This project investigated how engineers at AAE, a high-precision manufacturer, were approaching additive manufacturing (AM), and where their awareness of its possibilities fell short.

The challenge was approached through an ethnographic study, human-centred approach, contextual inquiry, semi-structured interviews, observational notes, and feedback workshops with employees across the company. These insights were structured through thematic analysis and set against a benchmark of existing tools in the additive manufacturing field, identifying where current design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) practice was holding the company back.

This shaped a VR intervention that lets engineers see and explore what AM can produce, moving through multiple models in an immersive space. Built in Unity with C# managing the models in the background, the tool addressed the gap, showing engineers what is possible with AM.