PRO/CESS, a Genderless Customizable 3D Printed Bike Saddle with Filaflex
An example of gender defiance in design
We talk with Tim Schütze, a Berlin- based industrial designer who has worked on the topic of gender-sensitive design and the question of how we can overcome gender stereotypes and inequalities in design for his BA thesis. As an example, he has chosen a bike saddle to demonstrate a design process in which paramatric CAD models are adapted based on individually collected data and then 3D printed individualised and on demand. This is how PRO/CESS was born, a project that has been published in magazines such as Designboom and has just been exhibited at the last 'Salone Internazionale Del Mobile' in Milan.
Tim Schütze with his PRO/CESS bike saddle project
Interview with Tim Schütze
Can you introduce yourself and tell us how and when did you discover 3D Printing?
Hi, my name is Tim Schütze and I just graduated with the bespoken project from the University of applied sciences Berlin. I studied industrial design and therefore faced a lot of interesting manufacturing techniques during my studies - with 3D printing being the most common. But it was until my internship two years ago at WertelOberfell, a small design office in Berlin, that I fell in love with 3D printing not just to visualise proportions or create design models, but to question material properties and conventional manufacturing with rather experimental approaches. Printing flexibles is one field that offers this kind of experimental, cutting edge possibilities when it comes to functional prototypes.
"My Project tries to respect the diversity as best as possible, therefore doesn't focus on standards but mass customisation upon the individual demands such as anthropometry and riding preferences. My vision features an open source approach, meaning that the 3D-print data of the individual saddle is freely accessible and can be printed on one's own or fabricated growing network of de-central fablabs and makerspaces. I take advantage of the potential of 3D printing and mass customisation and I aimed for a more accessible product."
Tim Schütze, designer of 'PRO/CESS'.
The Project
How did you come to the conclusion to create a gender-sensitive bicycle saddle?
The whole project originates from my design theoretical thesis, where I question gender norms, power structures and patriarchal hierarchies in the field of product design and eventually outline a framework for gender-sensitive design. In the search for product-contexts that are dominated by the gender binary and normative standards I found bike-saddles to be a suitable scenario to rethink the product in a gender-sensitive way. Apart from that I'm also a bike enthusiast and therefore bring a lot of knowledge that helped me to really dig deep into both, the idealistic but also the applied and technical dimension.
How does it work?
PRO/CESS is a gender-sensitive, fully customised and additively manufactured bike saddle. In contrast to determined products, the concept embraces an open and adaptive process that focuses on the particular needs of users and rejects gendered standards.
The process follows the principle of input/algorithm/output:
- The input is formed by the individual data of the users, which is gathered decentrally with an app.
- Utalising simple image recognition technology, a 3D model of the butt is created.
- Corresponding ergonomic data is then derived and additional preferences are entered.
- Based on this, the algorithm adjusts the shape, size, padding and look of the saddle in the CAD model and is constantly optimised with new data sets.
- Print data for FDM and SLS printing is then generated and made available as output.
- Finally, users have the choice of printing the saddle themselves, sharing the order in the maker community or ordering the saddle from a microfactory.
Material Studies
What were the challenges you faced in this project?
Apart from the conceptual complexity of combining user experience, algorithms & coding and the applied production, the biggest challenge was the material study I conducted along the process. I printed more than 200 samples and had multiple 3D printers running for countless hours to really understand the TPMS-Structures and its parameters in combination with flexible materials. This is also where Filaflex comes into play as they provided me with different flexible TPU filaments for the study.
"In these images we see a few insights into the material studies process. I'm experimenting with FDM-printed TPMS structures made from Filaflex TPU filament. The hardness of the TPMS structures can be selectively controlled by field manipulation and provides the basis for the individualized cushioning behavior of the upper saddle part."
Final Product
What is your vision of 3D printing in the field of saddle printing?
In my vision the technology of 3D printing, both FDM and more sophisticated SLS processes, helps to overcome the focus on male dominated standards and heteronormative unisex versions that is present right now in the broad world of ergonomically challenging products. In the context of bike saddles, 3D printing can help to overcome the differentiation along the gender binary, thus enabling perfectly fitting saddles and embracing the empowerment of gender equality and diversity.
