A New Design Approach: Applying Optical Fiber Sensing to 3D-Printed Structures to Make Furniture Intelligent

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Authors,

I found your paper engaging, but there are several areas that require attention and revision:

• Please verify the axis title 'Strength (dBm)' in Fig. 6a.
• Elaborate on the testing environment and provide details about the testing sample size in section 5.1.3.
• The functionalities of “Optical fiber sensing” and “Furniture intelligence” are not delineated clearly. Additionally, the measurement methods for these results need further clarification.
• If feasible, I suggest including an example of the "Intelligent" function in conjunction with the model presented in Fig. 3.

Warm regards

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In this manuscript, the authors introduced a design which combines the traditional wood furniture and 3D-printed PLA structures with optical fiber sensor. Please find my comments below.

The authors do not explain or illustrate what they claim in the manuscript. In Method section, 3.2.2, the authors claim, “In order to address the issues above, it is necessary to develop a mathematical model for the sensor's temperature and pressure sensing, conduct experiments to reveal the sensing law of the optical fiber sensor under the influence of numerous temperature and pressure stress parameters in a multifield coupled environment, and further optimize the sensor's structural parameters.” However, in this manuscript, no mathematical model is introduced and explained. The authors should add such mathematical model into the manuscript and use the model to explain their experimental data.

The conclusion is not consistent with the results or the methods. In 4.3, the authors claim that the circular structure was made of Polyactic Acid, however, in conclusion section, the authors claim “Adding carbon fibers to polyethylene plastic increases the toughness of the 3D-printed material.” (564). Where does this polyethylene plastic come from? The authors should explain it.

There is no enough data to support the conclusion. The authors claim, “Adding carbon fibers to polyethylene plastic increases the toughness of the 3D-printed material.” (564). The authors only show the data from one measurement of bending test on optical fiber embedded structure. Without control measurement of no fiber embedded 3D-printed structure, the statement is not accurate.

The authors need to repeat their measurements, both Validation experiments for temperature and Verification experiments of structural strength. Presenting only one measurement per experiment is not convincing.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This manuscript presents a new approach to realizing furniture intelligence by integrating 3D-printed fiber optic sensors with traditional furniture. The authors have demonstrated the reasonability of the design with exhaustive mathematics and experiments. And this design successfully realized the monitoring of many parameters such as temperature and humidity, presenting great potential for application in home environments and promoting sustainable development of furniture products. Therefore, I’d like to recommend a “major revision” based on a few comments to consider for improvement of the manuscript.

(1) It’d be better for the authors to display the structure of the optic fiber sensors, whether a schematic diagram or a physical picture.

(2) The authors should demonstrate how the optic fiber sensors were integrated with furniture.

(3) On page 11, the figure number is wrong; it should be Figure 4 rather than Figure 1.

(4) The instrument modes, such as the spectrometer and 3D printed device, were not displayed in the manuscript.

(5) It is curious whether the force exerted on the seat can be measured by the optic fiber sensors.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Minor editing of English language required

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Accept in present form

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Accept in present form