Formlabs Fuse 1
2017-2018
user testing, ux design, visual design
user testing, ux design, visual design
A touchscreen interface for Formlabs’ SLS 3D printer that allows users to monitor the progress of active prints and overall printer status, queue new jobs, and change system settings. I was the design lead on the project, working closely with engineering and industrial design teams to select components and understand necessary sensor data to communicate through the UI.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b177763881e0998a79d358898b15651300abec617cd3582534336c0698730e3e/01_Fuse.jpeg)
Key constraints were to provide flexibility in the printer maintenance workflow required between every print, and to always give the user access to the live feed of the print bed.
I wireframed three navigation structures: side navigation, heads-up display, and cards. I built interactive prototypes using Principle and mounted an iPad on a printer model to conduct user tests.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a43aefb0ccfc940c602515bd05a1989a8d0c6b3f04dcb909af6b5eeda22315b5/Card-1.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4a3bc1b12c8fe0402ae5c5cd5e485cf954be5eddb0a32ecaa2bb0549df11c244/Card-2.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1d6bd6b2ddb6962bdb7b6ccc913ebd532f5425604c7c09216cb6f453b742323c/HUD-1.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/20765b23be9626afdbd3f2caad7f07d68aac9c310c59139b6736b59d9539ca1d/HUD-2.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0a073ffe5397af6a2076504fc8e6624d51f4c9f1b50e9254b2d0876563a127db/Nav-1.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7485001db6ee3c80a2c19b17f3a3f77c270139ea2411f94d64bd05a865702fe2/Nav-2.png)
The side navigation structure was the most familiar and intuitive for all users. I created a maintenance checklist accessible at any time through the navigation bar, and before printing.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/61a12c20e9511f610802c6b63cfc3578699c9f07e9f9a8488eaf6d1025bd29ea/Fuse-Screens.png)
Case Study: Alerts
One area I especially focused on was mapping all system alerts, starting from sitting down with the engineering team to understand the machine sensors and error/failure states and condensing those error states into categories.After wrapping my head around all the possible alerts, I developed a hierarchical system to reflect the urgency of the alert.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/700eb07e7e0d9b3037cca701898602b99f2ff6bfd07d1c569f821f142d68dcee/AlertLevels4.png)
I brought this hierarchy together with my more technical understanding of the machine to map flows that incorporated user actions, machine state, and UI guidance.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/29664387339fd9b6886a2bd0d2008ab2f95bcdb102046b5292ef3c6d80c2a601/Fuse_041318_Alerts_Page_1_crop.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c8cb6764084d6c71dc6ef3a8c317c44dcb0834b33c1ee95524fa9f76660e9eb5/scenario-mapping-maintenance.png)
Finally, I translated these flows into UI mockups, following the design system I had developed for rest of the UI.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ac31e3c157c6f672b1ce90cec5bc86ad77391596ba7fe24218aaaeb51790a44c/alert-modals.png)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c319680f12f7d5657f32e4ee6cc03db991d3a6d92067f2e7d17f09fef9c19156/Fuse-Yoav-color.png)