Tailored Lace: Moldless Fabrication of 3D Bio-Composite Structures through an Integrative Design and Fabrication Process

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This paper presents a study to produce 3D artefacts through incorporating bobbin lace-making technique in a materially informed computational workflow. I believe the topic and the methodology of this study are interesting. The manuscript merits to be published as a journal paper provided the following comments be addressed:
Line 35: I propose another definition other than a "substrate" since the matrix covers and protects the fibres in every direction, and is not only an underlying layer to fibres.
Figure 4: Can you make the Figure larger so that the text can be more readable?
 Line 210: In the next studies, you can use bio-epoxy (or some other bio-resins) to increase the sustainability aspect of the work.
Line 241: You can use the symbol "×" instead of an "x" which is an alphabet in 10x20 cm (and similarly every else)
Line 391: How is the lateral stability of the chair? If the product can be reproduced easily, have you tested the chair to failure to know the ultimate loads it can endure?
Line 396: Is there a quantifier that can measure the level of comfort of the chair?

Author Response

Dear Sir or Madam, 

Thank you for your comments. We made the following changes:

Line 35: Reworded "substrate" to "support and protect".

Figure 4: The text has been enlarged.

Line 210: The use of bio-resins for future studies is mentioned in section 5 discussion on line 461. 

Line 241: All multiplication symbols have been changed to the proper symbol.

Line 391: Regarding the lateral stability of the chair under load, it shows no signs of twisting, buckling etc. The lace pattern is essentially a reinforced diagrid, which performs well against lateral forces. We have not performed a destructive load test to this date, so we do not know the ultimate loads it can take (see line 391 and 404). Due to the time intensive production process of the first prototype, future destructive loading would most likely be performed on TFP counterparts. 

Line 396: There is no current standard metric for measuring a chair's comfort.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The manuscript, titled "Tailored Lace: Moldless Fabrication of 3D Bio-Composites through an Integrative Design and Fabrication Process", evaluates the utilization of natural fiber reinforced polymers composites and traditional bobbin lace making for the fabrication of a chair demonstrator via a computer-aid design. The manuscript is well written and easy to understand. The authors showed interesting design and fabrication results. Nonetheless, the authors did not show a fine characterization of the polymer composite in physical either chemical terms, and the composite was not compared with other composites composed of synthetic fillers. I propose to the authors to emphasize the design and fabrication in the introduction and abstract and change the manuscript title. I recommend the publication of this article after these issues are well addressed.

Author Response

Dear Sir or Madam,
Thank you for your comments. The manuscript with changes is attached.

The abstract does not mention the research will compare the proposed bio-composite with existing synthetic composites, nor does it mention the research will provide a characterization of the chemical properties. Rather, the abstract proposes a design and fabrication workflow (line 1). The authors mention how existing automated fabrication processes have overlooked potential benefits of traditional craft fabrication processes for fibre arrangement, which stresses the focus on fabrication (line 7). This is followed by an explanation of how the research will demonstrate an integrated design and fabrication process in the form of a physical prototype (line 10). The introduction (1.1-1.3) provides a background on Fibre Reinforced Polymers and Natural Reinforced Polymers with a focus on their potential to perform as sustainable alternatives to contemporary building construction materials. 

 

In order to clarify the abstract and emphasize design and fabrication more, the introduction of FRP's has been edited on lines 3-6 to focus on techniques of fibre arrangement for FRP's (i.e. fabrication) rather than the material make-up of FRP's.

While the manuscript title mentions "Fabrication" twice, I have changed the title to "Tailored Lace: Moldless Fabrication of 3D Bio-Composite Structures through an Integrative Design and Fabrication Process" to further address this. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf