Evaluation of Grip Comfort with Concavo-Convex Surface Profile

Abstract

There are many tools and devices with handle grip as operational interface. The fine profile of grip surface has little effect on performance or whole structure of tools or devices. The purpose of this study is to detect quantitative characteristics of the surface profile, such as depth, area, and texture of concavo-convex profile, for visual quality, psychological feeling, antislip finishing, reduction of workload, and improvement in usability and work performance. The relationship between the quantitative parameters of surface profile of the grip with the comfort of grasping was analyzed. This is a feasibility study for designing handle grip. In this experiment, nine kinds of cylinders of PLA （poly lactic acid） material with different surface profile were analyzed. Three factors of “hard-soft”, “taste” and “smooth-textured” were extracted based on the factor analysis. The relaxation feeling and the taste of the depth 0.1 mm were higher than the depth 0.3 mm. The slipperiness of 3 mm convex rectangle was less than that of 9 mm convex rectangle.