Project Sandstone http://projectsandstone.co.uk The first step Sun, 18 Feb 2018 13:31:39 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.25 Choosing sustainable products and materials http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/10/13/choosing-sustainable-products/ http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/10/13/choosing-sustainable-products/#respond Thu, 13 Oct 2016 10:58:09 +0000 http://broker.commercegurus.com/?p=51 The increasing availability of product environmental information provides an opportunity for consumers to choose more sustainable products and for designers to be rewarded for selecting more sustainable materials. Here are some tips on how to do this. Look at the packaging of the next product you buy and in a lot of cases you will …

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The increasing availability of product environmental information provides an opportunity for consumers to choose more sustainable products and for designers to be rewarded for selecting more sustainable materials. Here are some tips on how to do this.

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Using eco friendly material is becoming more important

Look at the packaging of the next product you buy and in a lot of cases you will find some information about the environmental impacts of the product. Some of this is basic information about how the product should be recycled at the end of its useful life. An increasing number of products display more sophisticated environmental data such as an eco label, the amount of recycled content in the materials used, or details of the product’s energy efficiency or carbon footprint.

The number of products displaying an eco label is set to increase over the coming years as companies introduce their own eco labels and organisations such as the European Commission and national governments expand the scope of existing eco labelling schemes and introduce new regulation, such as the Grenelle 2 law.


Choosing sustainable products

The rise of eco labels has implications for everybody, as we are all consumers, but there also specific implications for anybody involved in the design of products and the selection of materials.

As consumers, eco labels provide the opportunity to reduce the environmental impact associated with the products we buy by using the information in the label to influence our purchase decisions. However, consumers should be wary of ‘green wash’ – attempts by manufacturers to promote certain environmental credentials of a product to divert attention from other, more significant, environmental impacts. For example, if a car manufacturer wants to tell you about renewable energy used at their production plant rather than the fuel efficiency of their cars, the alarm bells should be ringing.

Here are a few tips to help you avoid being tricked by green wash and make more sustainable product choices by:

  1. Having a basic understanding of the lifecycle of products and the impacts products they have on the environment from material extraction through to disposal.
  2. Look for eco labels that provide credible, science-based environmental information such as the European Union’s Eco Label, the Carbon Trust’s Carbon Label, or the US EPA’s Energy Star label.
  3. Make use of tools such as GoodGuide which provides an independent assessment of the environmental, social and health impacts of products and is available and a web-browser plug-in and a smartphone app.

Choosing Sustainable Materials

As designers, eco labels and the publication of product environmental data provide an opportunity for you to differentiate your product based on its environmental performance. One way to improve the environmental impact of your product is by choosing more sustainable materials. But as we have already heard in this blog series, there is no such thing as a ‘sustainable material’! So unfortunately there is no catalogue of sustainable materials for you to choose from. What you can do is to try to choose the most sustainable material for your application. I therefore encourage you to focus on the sustainable use of a material for a given application, rather than trying to find a ‘sustainable material’.

For both consumers and designers, the trend towards displaying more information about the environmental impacts of a product should be seen as an opportunity to move towards more sustainable products, a more sustainable use of materials, and a more sustainable future.

Post from Hello Materials

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Euro 6 standards are changing the automotive industry http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/10/06/euro-6-emissions/ http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/10/06/euro-6-emissions/#respond Thu, 06 Oct 2016 09:01:08 +0000 http://projectsandstone.co.uk/?p=71454 In an effort to reduce CO2 emissions throughout the whole of Europe, it is now mandatory for all new cars sold within the EU to meet Euro 6 standards for exhaust emissions, no matter where they are manufactured. NOx and other pollutants are monitored and recorded from every manufactured vehicle. All cars in the EU …

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In an effort to reduce CO2 emissions throughout the whole of Europe, it is now mandatory for all new cars sold within the EU to meet Euro 6 standards for exhaust emissions, no matter where they are manufactured. NOx and other pollutants are monitored and recorded from every manufactured vehicle.

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Using eco friendly material is becoming more important

All cars in the EU and the UK are currently tested by a European Driving cycle procedure. This means that any new car needs to be measured under conditions in a laboratory before they can actually be bought and go on the roads.

Recently the Euro 6 emissions standards were changed to add in extra clarification on test figures. As many of the test objectives will model real world driving conditions, the test has been overhauled to make sure it is more trustworthy and that it will be cared out correctly each and every time.


How are tests monitored

The Euro 6 testing is expected to use real road tests in conjunction with laboratory testing to build a better testing profile on real world efficiency standards.

Government agencies witness the testing in controlled environments for each new make and model vehicle that is produced by a manufacturer.

Having access to this testing has changed standards in the auto industry for the better and with new changes being proposed for the 2017 version of the emissions protocols it is possible that we could see even greater reductions and efficiency changes in the auto industry. The euro 6 testing is expected to use real road tests in conjunction with laboratory testing to build a better testing profile on real world efficiency standards..


Where do we stand on Euro 6?

As of September of 2015, if a car is bought in the EU it must fall in line with Euro 6 standards. Cleaner emissions control standards like this are policing auto makers and ensuring better cars with a reduction in NOx and CO2 emissions.

Diesel cars are more heavily tested with the new standards and with road tests we could soon see diesel cars requiring extra manufacturing concerns for the future.

Post from John Nollett

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Multitasking materials in future construction and architecture http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/09/28/multitasking-materials/ http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/09/28/multitasking-materials/#respond Wed, 28 Sep 2016 11:51:52 +0000 http://broker.commercegurus.com/?p=58 Installations are often a practically invisible part of a building. Miles of cables, piping, tubes and wires are concealed behind the ceilings, floors, walls and foundations. The facilities themselves are tucked behind voids or form unsightly blemishes on rooftops. Future Buildings The ultimate tribute was the radical 1977 design of the Centre Pompidou in Paris …

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Installations are often a practically invisible part of a building. Miles of cables, piping, tubes and wires are concealed behind the ceilings, floors, walls and foundations. The facilities themselves are tucked behind voids or form unsightly blemishes on rooftops.

Future Buildings

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Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano as young architects

The ultimate tribute was the radical 1977 design of the Centre Pompidou in Paris by architects Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, in which this belief was illustrated by turning the building inside out. The construction, tubes, piping, air-ducts and all other installations were conspicuously shown as an ode to technology.

Sick building syndrome is a condition in which physical symptoms are attributed to bad, or poorly maintained, air-conditioning systems and the presence of bacteria, fungi and viruses. This resulted in a reversal of thinking about buildings and led to a new awareness: couldn’t we just open our windows again? The installation of piping during construction slows progress and delays the interior completion, besides leading to higher failure costs.

Installations are becoming more important, but if current trends continue we should be looking to other solutions. Complete, comprehensive prefabrication of components is complicated because it is difficult to integrate water, electricity and heating systems in prefabricated elements, so the entire system has to be completed in situ. Another disadvantage is that the installation needs to be accessible for maintenance, or in case of failure. The result is ugly, modular ceilings and demountable floors. Wouldn’t it be great if we could replace the entire installation with materials? A paint for energy, steps that control light, a bag of salt for cooling? Multifunctional, smart and interactive materials that replace the functions of these facilities can dramatically change the future of buildings, making them more efficient and sustainable. CO2-absorbing, temperature regulating and self-cleaning materials are currently trends, but will be the standard within a generation.

Multifunctional, smart and interactive materials that replace the functions of these facilities can dramatically change the future of buildings, making them more efficient and sustainable.

Many material innovations are copied from nature. Mick Pearce’s ‘Council House 2’ in Melbourne saves 70 percent of its water and 80 percent of its energy by regulating temperature using water cooling and phase change materials (PCM’s). Brian Korgel, a professor of nanotechnology, and his team have produced a nano-crystal made of copper, indium, gallium and selenium. This inorganic material is dissolved in a liquid so that it can be applied as a paint with a performance similar to PV cells. The thin layer means that the yield is much lower, but this is compensated by using large surfaces. Aerogel – also known as frozen smoke – is the world’s lowest density solid, clocking in at 96% air.

The insulation must, of course, be top-notch. Aerogel is a good example. It is a solid with a very low density, as it is approximately 98 percent air, though it has a solid, porous structure. Most aero gels are silicon-based, but there are also gels based on metals or carbon compounds. Insulation is a hot item, of course. The Material Xperience show had examples such as the ‘EcoCradle’, a sustainable insulation made of chipboard fibre and mushrooms.

Motorways & dance floors

Another innovative way of generating energy is the piezoelectric cell. The piezoelectric effect is the phenomenon that certain crystals produce electricity under the influence of pressure, such as bending, and vice-versa: they deform when electrically charged.

The electricity generated from the vibrations of six hundred lorries driving over the road every hour could power forty homes. Surely this means that a well-used office staircase should be able to light the workplace?

Besides generating energy with solar paint and piezoelectrics, cooling with PCMs, insulating with vacuum panels and airgel materials, other materials can take over the functions of installations. An optical light film from 3M with a prismatic surface reflects more than 98 percent of incoming sunlight and is able to provide daylight to underground parking spaces or basements through ‘light pipes’. Window washing is no longer necessary if a coating with the Lotus Effect (Stolotusan) is applied and shading can be controlled by glass with a photochromic effect.

Saint Gobain’s Sage glass is an example. The same principle could colour a roof and façade black during winter and white in the summer. And an awning can be made of a moving material: bi-metallic surfaces that deform under the sun’s heat due to different coefficients of expansion can incorporated in the façade to function as an ingenious system for daylight regulation.

These examples all go to show that chemistry can take over from mechanics. Smart materials chemistry can replace mechanical systems and may spearhead a completely new and sustainable path for construction and architecture.

Post from Hello Materials

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Performance, weight and costs of aluminum vs high strength steels in automotive http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/09/21/performance-weight-cost/ http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/09/21/performance-weight-cost/#respond Wed, 21 Sep 2016 12:51:51 +0000 http://projectsandstone.co.uk/?p=71468 Building cars can be an expensive industry and while we know that buying a new car can be quite expensive on its own, the automaker is also responsible for a fair amount of the upfront costs as well. Whilst steel prices fluctuate, in general they go up and OEM’s continue to squeeze their supply chain. …

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Building cars can be an expensive industry and while we know that buying a new car can be quite expensive on its own, the automaker is also responsible for a fair amount of the upfront costs as well. Whilst steel prices fluctuate, in general they go up and OEM’s continue to squeeze their supply chain.

Reducing the costs

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Aluminium or high-strength steel shells?

In an effort to reduce the cost of cars and in order to produce more efficient cars, many auto makers are using lightweight aluminum in the construction of their automobiles vs high strength steels. These materials are not only lighter, easier to ship, better in crash results but also a little bit cheaper as well.

Building components for automobiles out of this style of aluminum can be a fantastic way to cut down on costs while ensuring better emission standards overall. By using lightweight materials the car doesn’t need to have as large an engine or expel as much energy in order to propel the car. This is part of the reason why so many auto makers are including it in the use of their electric and hybrid models.


Technological Changes

Automotive technology has come a long way and with forged high strength steel parts comes excess cost in manufacturing as well as added emissions in the manufacturing process. Lightweight aluminum can be easily manipulated, stamped and used in a variety of automotive components. It cuts down on manufacturing time, crumples in an accident while absorbing an impact and it can help auto makers to take advantage of modern automotive standards for construction.

Lightweight aluminum can be easily manipulated, stamped and used in a variety of automotive components.

High strength steel is pricing itself out of the automotive industry. Not only are manufacturers finding new material types which can offer greater advantages, but they are using the lightweight aluminum in new ways to produce more beautiful, streamlined and better performing vehicles.

Automotive technology is leaning towards greater efficiencies and this means using lighter materials such as aluminum in the construction of future auto parts and vehicles.

Post from John Nollett

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Design and Advanced Materials As a Driver of European Innovation http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/09/14/design-and-advanced-materials/ http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/09/14/design-and-advanced-materials/#respond Wed, 14 Sep 2016 09:20:57 +0000 http://broker.commercegurus.com/?p=27 In recent years advanced materials have emerged and are having a major impact on the products around us. Coming from science and technology advanced materials can outperform traditional materials as they for instance can be tougher, can withstand higher temperatures, and can be tailored into new shapes. When combining these materials with design the door …

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In recent years advanced materials have emerged and are having a major impact on the products around us. Coming from science and technology advanced materials can outperform traditional materials as they for instance can be tougher, can withstand higher temperatures, and can be tailored into new shapes.

When combining these materials with design the door to future products and solutions opens.

One of the main remaining barriers is the lack of knowledge of the potential use of advanced materials in designing new products. Danish Design Centre has partnered up with FAD in Barcelona and Happy Materials in Prague on the EU-project DAMADEI – “Design and Advanced Materials As a Driver of European Innovation”. The project that runs till Ultimo October seeks to put focus on European competitiveness.

It also aims to raise awareness among designers and to provide them with the appropriate experience on how to take advantage of the huge opportunities regarding these advanced materials.

Output

Besides consolidating a long-term collaborative European infrastructure to enhance the current network of partners through the involvement of the main European design sector and advanced materials stakeholders DAMADEI also aims to identify the needs, barriers and common areas of applications of both sectors as well as developing the potential interaction of Design and Advanced Materials as drivers of European innovation.

As a part of this 4 workshops (London 1st March, Copenhagen 22nd April, Prague 28nd May and Barcelona 8th July) will be hold to stimulate creative processes by exchanging European best practices in design through the application of advanced materials.

Following these four workshops the exhibition ‘MATERIALSM EUROPEAN TOUR’ has been created. The exhibition that is curated by the partners of DAMADEI, aims to educate and to inspire the creative industries with 40+ advanced materials chosen from the material families that are driving today´s innovations:

Active materials, Nano materials, Advanced manufacturing, High performance polymers, Light alloys, Gels & Foams, Coatings, Advanced composites, Advanced textiles and Fibres.

At last but not least – and based on the DAMADEI’s mapping of the European Design and Advanced Materials sectors – a collaborative platform with an online database and meeting point for Design and Advanced Materials is being created. his platform will give any user the possibility to search European actors of advanced materials within suppliers, designers, technology centres and connecting centres in nine different material categories.


Advanced Materials

An advanced material is any material that, through the precise control of its composition and internal structure, features a series of exceptional properties (mechanical, electrical, optical, magnetic properties, etc) or functionalities (self-repairing, shape change, decontamination, transformation of energy, etc) that differentiate it from the rest of the universe of materials; or any that, when transformed through advanced manufacturing techniques, features such properties or functionalities.

Post from Hello Materials

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How Pressings are Replacing Forgings and Castings http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/09/07/pressings-forgings/ http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/09/07/pressings-forgings/#respond Wed, 07 Sep 2016 13:56:36 +0000 http://broker.commercegurus.com/?p=9 The automotive industry is continuously changing and one of the greatest new focuses in this industry is an emphasis on lightening materials used in the construction of vehicles. Pressings are produced by stamping and it is this method that is being used to replace some of the manufacturing methods from the past. An age of lightweighting “With today’s …

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The automotive industry is continuously changing and one of the greatest new focuses in this industry is an emphasis on lightening materials used in the construction of vehicles. Pressings are produced by stamping and it is this method that is being used to replace some of the manufacturing methods from the past.

An age of lightweighting

“With today’s modern pressings, it’s possible to get the same strength out of lightweight materials”

While automobiles used to have very heavy components which were built to last for decades and designed to withstand even the toughest of impacts, many cars today are built with stronger and lighter materials that are designed to behave differently in an accident. Rather than focusing on safety and fuel economy, the automotive industry was more concerned with cars that would last forever and be strong. With today’s modern pressings however, it is possible to get the same strength out of lightweight materials.

Using pressings, as well as other lightweight materials in vehicles, also ensures that there can be a reduction in CO2 emissions. As cars work at burning less fuel to power them down the road and engines become more efficient, we can reduce carbon emissions worldwide. Forged steel components and some of the older manufacturing methods also had a detrimental effect on releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, so with pressings and stampings replacing forgings and castings, even greater CO2 emissions can be spared.

Perhaps the best aspect of these new manufacturing methods is that they are cheaper overall for the end consumer and for the manufacturer. The end consumer gets a car that is much more efficient on fuel, faster to produce and reasonably priced to buy. The manufacturer can cut down their lead times, costs to build and far more.

“Pressings and stampings will likely continue to become more widespread in vehicles in the future”

Pressings and stampings are now the new standard for automotive production and it is no wonder with all of these proven advantages. Pressings and stampings will likely continue to become more widespread in vehicles, especially as new alloys and materials become a part of vehicle design in the future.

Post from John Nollett

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Biomimetics as a tool for the development of new materials http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/08/31/biomimetics-as-a-tool/ http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/08/31/biomimetics-as-a-tool/#respond Wed, 31 Aug 2016 10:06:53 +0000 http://broker.commercegurus.com/?p=44 Biomimetics is on everyone’s lips and it is now difficult to imagine a future where it does not play a key role in the development of our society. The development of new materials is not unconcerned with this new discipline, though we must be aware of what we can obtain (and what we cannot) from …

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Biomimetics is on everyone’s lips and it is now difficult to imagine a future where it does not play a key role in the development of our society. The development of new materials is not unconcerned with this new discipline, though we must be aware of what we can obtain (and what we cannot) from imitating nature.

Living in a material world

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The development of Stone Age Materials

The history of humanity begins with the development of civilisations that today we group into technological phases defined by the material that at any given time attained the highest degree of development (Stone Age, Copper Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age). Ever since, the development of the human being has been closely linked to his relationship with the materials that surround him: how to extract them, how to transform them, how to use them, how to synthesise them, how to recycle them… right from the earliest materials that man extracted from nature (timber, clay, stone, etc) to the use of the application of heat to the revolution in nanotechnology and nanoscience.


Technological Challenges

The technological challenges are the greatest ever faced by man in all his history. Despite having perfected the extraction of raw materials, dominated the synthesis of new materials, developed processing and manufacturing technologies and used different sources of energy for our activities, we have barely taken into account the consequences that all these phases had on our surroundings.

We are currently living in the silicon era, a new revolution that has propitiated the development of electronics and information and communication technologies.

Today we know that the environmental vector cannot be neglected in our activities; it has to be considered as a factor of maximum importance. In this context, recent decades have seen the emergence of a new discipline called bionics or biomimetics. These terms became popular as the result of the publication of the book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (1997) by Janine Beynus, which deals with “a new science that studies models from nature and is inspired in these designs and processes to address human problems”.


Biomimetics and sustainability

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We can extract Nature’s productive processes and imitate them in order to optimise the production of materials

Science and Engineering have always had nature as a model and have used it to prosper; however, in recent times this natural study has become systematised, coherently involving professionals from different disciplines (biologists, designers, physicists, engineers, chemists, etc) to maximise the benefits extracted from the knowledge of Nature. While currently it still contains secrets that we cannot decipher, there is no doubt that the mimicry of natural processes, materials and solutions will be one of society’s routes to development and innovation.

At this point we have to stop and reflect: is biomimetics the universal solution to our environmental problems? The answer is no. Biomimetics is a tool under development and a source of innovation; a “new” (insofar as it refers to systematisation) starting point and approach to the search for occasional solutions to the challenges set by technological development. And we cannot always obtain the sought-for answer from Nature; at this point, as researchers well know, we need to change the model and continue to probe.

But there is still a tendency to directly associate biomimetics with sustainability, as if the former unequivocally involved the latter. There is no doubt that Nature can teach us much about how to protect life and resources (she has been doing it for millions of years), but knowing how to properly channel the information she provides towards developments that represent an environmental advance depends on us only insofar as it helps in “limiting the damage to the environment”.

Post from Hello Materials

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Are Hybrid and Electric Vehicles the Future? http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/08/24/hybrid-electric-vehicle-future/ http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/08/24/hybrid-electric-vehicle-future/#respond Wed, 24 Aug 2016 09:42:14 +0000 http://broker.commercegurus.com/?p=34 Hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles are offering a fair argument that they could be the future of travel. As well as the ability to reduce carbon emissions by running on zero emissions, imagine how convenient it would be to fill up just once a month or plug in your vehicle at night to recharge and …

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Hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles are offering a fair argument that they could be the future of travel. As well as the ability to reduce carbon emissions by running on zero emissions, imagine how convenient it would be to fill up just once a month or plug in your vehicle at night to recharge and go.

We now have hybrid vehicles capable of the same travel distance as regular fuel vehicles on a single charge, as well as electric vehicles that can “blow away” almost any sports car, all while producing zero emissions

Most people that have a hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle, absolutely love it for the money that it can eventually save them, as well as the great feeling that they can have by reducing their impact on the environment each and every day. There are a number of people that are dismayed by the higher up-front costs, the lower fuel range and the degree of selection in these types of vehicles. As the technology becomes cheaper to produce and more widespread however, we could start to see many people starting to switch over to these types of vehicles.

The overall future of an electric vehicle or hybrid is extremely promising. Not only have the sales of electric vehicles grown by 60% in the past year, but luxury electric vehicles like Tesla, are improving fuel range mileage as well. We now have hybrid vehicles capable of the same travel distance as a regular fuel vehicles on a single charge, as well as electric vehicles that can “blow away” almost any sports car, all while producing zero emissions.


Increasing sales of electric vehicles

While most people today don’t have the option to choose between an electric vehicle or hybrid vehicle as opposed to a regular fuel vehicle due to cost concerns, eventually the price issue will be reduced

It seems that hybrid and electric vehicles are starting to branch out and offer more to customers that were interested in getting a functional and fun car that is also quite efficient. The main barrier to most however still remains the price. As more charging stations go up, as battery prices begin to lower and as auto makers begin to focus more into these models for mass production, this too can come down and finally produce the hybrid and electric vehicles of the future that have a shot at reducing carbon emissions on a grand scale. While most people today don’t have the option to choose between an electric vehicle or hybrid vehicle as opposed to a regular fuel vehicle due to cost concerns, eventually the price issue will be reduced to make electric vehicles, hybrids, diesel cars and petrol vehicles real competitors.

Post from John Nollett

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Materials and Manufacturing Education http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/08/17/materials-and-manufacturing-education/ http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/08/17/materials-and-manufacturing-education/#respond Wed, 17 Aug 2016 08:41:17 +0000 http://broker.commercegurus.com/?p=22 Materials and manufacturing processes remains an essential component of industrial design education. But for many students and young designers, they are still unsure of their comfort with these complex issues and how they affect their designs. The first phase The first phase was a period of blind naiveté. As a young designer anything was possible …

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Materials and manufacturing processes remains an essential component of industrial design education. But for many students and young designers, they are still unsure of their comfort with these complex issues and how they affect their designs.

The first phase

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Young designers are often a source of fresh new forms, trends and ideas

The first phase was a period of blind naiveté. As a young designer anything was possible and the details of how my concept would make its way into reality was a secondary concern (if at all). Perhaps this is one of the primary reasons employing young designers can be so refreshing and energizing to a studio as they can be the source of fresh new forms, trends and ideas unfettered by any bias or understanding for the realities of materials, manufacturing or the laws of physics.

But for me, I sensed that this disconnection between concept and reality also represented a significant amount of risk—for my design, the client and the end user. I felt like I was working without a net, with no underlying understanding of how to convert the art of my concepts into designs that solved more problems than they created. For some designers, I think that’s where they wished to remain, fearing that to know too much about the realities of materials and manufacturing would somehow “break the spell” and suddenly all their crazy, beautiful expressive forms would somehow become plain boxes with tons of draft and huge fillets.


The second phase

I became terrified that everything I designed had some fatal flaw or would cost too much to produce

The second phase of this evolving relationship developed with my mounting awareness of all the rules of manufacturing — what you had to do versus could not do, what drove costs up and how to reduce those costs, materials selection guidelines, assembly techniques, and all the spectacular failures that can and do occur in manufacturing. I became terrified that everything I designed had some fatal flaw or would cost too much to produce or, worse yet, couldn’t be produced at all. I think this might be the worst fear for any young designer: to find themselves caged in by all these rules and restrictions, no long capable of developing designs without a manufacturer or engineer pointing out how ill-conceived it was or that it would be too expensive to produce or not structurally sound.

The third phase

This final phase is an on-going relationship with materials and manufacturing. It extends beyond understanding those rules to embracing them. With the ability and confidence to apply that knowledge, my own criticisms can be suspended to experiment and ideate, knowing I can address those issues when needed. By owning this technical experience, this periodic materials-and-processes review takes place within my own design process.

Obviously, developing this expertise takes time and there are always new materials and manufacturing technologies to learn about. But with this sensitivity, form and concept development, as well as manufacturing and assembly methodology, can take place within the same cyclical concept-critique-refine loop. So when it’s time to do a review with an engineer or manufacturer, I’ve already considered many of the issues that will most likely be discussed and have already accounted for them in the design. And if not, I’ll at least understand what they’re talking about.

Post from Hello Materials

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Sandstone to Pressmark – the acquisition http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/08/08/project-sandstone/ http://projectsandstone.co.uk/2016/08/08/project-sandstone/#respond Mon, 08 Aug 2016 10:21:22 +0000 http://pailton.net/sandstone/?p=1 After many months of arduous due diligence, the Napier team from Left Hand Press finally acquired 90% of Pressmark Pressings Limited in a project which was codenamed Sandstone. The team, which has been led by Alan Gardner through the acquisition, brings a wealth of experience to Pressmark. Leading the new team will be Chairman, Les …

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After many months of arduous due diligence, the Napier team from Left Hand Press finally acquired 90% of Pressmark Pressings Limited in a project which was codenamed Sandstone. The team, which has been led by Alan Gardner through the acquisition, brings a wealth of experience to Pressmark. Leading the new team will be Chairman, Les Wilkins, who brings exceptional experience from the press industry, which has been generated over 40 years. Les has headed up OEM plants for Rover and BMW, as well as major tier 1 plants’ Les has also worked as a consultant for major automotive OEM’s in both Japan and China too. When questioned about the acquisition Les said “Pressmark is a great company with lots of opportunities and I am looking forward to working with the team to develop this further. We want to build on the excellent reputation that Pressmark have for Quality, Cost and Delivery.”

Heading up the executive team will be Chief Executive, John Nollett, who brings a wealth of knowledge from the manufacturing sector, where he has been involved in design, manufacture and assembly direct into automotive OEM’s. On speaking with John he spoke about the opportunity saying, “I have been fortunate enough to have spent some time with the existing team at Pressmark, learning about their capabilities and can honestly say that the company has all of the fundamental structures in place that we need to develop this business further. The team here are great and I am truly looking forward to developing some strong relationships with them, along with our Customers and Suppliers alike to drive this business forward.” He went on to say “Based in Atherstone, Warwickshire, we are ideally situated to fulfil the needs of the UK manufacturing sector. There is a great automotive and manufacturing heritage locally within the Midlands Engine and it will be fantastic to draw upon that experience as we grow our business here in the Midlands.”

Finally, Alan Gardner brings significant change management experience, along with his financial expertise, as he has previously worked at partner level within KPMG. Alan has also had a lot of experience working alongside manufacturing businesses throughout his career. Holding the position of Finance Director, Alan spoke of the deal saying “Pressmark is an ideal acquisition for Left Hand Press, as it brings a variety of large bed presses with ample free capacity to grow the business, not only in the automotive sector, where it is strong, but other sectors too. With the financial support that we have, along with the experience that both John and Les bring to the team, I am excited about the future for Pressmark.”

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