MOD - A modular interface for low- volume furniture systems
John Lörinci
Berlin University of the Arts
My bachelor thesis explores how product design and manufacturing can be brought closer together to enable economically viable and resource-conscious production at small and medium volumes. The project investigates different manufacturing strategies across the transition from prototyping to serial production, with a particular focus on additive manufacturing and hybrid production methods. Rather than selecting a manufacturing process only after a product has been designed, the project treats manufacturing as an active part of the design process influencing geometry, material use, tooling, scalability, and ultimately the viability of a product. A central part of the research focused on additively manufactured injection molds. By designing and optimizing 3D-printed mold inserts for use in conventional injection-molding equipment, I investigated how additive manufacturing can reduce the cost and lead time associated with traditional tooling. The molds were manufactured, tested under real injection-molding conditions, iteratively redesigned, and pushed toward their technical limits. This resulted in a strategy for using printed tooling to bridge the gap between rapid prototyping and conventional injection molding, allowing functional parts in production-grade materials to be manufactured much earlier in the development process. The technological research was accompanied by the development of a modular furniture system that served as a practical design case. Its central connector was designed around the capabilities and constraints of the investigated manufacturing processes, allowing different production methods to be evaluated on the same product. The project ultimately proposes a more flexible approach to product development: instead of committing immediately to either additive manufacturing or conventional mass-production tooling, manufacturing methods can evolve alongside the product and its production volume. By combining digital fabrication with established industrial processes, products can be developed, tested, and produced with lower initial investment, shorter iteration cycles, and a production strategy better adapted to actual demand.