3D printing technologies, such as material extrusion (MEX), hold the potential to revolutionise manufacturing by providing individuals without traditional manufacturing capabilities with powerful and affordable resources. However, widespread adoption is impeded by the lack of user-friendly design tools due to the necessity of domain-specific expertise in computer-aided design (CAD) software and the overwhelming level of design freedom afforded by the MEX process. To overcome these barriers and facilitate the democratisation of design (DoD), this article introduces an innovative, generative-based design (GBD) methodology aimed at enabling non-technical users to create functional components independently. The novelty of this methodology lies in its capacity to simplify complex design tasks, making them more accessible to non-designers. The proposed methodology was tested in the design of a load-bearing part, yielding a functional component within two design iterations. A comparative analysis with the conventional CAD-based process revealed that the GBD methodology enables the DoD, reflected in a 68% reduction in design activities and a decrease in design difficulty of 62% in requisite know-how and a 55% in understanding. Through the creation and implementation of this methodology, the article demonstrates a pioneering integration of state-of-the-art techniques of generative design with design repositories enabling effective co-design with non-designers.

The democratisation of design permits greater stakeholder involvement in what has traditionally been a domain reserved for experts; the design process itself. This is enabled by technological advances in fields such as 3D printing, virtual reality and high-speed peer to peer communication technologies which have fuelled the development of new and innovative design methods. This paper compares and contrasts different approaches to the democratisation of design, and in particular, those that aim to involve wider stakeholders in the design process itself. Three different approaches(design by play, design by generation and crowdsourcing for design) are defined and contextualised within existing design frameworks and their respective suitabilities to democratise different design phases are considered. An exemplar use case of each approach is presented in order to assess how stakeholder engagement is affected by each democratising strategy. The discussion compares and contrasts the approaches with respect to their applicability and utility for different stages of the design process and how the power dynamics of the design process are altered when the different approaches are employed.