Fiber UI/UX
JAN - APR 2022 / Mobile Fiber UI @ Markforged, Boston, MA
How colorful mobile interfaces improved key fiber line process by cutting travel costs, increasing uptime, yield, and production of fiber spools
Product design: Suneeth Torke, Sean O' Neil, Patrick Dunham
Direction: Scott Kaempfe, Sean O' Neil, Alex Gardiner, Dan Blythe & Billerica Fiber Line Team
Markforged Fiber Production Rooms are like operating rooms.
In these rooms, machine-operators assemble spools of ONX, HSV, HST etc. and other materials are impregnated to form spools reinforced with continuous carbon fiber.
Human operators are tasked with making split-second decisions to tweak to continuous impregnration process and ensure that it is running optimally.
To make a change in a lines parameters, operators would need to check the existing parameters, check to see if matches what was expected adding new information and heading back.
  • 1. Check line status & modify params
  • 2. Walk 75 feet to input changes
  • 3. Walk the same distance back to next line
  • 4. repeat
30+
Fiber Lines
process
7
Formulations
outputs
8+
Fiber Operators
customers
The existing input system was cluttered, monotonous, and identical indistinguishable interfaces between active lines, line-statuses and material performance.
Active Spool
L7_CAR_2205030_3647
Run Settings
Use prev params
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
revision
clamp
dehair
gauge
tolerance
torsion
64.4
87.74000000000001
14.56
53.13
88.81
18.72
105.21
95.25
8.16
95.19
101.6
7.140000000000001
14.000000000000002
138.18
4.12
105.21
90.17
7.48
14.280000000000001
157.29
3.08
135.26999999999998
105.41
10.88
14.840000000000002
94.08
3.3200000000000003
130.26
93.98
8.16
Line 7
production notes
update feedstock
2s
repair m20 driver
5m
adjust nozz -s
20m
Fiber Material
SFA
Fiber Lot
L-SFAL7_CAR_2205030_3647
Raw Fiber Lot
FH0019
Plastic Fill Lot
L-PFREX00213
prev
parameters
operator
4.88
9.8
vraju
0.1
139.1
snnad
24.64
60.269999999999996
reesala
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Status
impregnating...
Split
3 gXl [x] 1gS []x
Notes
active
adj. grp 2
Operator
pcurr
While the layout was usable, problems came when lots of lines needed changes performed, production cycles were changed, batches were switched and when multiple lines of data needed to be examined.
A centralized data entry spot made it so that each line operation required an operator to walk across the floor between each line and the computer.
The use of a mobile interface solved the first problem, but then an additional one arose, the data entry service would need multi platform support.
By using colors workers were able to identify controls and triggers at a distance without needing to walk to the central computer and data entry was able to be done via mobile app.