Materials: Metals

Materials: Metals

• Ferrous: Contains iron
• Nonferrous: doesn't contain iron or steel
• Alloy: Combination of two or more different metal elements
• Iron: Strong, magnetic, silver-gray metal, chemical element 26
• Steel: Hard, strong, gray or blueish-gray alloy of carbon and iron
• Aluminum Alloys: alloy where aluminum is the dominant metal
• Magnesium Alloy: mixture of magnesium's and other metals, it is also the lightest structural metal
• Titanium Alloy: Mixture of titanium that is very strong in extreme conditions and is corrosion resistant 
• Zinc Alloy: Brittle at room temperature but can be malleable with heat
• Copper Alloy: High resistance to corrosion
• Nickle Alloy: Mixture of metals mainly containing nickle
• Precious Metals: Gold, Silver, Platinum 

Megafactories

I was surprised when I found out IKEA had 5 different manufacturing plants each focusing on a specific type of material. I was also surprised by the amount of material they were using and how much stuff they were producing. IKEA's mission to create cheap yet designer furniture is a good idea and I think they are doing a good job of staying with in their own guidelines. The amount of stuff they produce though makes me wonder how much waste is being created by this furniture and how is it impacting the environment.

Waste=Food

As an industrial designer taking into consideration how things are going to be thrown away is becoming more and more important due to the high number of toxic chemicals we use today. With the green movement happening and the realization of our toxic habits we need to start designing so that when our products are done doing what we designed them to do, they can go back into nature safely. In the film Waste = Food they talked about how products need to be a nutrient into our ecosystem. I think as an industrial designer designing systems that support our ecosystem is very important especially since now we live in a consumer world where products are mass produced and thrown away to waste.

            Another important thing that the film mentioned was designing things to be disassembled. Designing things to be disassembled is important because it cuts down on disassembly cost and makes the product more easily able to be recycled. As an industrial designer designing things that can be easily manufactured while saving the company money is always a bonus. From a manufacturing point of view designing where waste = food can also save money or even be profitable. A lot of manufacturing companies are reusing and selling scraps of their product to be more efficient.

            Lastly as an industrial designer, designing for children is something to keep in mind. In the Waste=Food film Tim O’Brien, CEO of the Ford manufacturing plant said that he wouldn’t want his kids to play around the factory, but after making it more green and ecosystem supporting that he felt that it was safer and he would allow for them to play around the plant. I think that taking this concept of ecofriendly and safety for children is important because if you wouldn’t want you kids to play around it, why should you be around it. Designing for the health and safety of our children is also important because what we teach them they will hand down to their kids and the preservation of our natural habitat will last much longer if we live with it not using it. Which also brings up the fact that we shouldn’t design to make this less bad, we should design things that help the environment. We as designers should be creating systems that nature needs, not things that are less bad for it.

Design Strategies

• Making textiles 100% biodegradable
• creating new nontoxic dies
• Toxin Free T-shirts
• Using old products and recycling them to make new products
• (plastic book with ink that washes off with heat)
• Nike
• Reuse Shoe Program
• using the rubber soles for children's playgrounds or track top surfaces
• reusing the cloth to make new shoes
• "Nike Considered"
• Made with one piece of leather
• biodegradable rubber
• no adhesives
• Herman-Miller
• Designing a more green factory plant
• Designing products with little to no toxic products and to be broken down easily

CBS Wasteland

The 60 minute Wasteland video was very shocking to see. In a world today where technology is becoming obsolete in just a few months, it was an eye opener to see what happens to the old technologies that we dispose of. I also found it very surprising how many toxic chemicals go into these technologies that we use everyday and how a lot of people just throw it away. What concerns me though is that people who try to do the right think by recycling are actually getting tricked into polluting other countries and putting other peoples lives at risk.

3 sustainable strategies

1. Make products easily updatable, instead of throwing away an entire electronic make parts of that electronic replaceable for future generations and keep waste down
2. Make products that can interchange meaning that one part of one product could be used on another product thus recycling broken electronics into new electronics
3. Create green products, made completely out of organic material to be non toxic to the earth.

Design Thinking Documentary

The Design thinking documentary was very interesting to watch. Learning that designing has changed how people go about problems now. The Design Thinking documentary encourages people to go out and fail and fail again by creating things and trying prototypes and learning from those prototypes. One quote from the movie was, "if you're only thinking then you're not doing." and I think that that is very important in the industrial design field because we as designers can think and sketch ideas all we want, but if we aren't doing anything to test that idea then we aren't making the product the best that it could be. I was also surprised that design thinking isn't just used in the design world, other industries are taking the concept to become better a learn more about what they're doing by taking the design thinking concept and utilizing it to their advantage.

Hallmark

WHO IS / WHAT IS:_________

Hallmark is a greeting card manufacturing company

PRODUCT(S) & SERVICES  WHAT DO THEY DO / WHAT DO THEY MAKE?

Hallmark creates cards for all sorts of occasions.

MARKET (S) FOR WHOM DO THEY MAKE IT?

Hallmark creates cards for consumers to use and give as gifts to people.

MATERIALS:  Flitter(glitter), Flock - a powdered wool, Foil, corrugated paper, film paper, recycled paper, Nylon powder suspended in ink heated then cool to dry

FORMING TECHNOLOGIES: Emboss

CUTTING TECHNOLOGIES: Laser cut, die cut

JOINING TECHNOLOGIES: adhesive

FINISHING TECHNOLOGIES: Print ink, foil press, flitter

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS / EPIPHANIES/ AHA MOMENTS? 

I thought hallmark was going to be a boring tour but it turned out pretty interesting. I was impressed at how envelopes are made and how fast they are created to. Creating these cards also used a lot of advanced technologies that I didn't think were used on cards such as the flock machine that added flock to the cards.

Berry Plastics

WHO IS / WHAT IS:_________

Berry Plastics is a large plastic manufacturing company with a subdivision in Lawrence, Kansas. 

PRODUCT(S) & SERVICES  WHAT DO THEY DO / WHAT DO THEY MAKE?

Berry Plastics creates injection molded and thermo molded food containers and drink cups. They also print they labels that go on to the cups and containers.

MARKET (S) FOR WHOM DO THEY MAKE IT? 

Berry plastic makes their products for companies such as Oxiclean, and McDonalds. 

MATERIALS:  Polypropylene - a synthetic resin that is a polymer of propylene, used especially for ropes, fabrics, and molded objects

FORMING TECHNOLOGIES: Injection molded - plastic resin is melted down and pushed into a mold, the mold is cooled and then released and packaged, Thermo molding - plastic resin is formed into a thin sheet, then the plastic sheet is placed into a mold and heated, it is then cooled and cut out of the sheet and prepared for shipping.

CUTTING TECHNOLOGIES: N/A

JOINING TECHNOLOGIES: N/A

FINISHING TECHNOLOGIES: Berry plastics can print and create labels and form them into the container so their is no edge and the label becomes part of the container itself. 

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS / EPIPHANIES/ AHA MOMENTS? 

I thought it was incredible how many cups they were producing that that facility. I was a little concerned about the working conditions as there seemed to be a haze on the factory floor. I was also impressed at how fast they can create a cup while also they only had a small margin for error. 

El Dorado Inc

WHO IS / WHAT IS:_________

El Dorado is a young architecture firm competing with some of the best architecture firms around

PRODUCT(S) & SERVICES  WHAT DO THEY DO / WHAT DO THEY MAKE?

Design/restore houses and buildings. They also have design modular furniture for some of their spaces

MARKET (S) FOR WHOM DO THEY MAKE IT? 

El Dorado designs buildings for residential clients as well as commercial clients

MATERIALS:  El Dorado has a small wear house where they build studies and sections of what they are working on to see how it reacts in real life. They mainly use a lot of tube steel, but will also use other materials they are working with their projects

FORMING TECHNOLOGIES: N/A

CUTTING TECHNOLOGIES: Drill Press - used to create straight consistent holes in material, saw - used to cut materials, heat wire - heated wire used to cut foam.

JOINING TECHNOLOGIES: welding - creates a bond between to metals 

FINISHING TECHNOLOGIES: N/A

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS / EPIPHANIES/ AHA MOMENTS? 

I thought that it was very interesting hearing about taking the leap from working for a business to going to work for yourself. 

Target Presentation: Luggage

How its Made Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyhE9vt8izA

Ikea Presentation: Wall Decor

How its made Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u03S1Nmslw4

Huhtamaki

WHO IS / WHAT IS:Huhtamaki is a leading manufacture of consumer and specialty packaging.

PRODUCT(S) & SERVICES  WHAT DO THEY DO / WHAT DO THEY MAKE?

Huhtamaki creates specialty food packaging for customers. 

MARKET (S) FOR WHOM DO THEY MAKE IT? Huhtamaki creates products for Ben and Jerry's, Unilever, Quiznos, Starbucks, Blue Bunny, Dean Foods, McDonald's, Sam's Club, Malt-O-Meal, Sysco, Safeway, Publix, Turkey Hill, and many more companies

MATERIALS:  Paper board - thin cardboard, Commodity plastic resins - high volume output use of plastics (such as shrink wrap, beverage containers and trash liners)[not great for environment], Molded Fiber - scraps of fiberboard and newspaper molded into forms (usually drink trays), Metals and engineered plastics- creating equipment.

FORMING TECHNOLOGIES: Automated machines that form the shape of the cup by wrapping it around a form and heating part of the cup that overlays itself to create a seal and keep the cup or food container together

CUTTING TECHNOLOGIES: Die Cutting

JOINING TECHNOLOGIES: I believe they heated the plastic coating on the outside of their packaging until it melted and cooled to form a bond.

FINISHING TECHNOLOGIES: Ink print - printing labels onto sheets of paperboard.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS / EPIPHANIES/ AHA MOMENTS?

I thought it was impressive what their facility could do. The amount of cups that they were manufacturing seemed like they were creating much more than the world could consume.

Lawrence Paper Company

WHO IS / WHAT IS: 

Lawrence Paper Company is a custom corrugated box and display manufacturing company.

PRODUCT(S) & SERVICES  WHAT DO THEY DO / WHAT DO THEY MAKE?

They create custom boxes and displays for companies who need to ship things across countries or even around the globe. Companies who need easy set up temporary displays can also have them manufactured at Lawrence Paper Company. 

MARKET (S) FOR WHOM DO THEY MAKE IT?

Lawrence Paper Company has a broad customer base, they pretty much manufacture for anyone who needs industrial or retail packaging.

MATERIALS:  Trees - to create paper for cardboard, chemicals - bleaching paper, ink - for printing graphics, corn based adhesive. 

FORMING TECHNOLOGIES: Corrugator - layers sheets of paper together to create walls and adds a corrugated sheet down the middle.  

CUTTING TECHNOLOGIES: Die cutter - uses a die (or cutting template) to cut or make perforations out of the corrugated card board

JOINING TECHNOLOGIES: Corn based adhesive - adhesive that will break down and not pollute the earth because of its natural base. 

FINISHING TECHNOLOGIES: On-site ink kitchen with 5 different colors for printing, They can also print up to 82"x65" graphics

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS / EPIPHANIES/ AHA MOMENTS? 

My overall impressions after visiting the LPC was a lot more than I expected. Learning how much goes into actually designing for packaging was very interesting and I never thought too much about. One thing that really gave me an 'aha moment' was when they said that their designs are what people see on the shelf and make people want to buy it and it is really true. 

Function and Personality

The first chapter of Materials and Design by Mike Ashby and Kara Johnson introduces what the book is about and why industrial design is important. One thing I think that is important in this chapter is how it emphasizes how important design is to products. Design helps people connect to products so the can like them. It also discusses what is important in products, such as it must function properly but it also must be easy and convenient to use. I think that ease of use and function are very vital to how industrial designer design things. Another important point I think that the book made was how advances in materials enables advances in industrial design. This means that the further we invest in material sciences, the more we will be able to develop industrial design. The first chapter was very insightful about the importance of industrial design and the materials that do with it.

Dimensional Innovations

Who: Dimensional Innovations is a design firm that manufactures what they design for clients.

What They Do: DI has multiple disciplines in branding, designing, building, technology, launch, and innovation. Branding is taking brand experiences to the next level. They engage audiences, bring about awareness, and deliver value. Designing at DI is more than just a group of people sitting around a table drawing ideas. DI is committed to create great designs that fit the clients needs, they involve the clients the entire way through, they design for humans, and they're not afraid to fail until they succeed. At DI they have their own factory which means what they design, they can build. DI's technology discipline is all about creating the interface that you need for the job. The launch discipline at DI is all about public relations, advertising, promoting, and marketing. Lastly, Innovate is all about creating something new thats never been done before.

Market: Some of their clients include, Big 10 athletics, Sprint, KC Chiefs, the Pittsburg Penguins, Harley Davidson, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Library, Miami Marlins, AMC theaters, University of Michigan, National WWI museum, University of Kansas, and many more.

Materials: Vinyl - a printing medium, Solid Surface - composed of marble dust, bauxite, acrylic or polyester resins and pigments, Electroluminescent tape - thin copper wire coated in a phosphor which glows when an alternating current is applied to it, plastic - a synthetic material made from a wide range of organic polymers such as polyethylene, PVC, nylon, that can be molded into shape while soft and then set into a rigid or slightly elastic form.

Forming Technologies: Chanel Bender, finger break 
Cutting Technologies: CNC
Joining Technologies:Welding
Finishing Technologies: Unkknown

Overall Impressions: I though DI was an incredible facility. It seemed that they could do anything that anyone imagined with their design facility and their factory.

A. Zahner

A. Zahner is a fabrication and engineering based company known for their use of metal. I had the lucky chance of touring the Zahner facility and getting to know a little bit more about the how companies like A. Zahner work and fabricate the custom pieces that architects and designers need. Zahner is a family owned company that has been around for over 100 years. The company has grown immensely to 200 craftsman and engineers, and two fabrication plants, one in Kansas City, MO and one in Dallas, Texas. The Kansas City facility is the wonderful facility that I toured. The warehouse is   what I mostly toured, because as an Industrial Designer I need to know how the products I design are going to be created. While touring the facility I noticed Zahner had a lot of machines that help them manufacture and fabricate their custom parts. They have automated machines such as a jump sheer, water jet cutter, CNC router, and a punch. These automated machines help Zahner create these custom parts for their clients with ease and help them do it flawlessly. The material that they use on these machines are Steel, Zinc, and Copper. These three types of metal may seem very simple and easy to understand but Zahner goes into depth about each type of Steel, Zinc, and Copper. They utilize the right type of material you want and make sure it will do the job it is suppose to do and look good doing it. Zahners knowledge of material is incredible, they know what the material will do in certain situations, how it will hold up over time, and what its qualities are. A. Zahner is a great manufacturing and fabricating company and I am glad I got to see how they manufacture their products for their clients.

Matthias Plessnig

Matthias Plessnig is an award winning furniture designer who is featured in the Museum of Art and Design, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Plessnig is based in Philadelphia where he creates his furniture in his studio out of steam bent wood with his crew. Steam bending wood is the process of steaming wood to the point where the wood fibers are willing to slide past each other making the wood almost like a spaghetti noodle for a very short period of time. Plessnig started his design career as an industrial designer but soon switched to sculpture after only a few weeks of being in the industrial design program at the Art Institute. He graduated from the Rhode Island school of design and the University of Wisconsin where he began his career. Plessnigs furniture design process started after he created a boat using a steam bending process. Plessnig began experimenting in his graduate studio creating a small bench using steam building. He started his process of creation off by sketching different ideas down, then creating a 3D model that he could base his design off of. Plessnig would then start steam bending the wood into the 3D form he designed. He uses either glue or rivets to keep his steam bent wood attached to his frame and then sands the final piece after the final form is created.

Star Signs

Star Signs is a custom sign and a custom graphic manufacturing company based in Lawrence, Kansas. Their main market that they create these custom signs for are colleges, sporting arenas, or essentially anyone who needs a custom built outdoor or interior sign. Star Signs main material that the use for creating signs is aluminum. They also can make large vinyl  prints that can either be printed on the aluminum or created to be placed on the wall. Star Signs also has a big painting booth where they can mix any color they need to paint their signs with automotive paint.

In order to make their custom signs out of aluminum Star Signs uses a break, a jump-shear, laser cutter, and a CNC router. They take advantage of these tools in order to make some of the most unique signs. Some of their clients include J.E. Dunn, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and The Legends shopping center. Star Signs is an elite group designing and manufacturing custom signs that other companies won't take on.

How It's Made: Pencil

How It's Made Video on Pencils
Wooden pencils are a very common tool thats used everyday. This tool although very common and very useful, is not very well known how its made. One would think that because it is such a simple tool that it would be simple to make, some parts of it are and yet some parts are very surprising in what it takes to create a pencil. To see how the pencil is made watch the video link above or read the step by step instructions below.
Some interesting facts about the pencil is that it was invented in 1795 by Nicholas-Jacques Conte who served under Napoleon Bonaparte in the army. 
Step By Step Pencil Making

Reuter Organ Company

On Thursday September 8th, 2014 my Materials and Processing class took a field trip to Reuter Organ Company. Reuter Organ Company is a custom organ manufacturing company that creates custom organs for customers from scratch. Reuter Organ starts off their custom build organ process by designing what the finished organ will look like. They often visit the space to get a better understanding of the space and to see what will look well in the space. After designing every last detail from the exterior details to the inner mechanics, the design layouts get shipped out to the factory floor where they began to create the organ from scratch. The inner workings of the organ are made from poplar because its cheaper and a good structure wood with no knots, whereas woods like cheery and maple are added to the exterior because they are more aesthetically pleasing. while the inner workings are being built the pipes for the organ are also being created. Most of the pipes for the organs are made in-house from scratch. The pipes are made from spotted metal thats created in-house. The spotted metal starts as a liquid and then put into a machine that slides across the table creating a thin sheet of liquid metal that cools into a sheet of spotted metal. The sheets are then cut and formed into pipes of different sizes (64 pipes in one set) and then sent to the tuning room where they are tuned to their note by an expert musician. As the notes are being tuned and the wood is finished being formed, the organ starts to be assembled in the shop. The entire organ is finished in the shop and tested. After everything is put together and tweaked, it is broken down, marked and then shipped to the location where it will be rebuilt and permanently installed.

Most organs built today are electronic and use electricity to blow air through the pipes, send signals to which pipe needs air, and record music played on the organ so that it can be played back later like an mp3. Some organs are still built using mechanics that moved different parts of the organ in order to make a sound. Organs come in all shapes and sizes and no two seem to be alike.

Project 1: Aluminum Lamp

These are some inspiration photos that I am using for my aluminum lamp.