2017/02/26 by Harris Kyriakou, Jeffrey V. Nickerson, Jeffrey V Nickerson +1 · 2 citations
Computer Science · Engineering · #3D printing #Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies #Computer science #Design Education and Practice #Engineering #Knowledge management #Manufacturing Process and Optimization #Manufacturing engineering #Personalization #Reuse #Software engineering #Waste management #World Wide Web #cs.HC
paper · pdf · doi:10.25300/misq/2017/41.1.17
published as MIS Quarterly, 2017, 41(1), 315-322
arxiv created 2017/02/26 · openalex publication_date 2017/03/01 · arxiv updated 2019/01/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Theories of knowledge reuse posit two distinct processes: reuse for replication and reuse for innovation. We identify another distinct process, reuse for customization. Reuse for customization is a process in which designers manipulate the parameters of metamodels to produce models that fulfill their personal needs. We test hypotheses about reuse for customization in Thingiverse, a community of designers that shares files for three-dimensional printing. 3D metamodels are reused more often than the 3D models they generate. The reuse of metamodels is amplified when the metamodels are created by designers with greater community experience. Metamodels make the community's design knowledge available for reuse for customization-or further extension of the metamodels, a kind of reuse for innovation.