promising solution to alleviate mask-related injuries and supply shortages during COVID-19. However, creating a custom-fit computer-aided design (CAD) model for each mask is currently a manual process and thereby not scalable for a pandemic crisis. This paper aims to develop a novel design process to reduce overall design cost and time, thus enabling the mass customisation of 3D printed respirator masks.

Four data acquisition methods were used to collect 3D facial data from five volunteers. Geometric accuracy, equipment cost and acquisition time of each method were evaluated to identify the most suitable acquisition method for a pandemic crisis. Subsequently, a novel three-step design process was developed and scripted to generate respirator mask CAD models for each volunteer. Computational time was evaluated and geometric accuracy of the masks was evaluated via one-sided Hausdorff distance.

Respirator masks were successfully generated from all meshes, taking <2 min/mask for meshes of 50,000∼100,000 vertices and <4 min for meshes of ∼500,000 vertices. The average geometric accuracy of the mask ranged from 0.3 mm to 1.35 mm, depending on the acquisition method. The average geometric accuracy of mesh obtained from different acquisition methods ranged from 0.56 mm to 1.35 mm. A smartphone with a depth sensor was found to be the most appropriate acquisition method.

A novel and scalable mass customisation design process was presented, which can automatically generate CAD models of custom-fit respirator masks in a few minutes from a raw 3D facial mesh. Four acquisition methods, including the use of a statistical shape model, a smartphone with a depth sensor, a light stage and a structured light scanner were compared; one method was recommended for use in a pandemic crisis considering equipment cost, acquisition time and geometric accuracy.

The computer‐aided design (CAD) and manufacture of custom‐fitting surgical guides have been shown to provide an accurate means of transferring computer‐aided planning to surgery. To date guides have been produced using fragile materials via rapid prototyping techniques such as stereolithography (SLA), which typically require metal reinforcement to prevent damage from drill bits. The purpose of this paper is to report case studies which explore the application of selective laser melting (SLM) to the direct manufacture of stainless steel surgical guides. The aim is to ascertain whether the potential benefits of enhanced rigidity, increased wear resistance (negating reinforcement) and easier sterilisation by autoclave can be realised in practice.

A series of clinical case studies are undertaken utilising medical scan data, CAD and SLM. The material used is 316L stainless steel, an alloy typically used in medical and devices and surgical instruments. All treatments are planned in parallel with existing techniques and all guides are test fitted and assessed on SLA models of the patients' anatomy prior to surgery.

This paper describes the successful application of SLM to the production of stainless steel surgical guides in four different maxillofacial surgery case studies. The cases reported address two types of procedure, the placement of osseointegrated implants for prosthetic retention and Le Fort 1 osteotomies using internal distraction osteogenesis. The cases reported here have demonstrated that SLM is a viable process for the manufacture of custom‐fitting surgical guides.

The cases have identified that the effective design of osteotomy guides requires further development and refinement.

This paper represents the first reported applications of SLM technology to the direct manufacture of stainless steel custom‐fitting surgical guides. Four successful exemplar cases are described including guides for osteotomy as well as drilling. Practical considerations are presented along with suggestions for further development.

To provide a concise briefing on the most topical issues and relevant implications from the top 400 management publications in the world.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the argument in context.

Within just a few years, a European project is aiming to have broken new ground in rapid manufacturing and so transform the way some products are made. The vision of the custom‐fit program is to develop a new fully integrated manufacturing process where complex customized end products will be “printed” from unique combinations of different materials, using machines capable of varying the grade and type of the material within a single component.

Provides implementable strategies and practical thinking that has influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The aim of this study was to explore the application of rapid manufacturing (RM) to the production of patient specific, custom‐fitting removable partial denture (RPD) alloy frameworks. RPDs are metal frameworks designed to retain artificial replacement teeth in the oral cavity.

The study was undertaken by applied case study. An RPD was designed using computer‐aided design software according to well‐established dental technology design principles, based on a digitally scanned cast produced from an impression of the patient's mouth. The RPD design was then exported as an STL file in preparation for direct manufacture using selective laser melting. Dimensionally accurate frameworks were manufactured in 316L stainless steel and chromium‐cobalt alloy. These were assessed for accuracy of fit and function on the patient cast and on the patient in clinic.

This successful case study demonstrates that an RM approach can produce fully functional, precisely fitting RPD frameworks for specific individual patients.

The study was based on a single design produced using two materials. Further studies are in progress to show that the results can be achieved on a regular and predictable basis.

This study provides some practical guidance for the application described and suggests that similar success may be achieved in related custom‐fitting applications.

The paper demonstrates the successful application of a novel approach to the design and manufacture of custom‐fitting dental devices.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an automated human body measurement extraction system using simple inexpensive equipment with minimum requirement of human assistance. This research further leads to the comparison of extracted measurements to established methods to analyze the error. The extracted measurements can be used to assist the production of custom-fit apparel. This is an effort to reduce the cost of expensive 3-D body scanners and to make the system available to the user at home.

A single camera body measurement system is proposed, implemented, and pilot tested. This system involves a personal computer and a webcam operating within a space of controlled lighting. The system will take two images of the user, extract body silhouettes, and perform measurement extraction. The camera is automatically calibrated using the software each time of scanning considering the scanning space. The user will select a front view and a side view among the images captured, and specify the height. In this pilot study, 31 subjects were recruited and the accuracy of 8 human body measurements were compared with the manual measurements and measurements extracted from a commercial 3-D body scanner.

The system achieved reasonable measurement performance within 10 percent accuracy for seven out of the eight measurements, while four out of eight parameters obtained a performance similar to the commercial scanner. It is proved that human body measurement extraction can be done using inexpensive equipment to obtain reasonable results.

This study is aimed at developing a proof-of-concept for inexpensive body scanning system, with an effort to benchmark measurement accuracy, available to an average user providing the ability to acquire self-body measurements to be used to purchase custom-fit apparel. This system can potentially boost the customization of apparel and revolutionize online shopping of custom-fit apparel.

There are over 40 million amputees globally with more than 185,000 Americans losing their limbs every year. For most of the world, prosthetic devices remain too expensive and uncomfortable. This paper aims to outline advancements made by a multidisciplinary research group, interested in advancing the restoration of human motion through accessible lower limb prostheses.

Customization, comfort and functionality are the most important metrics reported by prosthetists and patients. The work of this paper presents the design and manufacturing of a custom made, cost-effective and functional three-dimensional (3D) printed transtibial prosthesis monocoque design. The design of the prosthesis integrates 3D imaging, modelling and optimization techniques coupled with additive manufacturing.

The successful fabrication of a functional monocoque prosthesis through 3D printing indicates the workflow may be a solution to the worldwide accessibility crisis. The digital workflow developed in this work offers great potential for providing prosthetic devices to rural communities, which lack access to skilled prosthetic physicians. The authors found that using the workflow together with 3D printing, this study can create custom monocoque prostheses (Figure 16). These prostheses are comfortable, functional and properly aligned. In comparison with traditional prosthetic devices, the authors slowered the average cost, weight and time of production by 95%, 55% and 95%, respectively.

This novel digital design and manufacturing workflow has the potential to democratize and globally proliferate access to prosthetic devices, which restore the patient’s mobility, quality of life and health. LIMBER’s toolbox can reach places where proper prosthetic and orthotic care is not available. The digital workflow reduces the cost of making custom devices by an order of magnitude, enabling broader reach, faster access and improved comfort. This is particularly important for children who grow quickly and need new devices every few months or years, timely access is both physically and psychologically important.

In this manuscript, the authors show the application of digital design techniques for fabricating prosthetic devices. The proposed workflow implements several advantageous changes and, most importantly, digitally blends the three components of a transtibial prosthesis into a single, 3D printable monocoque device. The development of a novel unibody transtibial device that is properly aligned and adjusted digitally, greatly reduces the number of visits an amputee must make to a clinic to have a certified prosthetist adjust and modify their prosthesis. The authors believe this novel workflow has the potential to ease the worldwide accessibility crisis for prostheses.

The purpose of this paper is to explore an application of computer‐aided design and manufacture (CAD/CAM) to a process of electronically surveying a scanned dental cast as a prior stage to producing a sacrificial pattern for a removable partial denture (RPD) metal alloy framework.

With the introduction of laser scan technology and commercial reverse engineering software, a standard plaster maxillary dental cast with dentition defect was successfully scanned and created as a STL‐formatted digital cast. With the software, the unwanted undercuts were eliminated based on the desired path of insertion. Parts of the RPD framework were then successfully custom‐designed and combined as a whole.

A sacrificial pattern was produced by rapid prototyping (RP) method and finally casted with chromium cobalt alloy. With suitable finishing process, both the sacrificial pattern and the casted framework fitted the cast well.

The research indicated the feasibility of creating a library of RPD framework components. It is believed that, in the future, with the advance of the techniques, a totally new platform can be developed for the design and fabrication of custom‐fit RPD framework based on the CAD/CAM/RP system.