Pit stop
02 February 2012
Process types: Design and Manufacture
Stephen Holmes scours the globe for the world’s most innovative eco-conscious cars
Love the bug
No new car is developed without using modern technology, however, the Urbee has taken the revolutionary approach and pushed it even further.
Using tools already available and taking on a list of futuristic challenges, the Urbee has grown from the input of some extremely experienced designers and engineers.
Urbee (standing for urban electric with ethanol back up) is a low energy, practical, urban vehicle that can run on renewable energy, but what makes it more special is that it is the first full scale, fully operational 3D printed car.
Using Autodesk Inventor and Alias through the design process the team modelled the car, while also creating clay models of the shape. 3D laser scanning by Tebis was then used to get the clay-sculpted, 60 per cent scale model into the solids program for further CAD design.
These files were then sent to Stratasys, where its rapid prototyping capabilities allowed a 1/6 scale test model to be used to assess the fit up of body components.
Finally, full scale printed parts (also by Statasys) allowed the team to achieve Urbee’s extremely aerodynamic form, verify body fit with frame members, and achieve fabrication of the first prototype in a very short time scale.
From close up it’s hard to tell it has been printed, such is the detailed finishing and polishing, with a high gloss paint job.
As for the streamlined shape, CD-Adapco ran simulations to test Urbee’s overall aerodynamic performance, resulting in a coefficient of drag value for the overall car body of 0.15. This is a tiny amount for a two-person car.
Using rear wheel steering, it allows for a smaller frontal area, due to the compact, enclosed front wheels, resulting in further reducing drag and improving aerodynamics.
Its slim profile and printed panels have done little to stop it from passing all the needed crash tests, although it would be hard for other motorists not to slow down just to look at the unique Urbee as it tootles along.
Street fighting man
With curves in all the right places, this off-road, street legal car has both the grunt and the futuristic design process that will get everyone interested in Local Motors (LM).
The Rally Fighter is the first model from the Massachusetts-based firm that is determined to make the next great American car, using the advanced production methods and with collaborative design at its heart.
Using a method described as ‘co-creation’, it works in a way completely different to other automotive companies, allowing the designers to uncover better ideas faster with new and interesting material and powertrain ideas as soon as they are available.
LM has an underlying commitment to sustainable design. Its ‘Built Locally’ process allows it to leverage local vendors: reducing the wasteful process of shipping all its finished cars when instead it can ship the parts that are smaller and allow the car to drive away on its own power.
The car’s EROD engine is essentially a modern 6.2 litre, V8 Corvette engine. By UK standards that is a monster, however in comparison to most US muscle cars, it is as clean as a daisy - offering advanced emissions control with full catalytic converters, onboard vapour recovery, and modern fuel mapping to increase economy and to decrease emissions.
The original design is by Sangho Kim, a 2010 graduate of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, who sketched the original concept work in 2008. However, by leveraging crowdsourcing for collaborative design a community of 13,000 had input in the entire process.
The vast swathe of designs will be brought down to a single product and designed and developed in Siemens’ Solid Edge software, with a special LM community version of the software available as Design1.
By being open source all chassis and body vehicle data is shared making the car building and modelling experience more enjoyable and accessible with the LM factory taking advantage of the rapid pace of design from the Co-Creation process.
It reduces waste and increases the time to market by only ordering and building what is necessary.
Under the radar
Any car with a bona fide ‘Stealth Mode’ is always going to grab our attention, but this goes deeper than a black paint job, relying on an innovative electric engine.
The Karma, is California-based Fisker’s first model: an eco-conscious car, with the ability to toggle between an all-electric, whispery quiet ‘Stealth Mode’ or fuel assisted, typically bellowing ‘Sport Mode’ with the simple shift of a paddle by the steering wheel.
Its Captain Planet credentials don’t stop with the power plant (incidentally, it’s a 2.0 litre 260 HP 4-cylinder direct injection petrol engine, with 981 lb/ft of torque instantly available at 0RPM), the solar glass roof is the largest ever designed for a production vehicle, giving you 200 miles travel for free each year; F1-style regenerative breaking technology; a water-based paint containing a recycled glass flake mixture for shine; and an interior trim made from reclaimed wood.
Earlier this year Fisker founder Henrik Fisker boasted: “We are combining our innovative technology and dedication to uncompromised design and performance to help re-invent the United States automobile industry by giving consumers around the world a new American car option that is bold, beautiful, smart, and environmentally friendly.”
On first impressions, and without jumping behind the wheel of one, we find it hard to disagree.
Fisker’s design team worked with Catia enabling the company to work from a single architecture for everything; from wire harness design to Class A surfacing, while PLM system, Enovia, manages the design data across multiple global locations.
“Catia’s functionality in both solid and surface modelling has enabled Fisker to develop a more efficient product development process where all design elements are integrated through one model, eliminating non-value added math conversion time,” explained Fisker’s director of operations Paul Houghton.
“This allows us to focus more on creativity so that we can deliver vehicles with unique styling in shorter time frames.”
So, finally petrol heads can drive an electric vehicle without feeling compromised on speed and performance.
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Joint effort
17 January 2012
Process types: Collaborate and Design
The Fiat Mio is a crowdsourced concept car brought to life through ideas posted on an open web platform. Tanya Weaver tracks its design process
Automotive design is notoriously secretive. Locked away in their studios, designers and engineers shroud themselves in secrecy whilst developing the cars of the future.
Developed in Fiat’s Latin America Style Centre, the car of the future is compact and economical
But the Fiat Mio concept, which was launched during the Sao Paulo International Auto Show in October 2010, represented a major step change.
Fiat’s Latin America Style Centre, based at the Fiat plant in Betim, Brazil, swung its doors open and not only let the public view the design process but actually invited them in to collaborate. According to Fiat, this made the Fiat Mio (Italian for ‘My Fiat’) the world’s first truly crowdsourced car.
“A good designer tries to realise the wishes of everyone and with this concept car we were truly working on everybody’s behalf,” says Peter Fassbender, head of the Fiat Latin America Style Centre. “The group of designers working on the Fiat Mio were totally open.
There was transparency about every decision, which were all communicated online and commented on. This is completely different to the usual design process, which is entirely hidden and secretive.”
In August 2009 Fiat launched the Fiat Mio project and invited people to submit ideas through the website http://www.fiatmio.cc.
During the actual design and development process, which took place from April to October 2010, Fiat regularly updated the website’s blog and also posted a series of short videos, called the ‘Making of Fiat Mio’, which documented each stage in its development.
More than two million people from 160 countries visited this collaborative platform where 17,000 were registered and more than 10,000 ideas were posted. “We’re the internet user’s hand. When he/she tells us ‘look you have to design a car in this direction’, we implement it,” describes Fassbender.
Against the grain
Fiat Latin America presented its first Fiat concept car (FCC I) in 2005 and in 2007 the FCC II followed.
In 2009 it embarked on the FCC III (otherwise known as Fiat Mio) but instead of designing it purely themselves the designers had the idea of tapping into inspirational ideas the public may have.
So, in a pioneering move they decided to make the design process both transparent and collaborative.
“The idea for the FCC III was to go further and to open our Latin American Style Centre to everyone so that they could assist us in building the model,” says Fassbender. “The idea was born with the design team and we got a lot of help from all areas of the company to make it work properly.”
With the website launched, ideas for the Fiat Mio started flooding in. These were then synthesised by Fiat staff and discussed by the design team who began to build a broad brief for the project.
Surprisingly, the overall theme was for a comfortable two-seater urban car that was compact, sustainable and economical.
“It was a surprise for us that the majority requested a small city car, which is unusual for Brazil where people seem to want lots of interior space in their cars,” comments Fassbender.
Some of the specific ideas submitted by the public included onboard biometrics, advanced touch-screen controls, mobile phone integration, cameras instead of rear-view mirrors, inter-vehicle communication to avoid collision and wheels that rotate to 90 degrees making it easier to parallel park.
The great challenge for the designers was to interpret these needs in a coherent manner. “Sometimes when people ask for a car that parks itself, they can be looking for more electronic assistance and not expecting the car to park itself as well as a human could,” says Fassbender.
Open for business
All of the ideas were submitted under the Creative Commons license, which means that participants can own their own contributions but they are free for the community to modify and distribute as it wishes.
So, although the notion of an open source car is that people will design their own car, it was for the Fiat designers to decide which ideas could be implemented. As Fassbender is careful to point out, the Fiat designers were more guardians of the car than creators.
“The requests changed from country to country and everything we did was a complication of all these different needs,” he says.
“We had very interesting ideas and some others that are impossible to manufacture even for a concept car. It was very important to have our designated design team working 24/7 on it, with direct and real time inputs from users worldwide.”
In April 2010 the sketching phase commenced, however with the diversity of ideas and suggestions the designers chose to develop two different directions for the Fiat Mio - Precision and Sense.
The former was characterised by its simple and minimalist form with well-defi ned lines and a focus on modularity whilst the latter had an organic shape with fluid and flowing lines.
These two different guidelines with their corresponding sketches were posted on the website for the public to scrutinise. From the comments received it was clear that Precision was the popular choice, but not by much.
“The final choice was 60/40 to Precision,” says Fassbender. “Even if there were greater numbers for the Precision line there was a lot of acceptance for the Sense line so, we agreed to also integrate some material from Sense into the Precision line.”
Role play
The designers then concentrated on honing and developing the Precision concept. Having created the exterior and interior style in Alias they handed their design to the engineers, who produced a 3D digital model of the entire concept.
The challenge was working out how to incorporate as much innovation desired by the thousands of participants involved in the project. “Actually, internet users don’t say much about the engineering solutions; it’s not their role.
The client’s role is not to tell me about solutions, the client has to tell me his requirements. I want a comfortable car, I want a small car, I want a car that is easy to drive in city traffic.
Our role as engineers and as designers, is to put together a solution for them,” explains Paulo Matos, innovation and technology supervisor at the Fiat Latin America Style Centre.
The clay modelling stage
In order to create an accurate 3D digital model, the engineers also carried out a variety of virtual simulation and analysis tests.
“In the virtual world we have countless tools to test the car. So we simulate as much as possible, working out how the solutions will be implemented, even looking at how the car will be built,” says Matos.
Of course, all of this work was being witnessed by thousands of online users who were following the design process very closely through the blog and video footage.
So the challenge was not only conceiving a solution that would work but doing it in full view of a virtual community who were quick to post their comments and views. “The challenge for Mio is doing the opposite of how we regularly do stuff . There were no secrets, everything was shown in real time.
Fiat Latin America Style Centre is one of the most secret areas of the company. The main change on this project was to build cameras and to bring the public inside our staff ,” says Fassbender. As well as the public posting suggestions there were also occasions when the designers asked them outright what their views were regarding a specific aspect of the design.
For example, three options as to how the doors could open were posted on the blog and the public were asked to select one. “Having thousands of people from all over the world giving real time inputs was the biggest challenge.
Since we built the Mio together with the public, we had to change features during the middle of the development phase of the process. It was not a frozen discussion,” stresses Fassbender.
“It was a very complex exercise to understand and create everything desired by the Mio community. We had to be quick and to work very hard. However, the direct contact with participants of the project was really challenging and stimulating for the design team,” he adds.
Brought to life
With the 3D digital model complete it was time to turn to clay modelling.
This is a lengthy process but having a full size 3D model is vital as it allows the designers and engineers to analyse the form, volume and lines of the car. A five-axis robot mills a huge slab of clay based on the 3D CAD data supplied by the engineers. If any changes or modifications need to be done these will be carried out by hand by the clay modellers.
Once everyone is happy, the clay model is then digitally scanned using CogniTens, a 3D white light measurement system, with the data sent back to the engineers for rework and refinement.
Clay modelling is one means of viewing a full size car in 3D but there is also another - virtual reality. In Fiat’s in-house virtual reality room the car in its entirety or individual parts are projected in 3D for the designers to scrutinise.
The 5.1 x 2.7m screen shows full scale objects but when wearing the 3D glasses the users can fully immerse themselves in the design and have a true sense of the car’s volumes, planes and depths.
Using virtual reality tools the 3D modellers can also place the design into various environments and scenarios providing a life like visualisation of the car. These tools can also be used to change the colour and texture providing a range of options to choose from.
“The virtual work saves us time in the prototype’s development. Our designers have much more agility in giving life to the ideas of internet users with this technology,” says Fassbender.
Although all these tools have obvious advantages in the development process, Fassbender claims that the success of the project is really down to the dynamic, young design team who were able to pull this project off in such a short time scale considering the circumstances.
“The most important tool in this project was the creativity of our designers and the courage they had to think differently, all the others are just technical tools,” he says.
Against the clock
With the Sao Paulo Auto Show looming, it was time to prototype and assemble the concept.
The final design measured 2.5 metres in length and featured a sleek appearance with camouflaged headlights, large glass roof and covered wheels that incorporates electric motors.
Inside it contains a floating dashboard with touchscreen display, a steering wheel which acts more as a central command centre as the car can be driven autonomously, and a two-seater sofa.
“The result was a direct response to the desires of our customers,” comments Fassbender. “Its shape and configuration was a mirror for the Mio community’s requests.”
At the launch of the Fiat Mio the designers involved in its development were at the Sao Paulo Auto Show to meet members of the public who had contributed to bringing it to life.
“I felt very happy to meet a lot of people from the Mio community at the Auto Show that approved the real model based on the sketches presented virtually on the Mio website,” comments Fassbender.
Although, the launch of the Fiat Mio was over a year ago it is still having an impact. Not only did it receive a number of prestigious design awards throughout 2011, but being such a pioneering project, Fiat Latin America continually receive requests to present, exhibit and talk about it.
For instance, Fassbender will be at the PLM Innovation Congress 2012 in February (see box piece) presenting a talk entitled ‘Crowdsourcing, Communities and Co-Creation’.
For Fassbender, the open source project has been an extraordinary experience that has led to new design thinking. “Mio is more than a car, it is an open space to discuss the automotive industry and the future of mobility,” he concludes.
Date for the diary
The PLM Innovation Congress 2012 will bring together over 500 senior representatives of the international product lifecycle management (PLM) community from across industry to network, benchmark and hear the latest developments in PLM.
Taking place in Munich on the 22 and 23 February 2012, the conference aims to leverage the collective wealth of knowledge and experience to identify and encourage best practice.
Uniquely, the format is technology agnostic providing an opportunity for organisations to understand new PLM processes and critically assess their own processes with organisations facing similar challenges while operating different platforms.
Alongside Peter Fassbender’s presentation on the Fiat Mio project, highlights of the agenda include: Thomas W. Schmidt, group vice president of ABB’s Power Products Division, who will be discussing why PLM is necessary but not sufficient; David Sherburne, the director of global R&D Effectiveness at Carestream Health Inc’s, will give his insight into the pros and cons of open source PLM; and Marc Halpern, the vice president of research at Gartner’s, will talk of his vision for Manufacturing 2.0.
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Doctor Who figurine
06 December 2011
Process type:
The unmistakeable features and stance of Tom Baker playing The Doctor are depicted in the form of a very detailed eight inch character statue, part of a collectors range inspired by the cult TV sci-fi series
The unmistakeable features of Tom Baker
The design
With the emphasis on getting the most lifelike product possible, the design is a blend of artistic talents and sculpting know-how from the team at Designworks in Windsor.
From screen to shelf
After initial sketches have been approved by the client the designer is tasked with sourcing as much pictorial data as possible to work from. A special waistcoat from an early episode? Consult the internet.
In the weave
The designer lays textures over the 3D CAD model to help achieve the most realistic results – items of clothing like the thick woven scarf can be more accurately sculpted.
Face time
In some cases the actual actor can be digitally scanned, giving a guide to the real life scale and features. However accurate the scan is, a sculptor is always needed to capture a more ‘human’ expression, movement, plus the hair and eyes the scanner can’t pick up.
Touchy-feely
The designer uses 3D CAD to digitally sculpt the figure – this is done using Sensable’s FreeForm software, as well as one of its Phantom arms – a haptic device that gives the user feedback as though sculpting a block of clay in real life.
Prototyping
The CAD model is sent out to Industrial Plastic Fabrications (IPF) in Essex, which builds prototypes using a highly precise Envisiontec Perfactory Mini MML that prints in resin for the faces, and an Objet Connex500 for the bodies.
Approval
A full prototype is completed and set before the actor and persons from the BBC for their approval.
Manufacturing a Doctor
The final tooling and production takes place in the Far East, with the figurines moulded in a special polyurethane resin that gives the appearance, coolness and weight of a porcelain statue, before finishing and painting.
Price
Your own Tom Baker for under £60? “It’s the end!”
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Snap to it!
05 December 2011
Process type: Prototype
An interest in 3D tessellation and some supportive production methods transformed a college project into a successful business venture
For Seattle-based Jonathan Stapleton one particular college art class project became an obsession that led to a unique business opportunity and several patents.
Reptangles - turtles that snap. These colourful toys can snap and slide together in over 100 different ways
“We were working in wood, which meant we were creating models in three dimensions,” he remembers. The project would prove the catalyst for an interest in 3D tessellation and the end product – his own line of snaptogether toys, branded Reptangles.
Each plastic block has 56 connectors, allowing any two blocks to be attached to one another in hundreds of different ways. A set of 24 blocks can be used to create a dizzying variety of designs.
Building blocks
Produced in injection-moulded plastic and packaged in sets, the toys are bright building blocks for six year olds to help show the possibilities of exotic 3D shapes.
However, getting from the initial wooden mock-ups to today’s classroom-friendly production version wasn’t a simple equation. “I chose a truncated octahedron for the shape of the turtle shell,” says Stapleton. “Then, I took an extra turtle shell, cut it up, and made legs from the parts.
“I soon discovered that when I lined up matching angles on the legs and the shell, I was aligning the entire turtle with a 3D grid. The figure was guaranteed to fit together and line up.” But that was the easy part. “Then I had to make them stay together. Finally, I needed to find a way to produce these complex parts cost-effectively,” he adds.
The process involved developing sketches, CAD models, and models in wood, before the first turtle was eventually moulded from a plastic resin. The connectors, in particular, turned out to be a significant challenge. “Shapes like standard LEGO blocks are relatively straight forward,” says Stapleton.
“Blocks that stack vertically can be held together with a simple friction fit, and because they connect top to bottom they can be made in a simple two-part mould. With Reptangles, however, the blocks have mating faces on the top, the bottom, and the sides, and even those aren’t at simple right angles.”
Turtle power
What Stapleton didn’t fully appreciate at the design stage was that manufacturing the parts would prove to be an even greater challenge.
To keep costs low, he knew he would have to design a product that could be made in a two-part, straight-pull mould, which meant there could be no features of the design—faces or connectors—that would be trapped as the mould opened.
“Any standard connector, male or female, that isn’t located on a top or bottom of a surface could represent an undercut,” says Stapleton. “If you imagine a pyramid, for example, with connectors on each face, you can see how a post rising from any one of the sides would be trapped by a mould-half that was opening and closing vertically to form all four sides of the pyramid at once.”
The challenge was to develop a connector that could be produced in mould-halves opening in one direction but connecting in one or more other directions.
“I tried a friction fit,” he says, “but because of the complexity of the constructions and the resulting stresses on the connectors, the friction fit required unrealistically tight tolerances and restricted us to using resins that we didn’t want to use.
“The connectors had to snap together positively, but also release when pulled-apart.”
Right method
In May 2004 it was time to begin prototyping the design “I needed to be sure that they could be effectively made in straight-pull moulds. I probably could have used other prototyping methods, but actual injection moulding was the only method that would confirm the ‘mould-ability’ of the parts, and that was critical.”
Using prototyping service Protomold the first set of parts was delivered and testing showed the need for minor modifications easily fixed by modifying the original mould rather than making a new one.
With his design verified the marketing phase of the project began, he licensed the product to a larger company, and importantly, patented his turtles using the description ‘Multifaceted Nesting Modules’ and the connectors themselves.
When development of Reptangles was complete, Stapleton moved on to his next project: a design for isosceles tetrahedral blocks. Unlike the turtles, these are simple, four-sided (triangular pyramid) blocks. But, like Reptangles they can be combined to create a virtually unlimited array of forms.
Much of the thought and development that had gone into the first project was applied to the new idea. Unlike Reptangles, the yet-tobe-named tetrahedral blocks are single, rather than two-piece parts. As with the Reptangle halves, however, they had to be suitable for straight-pull moulds.
This latest project also led to a new patent application, for a method of designing a cored-out polyhedron, a solid, geometric figure that has many faces.
In 2007 Stapleton turned again to Protomold for prototypes. Currently he hasn’t decided whether to market or license his new creation, but through careful prototyping he does know that his latest creation works as he anticipated it to.
Problem solver
The prototyping process also offered other helpful pointers with Protomold’s experience helping solve some problems with the moulding process, which also had its own benefits.
“The nice thing about rapid injection moulding,” he adds, “is that you can’t make anything that wouldn’t work when it eventually goes into production. “If you need to increase dimension of any feature on the part you can ‘tweak’ the mould.
I achieved realistic dimensional accuracy with the same resin that would be used for production; I got to see if it was going to warp, and I could see if the angles came out right.”
From college art project to school classrooms, these educational toys are now a mathematical marvel.
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Reel to real
18 November 2011
Process type: Design
They say a picture is worth a thousand words LA Design is proving that moving pictures are helping do much more than that. Tanya Weaver finds out how
Industrial design agency LA Design (London Associates) has started producing its own videos. No, they haven’t migrated from their product design roots to cinematography; it’s just another service they are now offering clients.
The opening sequence of the PURELAB flex promotional video
Using 3D CAD data, the designers create digital promotional movies for clients to use internally to help communicate a new product to the sales team, key stakeholders or for exhibitions and product launches.
“To us this is a logical extension of the design process,” explains Leslie Stokes, director of LA Design. Short videos are something that LA Design has been developing for the past few years and really came about due to the advancements in both hardware and software.
“We’ve been using Pro/Engineer and rendering the CAD side of things since 1995,” explains David Robinson, director of LA Design. “In those days, in order to do a good static render, it would mean rendering a single frame over a weekend for one image. Even if the animated sections could be a minor section of the video, it was just impossible to consider doing movies.”
Photo call
Once they had invested heavily in various rendering technologies, the agency soon realised that creating photo realistic renderings of a client’s product was, in many cases, better and faster than relying on an actual photograph of the physical prototype.
The next step was using these rendering tools and investing in some new hardware and software to create animations and to add post production.
“Advances in computer speed and the enhancements in motion graphics software, such as Adobe’s After Effects, have enabled designers to produce moving images to communicate the qualities of design,” says Robinson.
Previously if a client wanted a promotional video produced, it would have utilised a third party. However, the product design agency is ideally positioned to do this because, having been involved in bringing the product to life, it has far greater empathy with it.
“Although we sometimes create videos for products we haven’t designed, the best results do come from being involved in the whole product design and development process,” says Robinson.
“We’ve understood the user, we’ve been part of the product proposition in the first place and we really know what the client wants to communicate to others, whether it’s internal sales or the end customer.”
The design agency can also seamlessly move past the creation of data for production and utilise the same 3D CAD data for use in the promotional videos. “We have already created the data to make prototypes and tooling for manufacture.
For the movies we are using exactly the same data, once it’s optimised for rendering, mixed with other media to make a movie, so it’s highly efficient as well,” comments Robinson.
But Robinson stresses that they are not emulating Pixar by any stretch of the imagination. Instead they are creating engaging and elegant videos that can be used to explain how a product works and its key benefits. “Very often marketing material will contain a lot of words.
Really, this visual medium is about stripping down the number of words and communicating the same values through pictures of the product or with visual metaphor,” he explains.
“Visualisation can often show how something works in a way that no other medium achieves. There is also the ability to include a voice over or a music score, to add background sound texture or to make it more dramatic. Overall, it’s a surprisingly powerful medium.”
Final cut
Having created the PURELAB flex, a standalone ultrapure water system for use in laboratories, for client ELGA LabWater, part of Veolia Water Group, LA Design was also tasked with creating a promotional video.
The video was to be shown in Marrakech, Morocco, to over 80 members of the company’s sales team, who were accustomed to predictable corporate PowerPoint presentations.
As this new product was very different to anything the company had made before, it wanted LA Design to convey this in the video. “We revealed the product gradually, so it was very theatrical. In the opening scenes there was a black background with various images of a ballet dancer, to communicate the concept of flexibility,” describes Robinson.
“ELGA were delighted because the video really engendered enthusiasm from the sales people for the new product. In Japan they even projected a high definition version in a cinema. So, it went beyond their original brief of what they were going to use it for.”
Another client PerkinElmer, a manufacturer of advanced technology solutions in the human and environmental health industries, asked LA Design to create a video for its new Frontier spectrometer.
Typically used in pharmaceutical labs and for materials research, this is a very specialised and sophisticated instrument that measures the absorption of infrared light in a sample. It employs a very clever internal mirror system and infrared light beam, which no one ever gets to see functioning.
“The instrument has a patented oscillating mirror system inside, enabling superior measurement, and we were able to visualise these inner workings in the video,” says Robinson.
In fact the video was such a successful communication tool that it has since been translated it into eight languages and shown all over the world. PerkinElmer has even featured it on the product page of its website.
On closer inspection
LA Design has learnt that the videos have proven especially successful when used to visualise subjects that cannot be seen by the naked eye: either abstract technology or something working on a microscopic scale.
For instance, in a promotional video for ENDETEC, also part of the Veolia Water Group, the designers had to visualise the inner workings of the new Tecta B16 - rapid microbial detection instrument for E.coli and total coliforms.
This solution is a self-contained, automated testing system that enables laboratory-grade microbiological testing to be performed on-site, at the location where the samples are obtained. “The ‘real world‘ test sample looks like chocolate milkshake: you cannot see anything.
With the use of a video you can create little bacteria and E. coli with After Effects particle system, to help visualise the clever measuring process,” says Robinson. “For me it’s not unlike being a physics teacher at school and trying to make subjects engaging to get people onboard. There is nothing quite like a moving image to achieve that.”
Although the videos are short (typically around three minutes in length) a detailed script still has to be written and strategic, ordered preparation has to take place beforehand. “Of course there is the technical process of optimising the CAD data, collating other video and stills and then creating a set with lighting and music and so on. But you need to start with a vision, followed by a storyboard,” says Robinson.
Putting together the script or storyboard is a valuable collaborative process as it brings both the client’s engineering and marketing departments together as both sides want to ensure that the right values come across in the video. “Everyone becomes a stakeholder in this process,” says Robinson.
With the vision in place it’s time for Robinson and his team to start using the design tools to create a video that will convey the right message and explain the product in the best possible way. (See below for a list of the different tools used in this process).
Although Robinson is still very much an industrial designer, he is enjoying producing videos too. “For us, as many areas of design get commoditised and automated, this, as well as being a natural extension of the design process, taps into our enjoyment of being creative,” he explains. “The videos really seem to have taken on a life of their own. They are often challenging, but great fun to do.”
The tools used from the start of the video making process
To create the initial 3D data Pro/Engineer, SolidWorks and Autodesk Alias Design
To convert CAD data to polygonal model, reassign textures, optimise model and reduce polygon count Okino Nu-Graf
To create initial renders Luxology MODO 501 and Luxion Keyshot
To create music/sound Adobe Audition and Smartsound Sonicfire Pro
For animation Bunkspeed Hypermove and Luxology MODO 501
For motion graphics Adobe CS5 After Effects, with Trapcode Suite and Particle Illusion
Plus a lot of peripheral software. Especially Photoshop,Mindmanager, Office, Poser, Carrara
Typical essential hardware 64-bit Windows PC,Quadro FX4800 graphics card, 12GB RAM, a good HD video camera for live video capture, a kettle and plenty of coffee!
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Picture perfect
16 November 2011
Process type: Design
Design firms are increasingly taking advantage of the advances in visualisation technology to explain how products will look and work. Brett Duesing looks at how Pensa is doing just that with the use of Keyshot
At New York-based design consultancy Pensa, narrative is what drives communication. The firm’s online portfolio showcases its newest designs not just as static objects, but as solutions in real-life settings.
A visualisation explaining a concept Pensa created for a more convenient household battery charger
Storyboards show the instructions for use; annotated diagrams reveal the moving parts and different configurations. This kind of graphic description is not new, but the quality of it is.
The recent leap forward in visualisation technology has made highly realistic design imagery easier, faster and cheaper to generate. “It takes dramatically less staff time to produce renderings,” comments Marco Perry, principal and co-founder of Pensa.
“We now have higher quality presentations and ultimately, we’re producing more images.” More images are giving firms like Pensa far greater latitude in explaining how consumer products will look, how they will be made, and how they will work.
Designers can easily show in visuals what used to remain in the abstract. “The reality is we are not always trying to get to the ultimate possible rendition of something,” adds Perry. “Many times we just need a good picture that explains what we want to do in one particular aspect.”
A rendering of a DC+ powered charging shelf for mobile phones
The explanatory power leads to quicker and smarter decisions, and not just among the design team. Many of Pensa’s clients – which include Pepsi, Samsung, OXO, Pfizer and Playtex – are beginning to circulate early design images internally.
“Stakeholders are definitely making decisions based on these visuals, from the engineering and marketing departments, sometimes sales, all the way up the executive ladder on the client’s side,” he says.
Past and present
Until only a few years ago, rendering a 3D model to look like a real product took a painstaking amount of work, a task only a few on a design team could do well.
“Rendering in the past required you to have the skills of both a photographer and a computer expert,” explains Perry. “Like a photographer, you had to understand the physics of lighting to get the right angle, shadow, and reflectivity. Then you had to be a computer expert because you had to translate this understanding into numbers.
You had to know what levers to pull and push inside the program to get the effects.” New advances in software have eliminated this need for specialised expertise. Common materials like soft plastic or brushed aluminium are pre-programmed to reflect light naturally.
Designers simply drag them from palettes and drop them onto a surface of a model, like a game of 3D paint-by-numbers. Rendering experts used to slave over the subtle shadows that give objects the right illusion of depth. Now the shading appears perfectly on every render.
Pensa uses KeyShot, developed by the software firm Luxion, to create its renderings. Besides simplifying the work of making convincingly real product shots, KeyShot also does it all much faster than programs in the past, in a matter of seconds as opposed to hours.
“The processing time used to be a limiting factor because if it took four hours per piece, then forget it. To show 16 to 20 concepts or multiple views would take forever,” says Perry. “With an application like KeyShot, you literally just drop it in, take a snapshot, change the view and then grab another one. It makes rendering a non-event.”
People who are not at all versed in optics can now turn a CAD model into several studio-quality images in the span of an hour. In fact, Pensa’s engineers who typically deal in bare 3D schematics can jump on KeyShot and produce impressive screenshots within a few minutes.
“Because it’s super fast and super easy, it removes the bottleneck that comes from having one particular staff member who is an expert at rendering, lighting schemes and all those kind of settings. KeyShot levelled the playing field, so anybody in the office can just drop an object in there and take a shot,” comments Perry.
Placing products in context
According to Perry, the core purpose of rendering for designers is the same as it has been in years past. “We can view CAD data as realistically as possible before getting prototypes of it. In some cases, when we work on very largescale equipment like vending machines, to get a prototype is no small feat. We need to evaluate the product before it gets that far in the process.”
Beyond virtual prototypes and client presentations, other uses for design imagery are fast emerging outside the design cycle. Product shots are popping up more and more on operation instructions, and assembly directions, marketing catalogues and advertising. Because renderings can incorporate photographic backgrounds and other virtual household objects in the same lighting scheme, Pensa can use them to illustrate whole scenarios.
When some wood-staining accessories destined for Lowe’s hardware stores were not off the manufacturing line in time for a photo shoot, the task to illustrate the packaging fell back to Pensa. The team made KeyShot images of the sponge applicator and also its context - and simulated the stripe of stain running down a virtual backyard fence.
The graphic is cheaper and faster to produce than studio photography and because of its conceptual simplification, arguably more visually communicative than a real photograph. Earlier this year, the line of packaging designs won three marketing awards from the North American Retail Hardware Association (NHRA).
The impact of images
Perry senses that because the changes in technology are still relatively new, the profession will continue to feel their effects. As more clients come to expect realistic explanations of product concepts, they’re simply going to want more of them.
“At an early stage, it gives you a leg up on the competition, but I know our competitors are starting to use the same software, so you have to keep up with everybody as well,” he says. “Eventually, a nice realistic image becomes a cost of entry. If you’re not doing it, you don’t appear as if you are producing the same level of quality.”
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Field and stream
11 November 2011
Process types: Design, Manage and Manufacture
Having donned his tweed cap and waders Stephen Holmes heads into the countryside to discover the latest advancements in game shooting and fishing
Steely shooting
With designs for its famed shotguns dating back to the 19th century, new models by Purdey are a rarity.
However its latest, the Damascus, is as eye-catching as they come: The Damascus gun is a 20-bore over and under that, apart from the stock, is made almost entirely from a special Damascus steel that when etched with acid forms a unique and beautiful patterning.
A modern version of ancient Damascus steel, it is made from a powder metallurgy method of steelmaking developed in a nitrogen filled chamber by Swedish steelmakers to bespoke requirements specifically for Purdey.
The design is modelled on the Woodward/Purdey over and under game gun (one barrel atop of the other, as opposed to side by side). This is a classic design that is made using traditional production methods, with the only relinquishment to modern methods coming from the use of TurboCAD to drive its CNC mills.
The modern manufacturing hub is set aside from the traditional workbenches in Purdey’s West London factory, housing spark eroders that cut the 3D shapes from the specially selected and shaped steel.
Reducing the manufacturing time by 80 per cent, CNC milling helps lower costs and allows the supremely skilled and dedicated workforce to go about constructing and finishing the guns.
At Purdey up to seven people, each highly skilled in their own area, will work on a single gun, taking around 18 months to complete the process.
Each Damascus is bespoke to its owner’s requirements: what they hope to be shooting at; a traditional set of shoulder width, arm length and neck measurements, all incorporated into the design to ensure the perfect shot.
As a result each gun is unique, requiring hundreds of hours of hand finishing to shape the metal work and wooden stock precisely.
The gun’s firing mechanics are also handmade before all parts are highly polished to help remove unwanted moisture then assembled, and the stock is preserved and polished through a long process of coating and removing mixtures of oils and waxes.
Each gun undergoes final etching and even more finishing is applied before rigorous testing by Purdey’s factory manager Christopher Raeburn-Cowell, who personally fires 200 or more cartridges to ensure flawless working order.
Perfectly in time for the British game-shooting season.
Fishing for better design
Game fishing is not angling for tiddlers; in tropical conditions you’re looking to catch shark and other monsters of the deep, hence the need for specialist equipment.
Wychwood is one of the few fishing equipment companies that understands that solid product design can make a product better, more innovative, and easily more aesthetically pleasing than rivals’ offerings.
The reel
The company’s latest salt water fly reel captures this ethos entirely – brazenly white to match your Caribbean yacht, it is also supremely functional and finished to give the user the best chance of avoiding dubious stories about ‘the one that got away’.
Led by Paul Richardson, brand manager and designer for Wychwood Game, the process falls back on the team’s love of both design and fishing.
In this example the reel has been designed to incorporate a cassette system to secure different types of lines to the reel in plastic sections that cost around £10 each.
Such a system for salt water fishing, it can save an angler a fortune over the traditional methods of fitting spools at half the cost of the original outlay – usually around £150 for each spool and anything up to 15 spools.
Wychwood designs its components from the beginning, working with mood boards and sketching out initial concepts before moving into SolidWorks.
The design is then sent to Korea, one of the hotbeds of fishing tackle production, where it is altered for manufacture and an SLA prototype is sent back to the team’s headquarters in Redditch for assessment.
The final model is built from lightweight barstock aluminium before being tested – in this case both off the coast of Wales catching sharks, and running lines from it while attached to a car travelling at 50mph.
Operating at high speeds reels can give off excessive heat, so a white powder-coated finish helps dispel some of that while covering its saltwater-proof anodized body.
The rod
The rod design is based upon the type of fish being angled for and the expertise of the factory where it is being built.
Wychwood returns to its knowledgeable carbon fibre wizards in Korea to draw upon the skilled processes and cheaper labour costs.
The Aura rod is designed for game fishing, so the team work around set specifications; in this case a ten foot long, high power carbon weave rod in four sections.
Richardson and the rest of the design team set out to make it stand out from similar spec rods on the market by adding some aesthetic design tweaks.
The team designed aluminium reel feeds and post ends for the rod, which were then transferred from the CAD model to be CNC-machined and added to the finished product..
This is as close to the company comes to ‘re-branding’ stock Chinese goods for the domestic market, which seems to be the norm for other companies.
Having seen an aesthetic shift towards more modern styling from Scandinavian countries, where the average fly-fisherman age is much lower than elsewhere, Wychwood is keen to flex its creative muscle.
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Easy as 123
08 November 2011
Process types: Hardware and Prototype
We take it for granted that the target market for desktop 3D printers in the home is adults. Tanya Weaver tracks the design and development of a rather quirky 3D printer prototype targeted specifically at ten year olds
We’ve been told that 3D printing in the home is the future. We can look forward to a time when a 3D printer will sit on our desktops happily printing off objects we’ve designed.
We are told that this future isn’t far off but at the moment many of these machines – MakerBot, eMaker, Bits from Bytes and the like – are created for engineers and technophiles who tinker away with them in garages and workshops. They currently don’t look like anything we’d put on our desktops let alone have anywhere near our homes. But there is an intriguing new entrant to this market – the Origo.
It’s small, purple and aimed at ten year olds.
“Kids are still natural makers; they sketch, draw and dream without limits. They lack only the skills to execute their whimsy. Origo was conceived as a tool to let kids make whatever they want,” explains Joris Peels, co-founder of Origo. “It is aimed at kids precisely because they are the most likely to be able to take advantage of 3D printing at home.”
Origo is the brainchild of Artur Tchoukanov, who created it as his master’s degree project on the Advanced Product Design course at the Umea Institute of Design, Sweden. He has always been fascinated with 3D printing and especially how to make it more accessible to people. So, he set out with the aim of devising a reliable, versatile and affordable desktop 3D printer for the home.
“Relevancy became one of the driving words of the project,” he explains. “How do you make a 3D printer that is relevant to have at home and that fits into our daily lives?”
At the start of his project, Artur Tchoukanov worked with kids to see what they wanted to make and how
Further investigation
Tchoukanov created a variety of scenarios that included sketches and renderings of what a 3D printer in the home could offer. He then interviewed a range of people to assess their views and thoughts about this technology in terms of how they could see themselves using it and whether it could be relevant to their lives.
As well as those uninitiated in 3D printing he also garnered information from those who are familiar with and have used the technology. “It is no use starting to formulate solutions without grasping the whole scope of problems and opportunities,” says Tchoukanov.
Through his research he also discovered that adults found it difficult to grasp the notion of 3D printing, that literally an idea you dream up in your head can come to life, fully formed before your eyes.
They had lost that childlike ability to let their imaginations run wild. To create and dream without inhibition and fear of being judged. As this became clear to Tchoukanov, he realised that the target audience for his 3D printer had to be children who could use the 3D printer to help them imagine a new world.
He carried out workshops with children of varying ages and observed them creating using both their hands and the computer. “What struck me is the motivation and persistence kids have when they’re consumed by something they like. It’s really wonderful to witness the discovery – the Aha! moments – on their faces when they figure something out. This is what creativity is all about,” says Tchoukanov.
Spoilt for choice
Tchoukanov then had to decide from the wide array of 3D printing technologies which would best fit with what he was trying to achieve with his 3D desktop printer.
He considered the pros and cons of the various processes from laminating object manufacturing (LOM) and selective laser sintering (SLS) through to stereolithography (SLA), fused deposition modelling (FDM), desktop factory (DTF), Computer Numerical Control (CNC) desktop milling and sub-surface engraving (SSE).
He also looked at the different machines currently on the market from Objet and Zcorp as well as 3DSystems’ Thermojet printer and Stratasys’ Solidscape 3D printer. But really it came down to the material, whether it be a powder, liquid or solid since that is what drives the process.
“The key points I looked for were safety, reusability, recyclabilty and also not requiring post-processing or clean-up,” he comments.
Tchoukanov eventually decided on FDM, a solid-based method that extrudes material, layer-by-layer, to build a 3D model.
The system consists of a build platform, extrusion nozzle and control system. Essentially the thermoplastics are liquefied and deposited by an extrusion head, which follows a tool-path defined by the CAD file. The materials are deposited in layers very finely and the model is built from the bottom up – one layer at a time.
For Tchoukanov this process fitted the bill in terms of material, robustness and simplicity. It also enabled him to create one of the standout features of the design, that of polar coordinate movement. “It makes for less parts, thus less wear, less cost and less complexity,” he explains.
Using this process also meant that the material could be recycled including the support material. “You would be able to break up old prints and put them into the machine again,” he adds.
Taking shape
Having decided on the technology for the Origo, now it was time to design a form that would be inviting to children. Tchoukanov created a variety of concepts in Rhino 3D v5 until he settled on one he liked, which he further refined before creating a few hand made models. The SLA prototype of the Origo was going to be printed at i.materialise, a 3D printing service.
A friend with whom he had done an internship with at Shapeways, the online community and marketplace for personalised production using 3D printing, Joris Peels was now the community manager of i.materialise, and he was able to negotiate a discount.
Like Tchoukanov, Peels is very passionate about 3D printing and saw the potential of his friend’s project. However, although he has since joined Origo working on the marketing and business side of the company, he was initially rather sceptical as to why Tchoukanov wanted to aim his 3D printer specifically at children. But he has since come round to the idea.
“By making 3D printing relevant, reliable, cheap and easy to use for kids the Origo has the potential to put a 3D printer in every home,” explains Peels.
Software for all
What helped change Peels’ mind was 3DTin. One of the barriers to home 3D printers is that users have to know how to 3D model in CAD. No mean feat if you have never used CAD software before and especially if you are ten years old. But 3DTin, created by software engineer Jayesh Salvi currently based in Mumbai, India, is a free, accessible and intuitive 3D modelling tool that runs in a browser.
Simply type 3dtin.com in the address bar and start modelling. There is no installation required, all that is needed is Google Chrome or Firefox with WebGL support. Then through a simple interface a model can be created, which can either be exported to a 3D printer or stored in the cloud.
“It’s very easy and intuitive to use as it lets you build using blocks. By thinking in blocks it also allows people understand concepts such as wall thickness and bounding box and because each of the individual blocks in 3DTin scales to 1.5 cm, when you 3D print it there is a direct relationship between what they see in the browser and reality. This also means you no longer have issues with wall thickness because you simply can’t make thinner things,” explains Peels. “Ultimately it enables people to teach themselves how to design and engineer for 3D printing.”
Peels likens 3DTin to another modelling tool TinkerCAD and the online game Minecraft, which enables users to easily build objects using blocks. “3DTin, TinkerCAD and Minecraft all have much more potential to let people create than existing CAD tools do,” he argues.
“If you’re an experienced 3D modeller or CAD engineer then you’re a true artist with your software. But, even though I think a lot of CAD and 3D modelling can and will get simpler it still takes too long to become that artist. For the millions of people out there that want to create it’s about getting their feet wet quickly with something that will aid them in creation. Tools that let this happen are the ones that will see the greatest adoption.”
Put to the test
Of course these tools are designed for adults but Peels wanted to see what would happen when 3DTin was put in the hands of children. This is exactly what he did at a workshop in June 2011 at the TEDxKids@Brussels, an event where 54 kids, all born in 2000, participated in a series of hands-on technology workshops that introduced them to a range of skills and methods.
Before his workshop, Peels emailed the participants and sent them a link to 3DTin. He instructed them to have a play around using it and create whatever they want.
“I was very impressed that without any instruction, previous knowledge or guidance five out of the initial ten test files we got from the kids could be 3D printed right away,” says Peels.
During the workshop they further worked on their models or created new designs and then exported them straight to i.materialise where a Zcorp as well as an Objet printer were used to print out their designs.
“What impressed me most was their unbridled sense of creation. Unlike adults they are much more able to let their imaginations wander and less insecure about their final products,” says Peels.
“Adults also assume that kids always want to make toys with the Origo. But, in speaking and working with them I saw that they were above all interested in things to decorate their rooms and fashion accessories. I also got several questions on how to make 3D printed custom headphone covers. This seemed more important to them than toys. Kids only play with toys because that’s what we let them play with,” he adds.
Just Origo it
With the Origo, the intention is that kids will be able to design an object on their home computer or tablet using 3DTin and then export the design directly to the Origo sitting on the desktop. Or, if other software has been used, they can simply drag and drop the file into the Origo USB folder or right click to ‘Origo it’. The Origo software will then convert it into an STL file. “We do anticipate having shrink wrapping software to handle any broken files but the software will be simple and not offer advanced file fixing,” explains Peels.
With his end of year degree show looming, Tchoukanov set about creating the final prototype. Having created the larger parts at i.materialise using SLA, the rest were either created using an EDEN Objet printer or milled from high density polyurethane foam using a CNC machine, both of which were located at the institute. “For the electronic bits I used Arduino [an open-source electronics prototyping platform] and off the shelf micro servos,“ he says. “All in all it involved many late nights sanding and painting.”
Having launched the Origo at his degree show on 31 May 2011 in Umea, Sweden, Tchoukanov and Peels also created a website with a video demonstrating how the Origo could work. The video and homepage is pitched to their target audience – ten year olds – explaining that the Origo ‘will be as easy to use as an Xbox or Wii and will be as big as three Xbox 360s and as expensive as three Xbox 360s. I will sit on your desk and quietly build your ideas, drawings and dreams’.
But since launch it’s not the kids but the adults who have shown the most interest. “People are very enthusiastic and I’ve spent days answering emails from people who want to buy an Origo now. A lot of adults are also interested which is nice but we really are making the Origo for kids,” says Peels.
The electronics that will go within the Origo prototype
Future focus
But there is still a long way to go until the Origo can be put into the hands of a ten year old. Currently the pair are working on reducing the complexity of the user interface and also improving the FDM technology. “3D printers are mainly complicated because they break all the time. The main challenge for us will be to engineer it in such a way as to increase reliability to such a degree that will not be a problem for the kids using the machine,” says Peels.
“The fact that we are designing and engineering the device for ten year olds actually aids us in working towards this challenge. By being forced to reduce complexity to a degree so that kids can comfortably operate the machine unsupervised we hope to be forced to make the right choices that lead us to reliability as well as ease of use.”
They are currently talking to investors with the hope of taking Origo towards manufacture in around 17 months. “We need to still produce a working production ready prototype, do lots of testing and obtain certification for our materials and device. Since we want this to be used by kids certification and testing will be the major hurdles for us,” explains Peels.
Ultimately the pair hope that by exposing 3D printing to kids at such a young age it will be the technology they grow up with and the technology that will help them build a better world. “I know this sounds horribly sappy and I’m usually such a cynic but I’ve read all I can, researched all I can and I believe that truly, honestly, without a doubt in my mind 3D printing will be a world changing technology,” claims Peels. “Maybe I’m naive about this but I do think that layer by layer we are 3D printing a better world.”
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Aviation
21 October 2011
Process type: Design
Stephen Holmes has his head in the clouds as he discovers what’s in the air
A motorcycle balloon, for George White motorcycle sales group
Full of hot air
Graceful, colourful, and occasionally down-right strange, hot air balloons come in all sorts of designs.
Andy Marshall, design engineer at Shropshire-based Lindstrand Hot Air Balloons, has been responsible for some of the most eyecatching, ranging from your more common teardrop shapes to dogs, dragons and, er, rolled up newspapers.
The majority of the “special shapes” as they are delicately described, are marketing devices. For George White, a motorcycle Stephen Holmes has his head in the clouds as he discovers what’s in the air sales group, you couldn’t get more eyecatching than a giant bike and rider popping a wheelie several hundred feet up in the air.
Initial ideas and sketches from the client are transformed into an AutoCAD wireframe that quickly gives the overall shape of the balloon. The Lifting Volume (LV) is the key component carrying the structural load of the basket, deflation system and the surface through which air is distributed to inflate the appendages.
It is then masked by first tier appendages - in this design the rider, fairing and bike swing arm - these in turn lead into second tier and third tier appendages. Each panel is drawn in 3D, before being mapped in AutoCAD into a 2D component. These are separated into batches of coloured components and given a unique part code and number.
The result is miles of panel profiles, over 5,500 in this case, manipulated to fit 1.5m wide roles of fabric. Appliquéd artwork is cut and pinned to panels before being sewn into position panel by panel.
To keep the shape of the balloon, structural assembly requires intricate ‘formers’ to be built into the design, constructed and sewn to the internal surface. Flat structures require the most to counteract ‘bulges’ that air pressure brings.
The seat and tyres of the bike have highly complex inner structures, while naturally curving shapes like the rider’s body, and helmet require very little as the shape naturally lends itself to the task.
Cold inflation tests are used, first on parts of the balloon to assess the large structures, before a full inflation is used for rigging installation, checking of artwork, and any troubleshooting.
Finally all that is left is to hop in the basket and take to the skies.
Sunny skies
The team from Solar Impulse has designed an aircraft powered solely by solar energy, able to fly during the day and at night.
The HBSIA
The project is promoted by Bertrand Piccard, the man who co-piloted the first balloon to circle the world non-stop. The Swiss-based team is hoping that following on from this initial prototype – the HBSIA
– its next craft will similarly be able to circumnavigate the globe in under 25 days.
The design is a single-seat craft with a wingspan of 63.4 metres, made as light as possible using a custom carbon fibre honeycomb sandwich. To the massive wings, four 10hp motors are attached that draw their power from a set of lithium polymer batteries.
11,628 photovoltaic cells on the upper wing surface and the horizontal stabiliser generate electricity throughout the day, both propelling the plane and charging the batteries to allow flight at night. This theoretically allows the plane to stay in the air indefinitely, with a top speed of 70Kph.
The project was designed in 3D using CATIA to create a complete 3D digital model of the aircraft. This included the position of the cockpit and the ergonomics for the pilot; and to help optimise the aerodynamics of the craft.
Everything down to the smallest bolts was managed using Enovia SmarTeam to help direct the project and the vast amounts of parts needed.
Flight of the phoenix
Although Britain’s long history of pioneering aircraft has faded in recent decades, Swift Aircraft is looking to resurrect British aviation with cutting-edge technology.
The Swift range
Its goal is to develop a series of composite aerobatic training aircraft that can be used by flight training schools, the military as well as the general aviation market.
“The Swift range of aircraft has been designed using an advanced suite of aerodynamics calculations that create a framework onto which the aircraft styling can be overlaid,” says Swift’s design manager Sam Dickinson. “There is little point in designing a beautiful aircraft if it won’t fly!”
This software-based solution outputs a large number of key design criteria that is fed into Pro/Engineer as a Pro/Program driven skeleton model. The skeleton models are then added to, with elements of styling and mechanical geometry to “flesh out” the design.
Once the primary aerodynamic shapes have been developed they are exported into ANSYS/Fluent for CFD analysis, while the mechanical design continues concurrently.
Although not yet at the stages of manufacture, the 3D models have already proved useful as a means of marketing the aircraft, using renders to show off the aerodynamics and styling.
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Seed Pod
14 October 2011
Process type: Design
Taking its roots from a Royal Botanical Gardens project, the Seed Pod allows gardeners to store seeds for years – saving money and contributing to the protection of plant species
The Seed Pod
Interior design
Seeds are put into the central part of the pod, while the crystals in the surrounding compartment remove any moisture, preserving them better in the cool environment.
Groovy
The product is designed to allow better use of the space, meaning it is stackable for easy storage and sealed to prevent any contamination.
Design
Following lots of sketching, Rhino 3D was used to develop the main form and for playing with surfaces.
Once a form had been developed, it was exported into SolidWorks where the finer details were developed such as wall thicknesses and screw threads.
Prototyping
Various foam and rapid prototyped models were made to test ergonomics and to make sure the inner compartment where the seeds are kept was large enough for fingers to reach in.
Designer
The work of Aaron Colfer, a recent graduate from the University of West England, Bristol, he’s hoping to take it to market in the near future http://tinyurl.com/D3Dseedpod.
Image
Aesthetically it doesn’t look like a typical gardening product, while it’s size also allows it to fit nicely into a domestic fridge without making it look like a potting shed.
The science
An insurance policy against the extinction of plants in the wild by storing seeds for future use in large underground frozen vaults, the MSB preserves the world’s largest collection of seeds.
Saving beans
The product makes use of technology used on an industrial scale at the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) at the Royal Botanical Gardens for home use.
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Cream of the crop
10 October 2011
Process types: Collaborate, Design and Manufacture
Simba’s new cultivator and seed drill not only perform better than competitor products but look better too. Tanya Weaver tracks how Haughton Design helped Simba add a touch of style to its new machines
The life of a product design consultancy is certainly one of variety.
The new disc cultivator underwent field testing before it was officially launched in January 2010
A number of projects are taking place simultaneously all at different stages. And, whereas traditionally product designers were just involved in the physical design of products, nowadays the service they offer can involve research, branding, engineering design, project management, as well as liaising with suppliers and manufacturers on behalf of the client. Additionally, projects can encompass all or just some of the stages involved in design and development.
Haughton Design, based in Stafford, UK, is no different. It gets involved in a wide range of projects from a window lock or golf putter through to fittings for an induction welding system and a subsea vessel signal monitor.
Although offering a full design and development service from concept design through to manufacturing support, clients can dip in and out of the Haughton Design service offering depending on the project - whether it be a product refresh, a design rescue, help on the mechanical design side or a full product development.
Managing director, David Mills, whose background lies in mechanical design having worked in the automotive, aerospace and advanced manufacturing industries, set up Haughton Design back in 1995.
Although initially offering mechanical engineering support he has since grown the company to provide far more. “By having an engineering background, as we’ve grown we’ve been able to offer more styling and integrate it to provide a complete design development service from concept to manufacture,” he explains.
Like many consultancies, Haughton Design has concentrated on getting the job done rather than shouting about what it can offer clients. But with a newly revamped website, recent ISO 9001 accreditation and new marketing strategy, the consultancy is starting to become more vocal.
One way of doing this has been to send emails to prospective companies about its product development service. One such email arrived in Adrian Hartley’s inbox at just the right time.
Farm out
Adrian Hartley is the chief engineer at Simba, a manufacturer of agricultural machinery based in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, UK.
At the time, Simba’s agreement with a German manufacturer to sell its range of products only applied in the UK. To give export potential, Simba decided to create its own cultivator.
However, as the new TL300 machine was to compete with up to a dozen similar machines on the market, it not only had to perform better but look better too.
“We evaluated the German manufacturer’s machine as well as those from other manufacturers and came up with our own brief, which I then did initial machine layouts for,” recalls Hartley.
“Our chairman at the time said that we should look at having a more stylish appearance to our products. Fortunately I had just received an email shot from Haughton Design so I got in touch.” During the initial meeting with Hartley, Haughton Design came to understand exactly what was required for this product refresh project.
Essentially, the brief was to create a fresh aesthetic for the line of tine cultivators in order to make them stand out from the competition and help strengthen the brand. “Our intention was to look at the historic branding, modernise it and strengthen that corporate identity,” says Lee Smith, Haughton Design’s head of design.
“Adrian had explained that they would like a streamlined, flowing look to the design which gave the impression of speed and efficiency. The idea being that potential buyers would get the impression that it was a fast working machine. The styling should also give it a greater perceived value - it needed to look more expensive than the previous product,” he adds.
Helping hand
Having previously worked closely with the West Midlands regional branch of the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS), a government funded agency providing support to manufacturers, Haughton Design suggested to Hartley that he enquire about funding.
So, Simba approached MAS East Midlands and was given a grant to cover the costs of half the project. “I didn’t even realise there were initiatives like this available to manufacturers,” admits Hartley.
With just eight weeks to deliver the new design, Smith kicked off the design process by producing a variety of concept sketches. With Hartley having provided him with the Autodesk Inventor files of the machine layout, he had a framework to work within. “Typically we produce a lot of broad brush outline sketches by hand,” explains Smith.
“We show those to the client and they either pick their favourite concept for further development in 3D or it can be a pick ‘n mix of the different features they like.” The next stage is refining the chosen concept and it’s at this point that they get into SolidWorks.
He then went about manipulating and adapting the form of Hartley’s existing mechanical design. “We couldn’t deviate too far from what Adrian already had - the challenge was to still embrace the functionality that he had come up with but introduce these forms that give it a more streamlined look. For instance, the bow shape we created gives it a sense of tension,” explains Smith.
Track record
As Haughton Design has vast experience in design for manufacture it ensured that the styling features would be feasible to create and cost effective to manufacture.
“Our experience in similar industries and our background in mechanical engineering has helped us on this project because we could have a sensible conversation with Adrian about the different ways of manufacturing this rather than just dreaming up fancy shapes,” says Smith.
“We were able to change some areas to make it more cost effective and were talking constantly with Adrian throughout the project, the idea that if we did that from the start, we knew that our nice sketch would carry all the way through to final manufacture,” he adds.
Haughton Design produced a number of CAD renderings, which Hartley then presented to Simba’s board of directors and sales team. This was a crucial stage as Hartley had encountered some negativity from colleagues at the start of the project.
In order to help them visualise it even more clearly, one of Smith’s renderings featured a photograph of an existing cultivator with the new cultivator rendered over the top of it to show what it might look like out in the field churning the soil. “They were very impressed,” smiles Hartley.
However, the project was very much a team effort with Hartley providing input all the way through. This helps knock a lot of the risk out and ensures a successful outcome as the client knows what to expect.
“When companies place orders for design there is that anxiety of not knowing you are going to get for what you paid for,” comments Smith.
“What we have done is introduce client checkpoints spread evenly throughout the design process to try to reduce the risk of the client not liking what is produced at the end. But to be honest that never actually happens because the client is always involved all the way through. The client is part of the design team.”
Lost in translation
Once Hartley had approved the design, Smith sent him the SolidWorks STEP files. Although you would think this would be a fairly straightforward transfer of data with Hartley adapting the new styling lines back into Inventor, it was not.
In fact, Hartley had to redraw everything because of the different file types. “It’s like most of the CAD systems - there is no true data transfer from what I’ve found,” he comments. “The problem is that you lose originality of data.”
As a result, he had to create a new sketch on a flat plane and then copy and paste Haughton Design’s 3D model into it.
Mills wishes there was an easier way to transfer data between CAD systems as he claims it would save Haughton Design a fortune. “It’s a big problem to us because as a consultancy we don’t know who is going to appear at the door with an enquiry and we have so many different CAD packages that we have to consider it’s almost impossible,” he says.
Smith adds, “Also designers get used to one package and if they have to hop around on different packages they aren’t going to be as efficient.”
Simba then produced two prototypes of the TL300 stubble cultivator, which were used for field testing. Following these trials throughout 2009, a few slight changes were made to enhance performance and bring costs down.
In January 2010 the product was successfully launched with customers commenting on its new appearance. “For us it was interesting how you could add form to the easily formable parts that were either square or rectangular before.
It just shows that visual appearance of products is becoming ever more critical,” says Hartley. “Since this project we’ve taken a lot of the styling cues, especially the curves, from this machine and carried them over to products that we have done since.
So there will be a family resemblance as we refresh more of our range.”
Time is of the essence
In December 2010 Simba once again called on Haughton Design for an extremely quick turn around project.
Earlier in the year, Simba had been bought by Great Plains, a US agricultural implement manufacturing company based in Kansas, resulting in Simba being rebranded as Simba Great Plains.
In September 2010, the design teams in Kansas, US, and Lincolnshire, UK, embarked on their first joint project since the acquisition - a cultivating seed drill.
The aim was to launch a prototype of this new machine at Cereals 2011, a major agricultural event taking place in the UK in June 2011.
By December 2010 the teams had created the mechanical design for the 6m wide machine.
However, they decided that they needed some styling input for the 4,100 litre hopper, which holds the seeds at the top of the machine.
This is the largest visual element of the machine measuring 1.5m wide x 3m long x 2.5m tall. “People didn’t expect us to have anything on our Cereals 2011 show stand so soon after the acquisition, that was the driver through all of last year and the main push was that Haughton Design had such a short timescale to actually get their styling work delivered,” says Hartley.
With just three weeks in January 2011 to deliver final renderings of the design it meant all hands on deck.
“Everybody had an input in the design - all the guys at Haughton as well as the guys at Simba in the UK and Great Plains in the US,” says Hartley. “But we had the confidence in Haughton Design subsequent to the initial project we did in 2008.”
All Hartley provided Haughton Design with were the dimensions of the rectangular hopper and gave them free reign on the design.
“Again we were applying this streamlined, flowing design – giving the idea of it being fast and efficient,” says Smith. “What we have ended up with is a design that looks similar to a modern train.”
Once the renderings were approved, Haughton Design provided Simba with the CAD files, which were transferred into Pro/Engineer, the system Simba has moved to since the acquisition. From that data they created the 3D models and the tools were cut directly from those models.
Hartley then flew over to the US in March 2011 to see the machine 75 per cent assembled and the first time he saw the styling panels was when the assembled machine arrived at Simba’s Sleaford factory in Lincolnshire in May 2011.
Show stopper
In the nick of time the prototype of the Centurion seed drill was launched at Cereals 2011 and was very well received, according to Hartley.
Many visitors to the stand commented on its visual appearance. “If we hadn’t done it and gone down the road of having a rectangular box I don’t think it would have been as well received.
Our machine both performs better and looks better than the competitors,” comments Hartley.
With a recently expanded manufacturing facility at its Sleaford site, Simba Great Plains will initially produce the 4m and 6m wide versions there with 3m and 8m versions following in 2012.
Although Hartley admits that an investment in design has been worthwhile for Simba not all companies are like Simba and willing to employ the services of a design consultancy. “Sometimes companies look at involving a third party like us as a cost rather than an investment.
It’s difficult to measure how much effect that has had on the company from a cash point of view,” says Mills. “Like with Simba, an investment in design generates demand and provides a real advantage over the competition.
We are keen to explain that to people and make them more open minded about what design can do.”
A good grilling
Simba was eligible for part funding from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS), a government funded organisation, for the development of its TL300 disc cultivator.
However, as Simba’s chief engineer Adrian Hartley says, he wasn’t aware that there was funding available to manufacturers such as themselves for new product development.
MAS West Midlands (MAS-WM) is especially active in this area and for a number of years has implemented a New Product Development (NPD) Programme helping over 50 companies in the region bring their ideas to market.
A product idea will initially be assessed by the NPD Panel and if they think it is viable and can be commercialised it will go through the programme.
This structured gateway process consists of six development stages and gates all defined to mitigate the high risks inherent in NPD.
As well as the 50 per cent match funding, MAS-WM will also offer support by introducing the company to various suppliers and experts who could help bring the product to market.
“We’ll work with a firm, whether that be a large organisation or a lone inventor, on the initial concept and identify what assistance they need and then bring in the best people to deliver that,” says Roy Pulley, innovation team leader at MAS-WM.
One great success story has been the Grillstream, an addition to any regular barbecue that prevents flare ups and smoke.
The technology works through double ‘u’ shaped grills that uses the science behind surface tension to capture and channel oil and fats away from the heat source and into a fat catcher on the barbecue.
The two founders originally took their idea to the Dragon’s Den. Although rejected it went through MASWM’s NPD programme and is now highly successful.
As well as funding they were introduced to key suppliers such Roson Engineering (tooling), Regent Engineering (presswork) and Ellison Coating Systems. “Grillstream is a great example of how the NPD Programme works.
The duo had a simple yet outstanding idea to solve an everyday problem and we helped them to access CAD facilities for prototyping and more recently supported them on securing patents,” says Pulley.
Launched in 2009 Grillstream has since gone on to secure license agreements and also diversified its product range, now offering a ‘360 Replacement Grill’ for charcoal kettle BBQs.
The MAS-WM NPD Programme is a great model offering comprehensive product development support.
As Pulley says, it’s more than money, it’s about coaching and mentoring. However, in 2012 things are going to change as MAS will no longer have regional branches but the hope is that, considering its track record, it will be rolled out nationally.
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Theme park rides
15 September 2011
Process type: Design
From a white knuckle ride to a gentle canter, Stephen Holmes discovers how 3D technology is being used in the design of two very different theme park experiences
Theme park predator
Settling down into the seat of a roller coaster is, depending on your disposition for such pastimes, either a sensation of great excitement or terror.
The Cheetah Hunt ride in Bush Gardens
At the forefront of some of the most renowned ‘coasters in the theme park heartland of Florida is Mark Rose, VP of design and engineering at Busch Gardens and its sister parks that include the aquatic-themed SeaWorld.
Part safari park, part theme park, Busch Gardens has recently unveiled its newest attraction: Cheetah Hunt, a steel launched roller coaster that merrily zips and twists to give the rider a sensation of speed close to that of Earth’s fastest land mammal.
A ‘coaster design usually takes between three and ten years of development - Cheetah Hunt was completed in a mere 18 months. However, the concept actually came over half a decade ago having watched the speeder bikes in Star Wars.
At seven acres it has the largest footprint of all the rides at Busch Gardens, taking riders past some of the park’s premiere wildlife enclosures – something that threw up design challenges. “We wanted to add an animal component,” states Rose.
“As our design process continued it morphed from a close-to-the-ground ‘coaster into a cheetah-themed one because we wanted to expand the realm of where the ‘coaster would be, the gift shop and our food stands.”
Remembering that this is a commercial enterprise is important, but so is the impact on the rest of the park. Using a series of weather balloons to simulate the track position and height, photos were taken from all angles and the track was superimposed on to them. Adjustments could be made to keep it out of sight if needed by adjusting height or simply planting a strategic tree.
The track layout was done initially in sketches and AutoCAD. Fifty iterations were taken before it became very detailed, moving the track fractions of an inch to increase smoothness and to ease out excessive forces. The layout was then perfected using proprietary software programs to calculate speeds and forces, as well as rider simulation.
The distinctive Cheetah passenger trains were the final part: sketched out before being carved by hand from foam to create the mould for the final fibreglass carts. Finally, the spots were applied before unleashing the ride into its new habitat!
You spin me right round…
There’s something of the fairy tale about an ancient carousel decked out with prancing horses, extravagant paintwork, and a twinkling soundtrack. Far from being the extinct ride of yesteryear, carousels still draw crowds of excited children and adults alike and there’s a need for new rides to be built.
Allure of the Seas Carousel
Without abandoning the traditional wooden manufacturing of old, Ohio’s Carousel Works is the only company in the world that carves and paints wooden carousels by hand.
While most companies rely on mass manufactured fibreglass or steel components Carousel Works is reviving a tradition while using modern design tools to make it viable.
“Each carousel manufactured by Carousel Works is a completely custom job,” says company co-founder Art Ritchie.
“Autodesk Inventor software unlocks my imagination and makes it easy for me to create designs that have never been built before, and then share my vision with the customer. Letting the customer see exactly what the finished product will look like brings everyone peace of mind.”
3D design tools provide a critical role in designing the structural framework of the carousel, as well as the mechanical systems that power it. Autodesk Mudbox provides a digital sculpting environment that assists in the creation of the hand-carved animal figures, some of them as much as seven-feet tall.
All manner of horses, birds, sealife, insects and a selection of panda bears can be chosen to act as seating figures, while the team will go as far as possible to help create a unique ride.
The rides are also to be found in places not normally associated with traditional fairground fodder. For instance, Carousel Works’ projects can be found ploughing across oceans on board Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines ships, amongst the real animals in zoos and in some of America’s parks and visitor attractions.
Maintaining the traditional appearance and feel of the wood the carousels retain some of the magic that should see them pleasing generations for years to come.
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Red Alert
14 September 2011
Process type: Design
Tanya Weaver recently jetted off to Maranello, Italy, for the Ferrari World Design Contest 2011 where she also managed to get a tour of Ferrari’s vast facility
It’s not everyday that you get the opportunity to have a sneak peek into the inner workings of a legendary sports car manufacturer.
The Ferrari 458 Italia was recently named by Auto Express as the ‘Performance Car of the Year 2011’
But this July Ferrari opened the gates of its Maranello headquarters in Italy to honour the winners of the Ferrari World Design Contest 2011.
Although we were steered well away from the more secretive areas such as the clay model shop and anything related to the design of its Formula One cars, it did provide an insight into how this celebrated sports car manufacturer designs and produces its cars.
Officially founded in 1947, Ferrari has produced some of the world’s most iconic cars that most of us can only ever dream of owning. And it’s still on the same site where the entire process for both the GT and F1 cars takes place, apart from the production of the GT chassis and bodywork which happens at a facility in nearby Modena. The site is vast, occupying a total surface area of 551,519m2.
When entering the ‘New Mechanical Machining Area’ building, where Ferrari’s 8 and 12-cylinder engine components are made, the first thing that strikes you is how the machine tools are regularly interspersed with green foliage. This is all part of Formula Uoma, a major renovation programme introduced by Ferrari in 1997 that focuses on providing employees with a stimulating, attractive, safe and ecological working environment.
It obviously paid off with the Financial Times recently naming Ferrari as one of the ‘100 Best Places to Work in Europe’. The ‘New Assembly Line’ building, which is another light filled space, opened in 2008 and is where the V8 and V12 cars are assembled.
It features a carousel system, produced by Italian robot manufacturer Comau, which moves each car’s body along, sometimes even overhead, through a series of workstations until it emerges as a fully assembled car at the other end.
The bodywork enters the system with a trolley alongside it containing all the components needed for that specific vehicle. It stops at each workstation for 20 minutes with each one ergonomically designed and height adjustable to suit the individual needs of the workers. Although a great deal is done by hand there is also some automation such as a rather nifty robot that fits the windscreens onto the cars.
Styling the future
Round the corner is the Product Development Centre building, which houses a number of offices including the design office.
It is here where the Ferraris of the future are styled. The designers here often work very closely with the Italian car design firm Pininfarina, which has partnered Ferrari in the styling of its cars for six decades.
Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari’s design director, admits that although being a Ferrari designer is a great job it’s also extremely challenging to create “dreams and masterpieces of the future.”
As his colleague Andrea Militello, Ferrari’s exterior designer, puts it: “It is a difficult balance because on the one hand it has to be undeniably a Ferrari but at the same time it has to be something completely new and shouldn’t look like something that has already been done. It’s very, very complicated.”
The design process always starts with sketching. For Manzoni, the ability to capture ideas, dreams and emotions with pen and paper is fundamental in automotive design.
“Our relationship with Autodesk is very important. They can offer the software and the tools to transform these sketches into something real. But no software, no computer could ever replace the hand,” says Militello.
Once the surface has been created in Alias, the data is used to mill a full size clay model. According to Manzoni, although being able to model a car in 3D reduces the development time they wouldn’t rely solely on virtual prototyping.
“Despite the huge evolution of these kind of tools it’s really difficult to evaluate the proportions of a model in just a virtual envioronment. It needs the physical delivery,” says Manzoni who estimates that a minimum of one clay model is made per month.
Manzoni does hint that Ferrari is looking to use virtual reality in the design process. This basically entails using a projector to beam a life-like 3D holographic model into a room that floats a few feet in the air enabling the designers to walk around it scrutinising both the design of the interior and exterior, much as they would a clay model. “This would be the best but we will have to wait a little bit for this,” he smiles.
For now, changes to the models are made manually on the clay model. A laser scanner is then used to capture the data, which is then checked and updated on the computer. As the model evolves, the engineers, who use ICEM Surf, and the designers start working more closely together.
Although not based in the same office, they are constantly interacting and collaborating with one another as input from the engineers may impact certain styling elements of the exterior. “I think this is one of the few companies where this collaboration works best.
The technicians understand our request of selling emotions and dreams and we understand their request of achieving technological excellence in aerodynamics and lightweight designs. It works very well,” says Militello.
Additionally, with a wind tunnel onsite aerodynamic testing on the model can be carried out there together with Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) carried out on the computer. “As soon as we get a new form in 3D our aerodynamic experts can start testing it immediately,” explains Manzoni.
Talent show
Although Ferrari has launched a string of successful GT and sports cars in the past few years, including the California, 458 Italia and the Ferrari Four, what will future Ferraris look like? One way of forecasting what the future may hold is to see what ideas future automotive designers are thinking about. This was one of the reasons behind the Ferrari Design Contest. “Why students?
We believe in young people - some brilliant ideas come out of students. An idea could become a cue for a new design,” says Manzoni, who instigated the contest a year and a half ago.
The competition was launched in collaboration with Ferrari’s technology partner Autodesk and challenged transportation students from 50 international schools and universities to use the latest technologies and materials to create a Ferrari of the future.
“We gave the students a very precise brief asking them to imagine and design a hyper car for the third millennium,” says Manzoni. “It had to be hyper light, hyper fast, hyper technological and hyper ecological. But the car not only had to be very fast and include new technology it also had to be in line with our brand.”
It’s not surprising that over 200 projects were submitted when the prize up for grabs for the students in first and second place would be an internship at Ferrari.
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The jury whittled the projects down to just seven schools: Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Turin and Barcelona; IAAD – Turin; College for Creative Studies – Detroit; DSK International Design School – Pune; Jiangnan University – China; Hongik University – South Korea; and the Royal College of Art (RCA) - London. Each of these schools submitted three concepts, which included 3D models created in Alias and 1:4 scale physical models.
So, at a rather glitzy awards ceremony at Ferrari HQ in July it was three students from Hongik University who walked away as the grand prize winners for their Eternita concept. The judges felt that this concept provided the best interpretation of the design brief and the most innovative use of future technology.
Features include light-layered carbon surfaces, a physical fl ywheel energy storage system, a superconductive motor and a hydrogen generator.
Second prize went to IED of Turin and third to the RCA. A further two prizes were also awarded – the Autodesk Design Award went to Hongik University for their innovative use of Alias design software and the ‘Most Unexpected Technological Solution’ award was presented to Jiangnan University.
Ferrari’s chairman, Luca di Montezemolo, closed off the ceremony by saying how Ferrari likes to get involved in initiatives such as this in order to keep its windows open to the world.
“I saw first hand the many genuinely innovative ideas that these talented youngsters sent us and could feel the enormous passion and commitment that had gone into them. I am certain that some of these suggestions will come to light in the Ferraris of the future.”
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Making Waves
12 September 2011
Process type: Design
Boat manufacturer Ribeye selects Phase Vision as metrology supplier for its latest state-of-the-art aluminium hull craft
The historic town of Dartmouth in the UK has a long maritime history, being the last staging post of the Pilgrim Fathers en route to the New World.
Ribeye’s Deep V hulls were designed to cope with the UK’s choppy seas so have excellent handling capabilities
Today the town is home to one of the world’s leading high-tech rigid inflatable boat builders. Ribeye has successfully married the tradition and craftsmanship of boat building with the latest materials, construction techniques and global supplychain management processes.
“The luxury boat industry has faced a number of challenges during the recent economic downturn. Customers continue to demand high-performance, top quality products, but at increasingly competitive
price points,” says Ribeye founder and CEO, Charles Chivers.
“The lightweight and rigid construction aluminium hulls on our latest generation of rigid inflatable boats enable excellent performance in terms of both top speed and durability. To offer this performance at
a competitive price point we have engaged manufacturing partners in Asia where the hull skins are now produced before being finally assembled and quality inspected in the UK.”
Tradition meets technology
The design process for Ribeye’s next generation boats involves a combination of both CAD and manually crafted scale mock-ups.
A single Phase Vision Quartz 800 scanner is used to capture and reverse engineer mock-ups, which are suspended from a gantry to allow 360 degree access.
Several scans are required to capture each hull. Phase Vision’s proprietary GemAlign software then automatically stitches the scans together ready for export into Polyworks for back-end processing.
Cross-section slices of the hull are created, which Ribeye can then transfer electronically to its Asian manufacturing partner to define the tooling for the metal forming process.
“Getting to market with the latest designs in time for show season is critical to us. Curved surfaces and complex shapes make hulls incredibly difficult to measure, with certain critical features having a significant impact on performance,” comments Ribeye’s sales director, John Wood.
“As a partner of Yamaha Engines it is critical for us to ensure that our boats not only look good, but also offer best-in-class performance on the water. The reverse engineering process has been a bottleneck in the past, both in terms of the time it takes to measure a hull and the limited resolution of data supplied back.
Phase Vision solved both these issues for us allowing our designs to be transferred to manufacture ahead of schedule for next season’s product launch.”
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Lightweight champion
05 September 2011
Process type:
Tanya Weaver heads into Worcestershire,UK, to the floor care brand famed for its orange tubs and finds a company with a lean yet very agile design team. Here she tracks the development of its super lightweight yet high performing vacuum, the Air
Vax is a recognisable floor care brand to many Brits who immediately associate it with the iconic orange Vax-101 tub from 1980s.
Although the company’s heritage is in wet-dry carpet washers, today it’s the number one floor care brand in the UK by volume with around 100 appliances that sit within 11 ranges from upright and cylinder vacuums, carpet washers through to steam cleaners. From April 2010 to April 2011 it sold in excess of 1.1 million units.
Each component of the Air had to be scrutinised piece by piece in order to reduce weight but still maintain structural strength.
Vax is still based in Droitwich in the West Midlands where it was founded in 1979. There are nearly 200 employees onsite and although, like many other UK brands, production has moved overseas, Vax still considers itself very much a British company with all design and engineering taking place in the UK.
Given its output you would immediately assume that the design team is rather large, but in fact the exact opposite is true. “Considering the number of products we launch, the design team is smaller than you’d think,” says Mohammed Irfan, Vax’s design manager.
However, the reason the company is able to produce products at such a rate is down to the way the team is structured. Each designer takes complete ownership of a project and sees it through from concept to production. “But we don’t work in isolation.
Each of our multidisciplinary designers will have their particular key strengths, which we then pull into the projects at various phases in the development cycle. It means that we can have a very lean team and a lot more throughput,” adds Irfan.
Making light work
A project that Irfan had responsibility for from beginning to end was the Air. Launched in late 2009, this multi-cyclonic upright vacuum, with the air power of a full size machine, has all the features of a conventional vacuum but, as its name suggests, comes in a slimline and compact package.
It weighs in at 4.9kgs and compared to a machine of similar size, about 5.5kgs has been stripped out of it without compromising performance or durability. Like all of Vax’s premium lines, it has a six year guarantee and, since its launch, has been a great success story for the company, now spearheading the ‘Air’ product range. “It was a very challenging project and I’m really proud of it,” smiles Irfan.
The idea for Air came from listening to the customer, something that Vax pays a great deal of attention to as customer feedback often feeds directly into new designs. “There was a very clear need in the market - people wanted a lightweight machine that could do the job of a full size one,” says Gavin Burnham, senior designer at Vax.
However, vacuums are big for a reason as they house big motors and various features and functions. “Saying you want to make something lightweight is great to put down in a brief but the challenge was to still have full capacity and, most importantly, full performance,” he adds.
Getting hands dirty
Knowing what the various specifications and requirements were for this upright vacuum, the project kicked off in the workshop where a rough card model was put together using existing components from old machines. “One of the things that we do very early on is to get into the workshop, get our hands dirty and build some things together. This helps us to see what works, what doesn’t and what ideas we can come up with,” comments Irfan.
So, with a bin taken from an old machine, a motor housing from somewhere else, a handle from a recent model and some cardboard, a rough spatial model is built up. It was also at this very early stage that Irfan realised that instead of using a heavy, bulky floorhead he had the opportunity to use an existing lightweight prototype that had been sitting on the shelf for sometime without being used.
“With these early models, you can wrap card around them, pull them apart, scribble on them, you can get people involved and all of a sudden they become a really interesting focal point to generate ideas and develop to the next level,” he says.
The next step was to create a functioning breadboard model to see whether the technology could all work together. Each of the components would be looked at individually later on in the development process but, for now, Irfan concentrated on the technology. Drawing on previous experience together with trial and error, a number of models were built up and tested until the team got something they were happy could meet the brief.
Simultaneously, sketches were being created in order to design the visual brand language. “We wanted this machine to look cool, to look sexy. Well, cool and sexy for a vacuum cleaner…,” laughs Irfan. The sketches were brought into Pro/Engineer and the CAD built over the top of them in order to start creating the layout. This process of working simultaneously in the workshop, in sketch and in CAD carried on throughout the project. “Sometimes we find that the CAD side of things highlights something and we have to go back to the workshop or vice versa,” adds Irfan.
One engineering challenge that only surfaced once a number of prototypes had been built was the design of the yoke. This single piece component at the bottom of the machine pivots the main body from the floorhead and has the main air hose and wiring for the electronics going through it.
“The biggest challenge was how do we make this manufacturable as well as functional and strong and lightweight because at the end of the day it also has to be tooled effectively and efficiently,” explains Irfan.
In the early drop tests this pivot mechanism actually broke and resulted in the whole machine failing. Members of the design and R&D teams were pulled in to work on it. “It was very challenging. The CAD gave me a massive headache,” says Burnham, whose speciality in the team is his proficiency of Pro/E.
“First of all it’s coming up with an initial shape in CAD that firstly, looks as though it may work within the space available and, secondly, has some chance of being tooled. We knew we wanted to keep it as one component because splitting it in two would reduce the strength. So, once we got the initial shape, we then had to look at where the air path could go and how to get additional strength underneath by putting ribs in. It took a while,” he adds.
Weighty issue
As with the yoke, each component of the Air had to be scrutinised piece by piece in order to get the weight down but still ensure that the machine could uphold the six year guarantee. This proved to be a massive balancing act for Irfan who had countless spreadsheets with information regarding weight.
“It was literally down to the gram, and different configurations meant we had to do things in different ways. So saving a few grams in one area may have a knock on effect on another,” he explains. “We really had to analyse everything throughout the entire process up to how it would be manufactured and assembled and then play all these scenarios out. It was quite involved.”
There were ways in which weight could be reduced from various components. For instance, the handle has an open lattice structure, to reduce the amount of plastic. Other components also feature holes, gaps and recesses but only in areas where it doesn’t affect the structural strength.
Material matters
Another means of weight saving was for components to perform multiple functions as this lessened the number of fasteners and fixings needed. As well as considering the weight of different materials, the way in which they would be painted and finished also had to be taken into account as paint adds weight too.
“Every component and every material that we chose also had to be understood from an aesthetic point of view just to make sure we get the right colour matches and the right quality of finish,” comments Irfan.
With the Air taking shape and the aesthetics having been further refined, a full-scale block model was prototyped. This was outsourced to a company in China who used CNC to create the model out of painted ABS and clear PMMA, which was then polished for optical clarity. Although Irfan did look at companies in the UK, no one could meet them on time or cost.
The impressive block model helped to really sell the Air into the business and although the design did evolve subsequently, at the time it captured everything that they wanted and helped build some excitement around the product.
The next stage in the development was the detailed design phase where individual components were analysed and tested before a fully functioning model could be developed. Together with computational fluid dynamics and structural analysis, prototypes of the components were also built and physically tested. This involved a constant process of building, testing and refining.
Once Irfan and his team were happy, the CAD files were sent over to the manufacturing partner in China, with whom they have worked for many years. However, it isn’t a case of just handing the files over to them, there is constant communication between the design engineers at the factory and the designers in Droitwich to ensure that the design is completely to Vax’s requirements.
“During the detailed design phase we have daily conversations with the factory engineers to make sure that we have complete control and ownership of the product,” stresses Irfan.
Once the tooling has been completed, off-tool sample parts and fully assembled machines are then vigorously tested for performance and reliability before committing to mass production. With access to extensive testing facilities tests are carried out on individual parts and full machines in cycles numbering into many thousands.
“We have a huge number of test protocols that we have to pass. We intentionally break everything that comes off tools to see exactly where our potential issues are and then for the next three to four months we are working on ensuring that these are eliminated from the final product “ says Irfan.
In the meantime, the final CAD data is also being used to create photo-realistic product images, which helps to create a buzz around the product before it even emerges from the assembly line. These renderings, created in KeyShot, are used for the product packaging and marketing material including brochures, posters and press releases.
Clean sweep
In a little over a year from the start of the project, Air was officially launched in October 2009. It received great reviews from the press as well as customers who liked its powerful, lightweight design at a price that was competitive. The next product in the range – Air Reach with extended hose and cable length – came directly from customer feedback and features a total cleaning reach of 15 metres. Since then the Air Pet and the bigger Air Force have followed.
The latest in the range – Air Cylinder – was launched during July 2011 in conjunction with a new marketing campaign. As well as a redesigned logo, Vax has updated its tagline to ‘Performance is everything’, relating to the company’s focus on product design, production and customer care.
Having come a long way from the company that only produced orange tubs, Vax continues to innovate with Irfan hinting that there are some very interesting things currently in development. “One thing is to not be complacent – we’ve done a lot and we’ve come along way. We have to continue to develop and learn.”
www.vax.co.uk
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The future needs you!
25 August 2011
Process type: Design
Trade organisation, British Design Innovation, is on a recruitment drive for industrial designers. Tanya Weaver reports on what’s on offer for new members
Industrial designers are often accused of not shouting loudly enough about what they do. They while away their time under mountains of project work in their consultancy studios or within in-house teams with no one really realising what it is they do.
But you only need to read the articles written in this magazine to see how an investment in design can positively impact a company’s bottom line. Strategic design can be used as a competitive advantage to reduce costs, increase profits and lead to growth.
One organisation that aims to shout loudly on behalf of industrial designers, service designers and innovation professionals is British Design Innovation (BDI). Founded in 1993, BDI is an independent not-for-profit organisation financed by its members and managed by 30 regional board directors.
In January the BDI’s chief executive Maxine Horne, who had been at the helm for 17 years, stepped down to pursue her new business venture, Creative Barcode.
Following her departure, the board, led by Gus Desbarats as chairman, restructured the management around a more active board, supported by a small management team, who then proceeded with a major change programme.
All change
Following these changes, Desbarats, who is also chairman of design consultancy TheAlloy, is calling out for new members to join. “We are the only national trade body to specifically support the contribution of industrial and service designers and others in the innovation space. BDI wants new members to lead the British vanguard,” he says.
A platform that enabled the BDI to reach out to industrial designers was the inaugral Product Design and Innovation (PD+I) conference, which recently took place in London.
In the BDI session - ‘Raising the Profile of Product Design’ - Desbarats, together with two fellow BDI directors, highlighted the need for a stronger voice for industrial and service design in the UK and to promote the role the BDI is playing to raise the profile and perceived value of all designers in this space.
Desbarats stressed that although industrial designers are a minority by number compared to other designers, they are very influential.
“While the industrial design sector represents only 20 per cent of the UK’s £15 billion commercial design industry, it generates 80 per cent of its value,” he explained.
Product vs industrial design
He was also clear that the organisation is representing industrial design as opposed to product design as he feels the latter is too narrowing. He argues that industrial design is a more broadly-based strategic offer.
Its skills set extends beyond traditional object creation skills to include, amongst other things, innovation strategy, ethnographic research skills, brand narrative, software design, service system design, implementation feasibility, specification and sourcing.
He went on to discuss the BDI 2011 Change Plan outlining how the organisation intends to expand the profile, status and influence of its members and promote better knowledge trading opportunities to the wider world.
For the industrial design consultancy sector, BDI’s core audience, there is a new and enhanced package of promotional benefits, service delivery improvements and a revised fee structure, which will be frozen for two years. In addition, two new membership categories have been created that benefit in-house industrial design teams and other individuals.
Desbarats also emphasised that the BDI national board has no intention of turning into a cosy closed shop. “For the first time we have a constitution that clearly states that the national board will serve limited terms and be elected by the members. There will be a three-year term limit (maximum two terms) for national directors,” he stated.
In practice
Following Desbarats, Les Stokes founding partner of LA Design and national director for BDI, talked about the ELGA LabWater’s PURELAB flex project (below) whilst Steve May-Russell, managing director of Smallfry and West Midlands regional director of BDI, presented a case study on the Metrasens FerroGuard metal detection system demonstrating how strategic design enabled the client to significantly reduce manufacturing costs and increase turnover.
“This project clearly demonstrates what industrial designers can do. We can help the manufacturing industry get back on its feet,” said May-Russell. “People have woken up to the strategic importance of using industrial design and its not just slapping lipstick on a pig.”
He urged new members to join saying, “The BDI is a collaborative network of fired up, supportive strategic thinkers. I think it’s time that we recognise that no one of us is as good as all of us, we have far more to gain from working together.”
Desbarats drew the session to a close with a final recruitment pitch. “This is a call to every product, interaction and service designer in the country, and anyone who wants to work with us, to join our community and help us help you all.
We also want to invite anyone keen to engage with industrial designers to cocreate great experience-led innovation to get in touch too,” he concluded.
The difference industrial design can make
As part of the BDI session at the Product Design and Innovation conference Les Stokes, founding partner of design consultancy LA Design and national director of the BDI, took to the stage to present the ELGA PURELAB flex case study.
It was a cocreation presentation with the client Lee Underwood, head of engineering at ELGA LabWater Global Operations.
The pair demonstrated how a highly successful collaboration not only creates commercial advantage but can also change the culture of a manufacturing company and its attitude towards industrial design.
Flex is the world’s first standalone ultrapure water system, small enough to fit on every scientist’s bench. It provides local and accurate measured dispensing, eliminating transportation from a central source and eradicating contamination, spillage and water waste by overfilling.
Stokes and Underwood explained how the flex project was driven by commercial necessity and required significant research and innovation to develop a strong brand. This included the product platform, user manuals, packaging and digital video promotional material.
The results have disrupted the market, increased sales and elevated ELGA’s status as a manufacturing organisation within the Veolia Water group of companies.
“Previously, ELGA had viewed external industrial design input as a cosmetic enhancement for tried and tested solutions - the company now embraces design and innovation as an essential strategic business tool,” commented Stokes.
There were a number of conclusions that arose from the project. Firstly, entrenched company attitudes, which included a fear of external input, can rapidly change into a positive, well motivated force for change when successful results are properly communicated throughout the organisation.
Secondly, design can be much more than a method for ‘papering over the cracks,’ when strategic thinking is paired with a ‘product champion’, in this case Underwood. “Risk taking can be highly successful with the right partnership,” concluded Stokes.
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At sea
22 August 2011
Process type: Design
Stephen Holmes slaps on the sunscreen, puts his sailor cap on and dons his shades to see what innovations are taking place on the water
Star of the sea
There are superyachts, and then there are superyachts; and even with our limited knowledge we can tell that the Adastra falls into the latter category.
The Adastra
Looking like something normally assigned the tag ‘concept idea’, this 42.5m trimaran with more than a hint of sci-fi spacecraft about it, is currently being built in China for a very lucky (and we assume
rather wealthy) owner.
The result of more than five years of design, it is the outstanding work of Sussex-based John Shuttleworth Yacht Designs.
“The challenge of turning this concept into a viable luxury yacht has led us to further research and to develop new thinking on stability and comfort at sea for this type of craft,” explains owner John Shuttleworth.
“We have undertaken a state-of-the-art structural analysis of all the major components in the yacht in order to achieve the light weight required for very low fuel consumption. This has resulted in a exceptional vessel that is nearing completion in China.”
The Adastra offers comfortable accommodation for nine guests and up to six crew members. Almost every part of the craft is custom built: the superstructure is carbon fibre with Nomex honeycomb core, the hull is a glass and kevlar foam sandwich and the interior features oak cabinetry using honeycomb panels. Carbon fibre hatches, portlights, ladders and even hinges, are all built specifically for the vessel.
Siemens NX design software was used throughout the whole design process, including conceptual design, hull fairing and detailing, structural design, interior design and superstructure and deck gear design and detailing.
Working in 3D allowed Shuttleworth to integrate all the different phases of the design process, from conceptual design to detail drafting. It also enabled the designers to model the complex free-form surface shapes that characterise the deck superstructures, as well as more prismatic engineering forms such as structural components and deck gear.
With a maximum speed of 22.5 knots and a range of 4,000 miles at 17 knots, this multi-hulled monster is using structural design technology and aerodynamics to create the future of luxurious long range cruising.
Sea traveller
Sixty five years on from when it first started making dinghy fittings, British-based firm Lewmar is producing innovative equipment for modern seacraft, including its new HTX Traveller range. A traveller is a rope that controls the sails of the boat. It is fixed to the deck by sliding onto a metal track that uses a ball race system.
Traditionally the balls can escape from this system when the track is removed. However, the new HTX Traveller encloses the ball race system while adding an additional top ball race to aid efficiency.
Updating the traditional design meant adjustments to its initial 2D AutoCAD drawings. Having explored various ideas through sketching the design was moved into Pro/Engineer Wildfire.
The model was put through load testing in Pro/Mechanica before further physical prototype tests.
“First, a 100 per cent SLS rapid prototype was produced from initial design concepts, which was hand finished and painted for concept approval,” says Lewmar designer Mathew Tibbenham.
“The next unit was half rapid prototyped, half machined from solid aluminium; this was used for more functional testing.
“The first production batch was actually made using several vacuum castings while we waited for permanent injection moulding tools to be made, before finally going to full production.” Using such 3D design methods allowed the design team to see what impact the traveller would have on the overall control system.
The end result is a product capable of handle bigger loads but utilising a small number of parts and so reducing costs.
High rolling on the high seas
Specialist Marine Interiors (SMI), a company of boat builders that focuses on designing luxurious living spaces for life at sea, usually remotely designs and manufactures the interiors from its base in Whangarei, New Zealand, to be delivered to a foreign port where they are installed.
The interior of MY Black Pearl
However its latest project, the 31.5m MY Black Pearl, was literally on its doorstep in the city’s harbour. SMI’s interiors are designed and manufactured in tandem with the yacht’s hull and structure, resulting in faster construction times.
The crafty Kiwis have also pioneered a technique of completely isolating the interiors from any of the yacht’s mechanical structure. “Using a multitude of fastening techniques and products any part of our interior is easily removed, allowing unplanned maintenance to be carried out behind our interiors without damaging any of our work,” says SMI’s design manager Scott Moyse.
Using a 3D model of the ship’s structure provided by the shipyard a parametric structural envelope is created using Autodesk Inventor with all of the ship’s systems accounted for during this process. This forms the rough floors, walls and ceilings of the interior space.
From this the furniture designers can construct their designs, and with it being a parametric design any changes in the structure of the boat result in the furniture being modified automatically.
With the superyacht industry being rather small, most of its technology is drawn from other industries: SMI’s entire polishing process uses equipment and materials originally developed for the automotive
industry; while certain yachts require lightweight materials for which the materials have their roots in the aerospace and motorsport industries.
The final product is a bespoke living quarters for you, your family and the vessel’s crew ready for your next champagne-spraying extravagance.
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The big grunt
27 July 2011
Process types: Design and Manufacture
With a bellowing, gravel-spitting fury a rally car immediately sucks in anyone with a hint of petrol in their blood. Stephen Holmes travels to Prodrive’s Oxfordshire facility to see how the MINI has been transformed into the ultimate rallying machine
The FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) is for the hardcore motorsport fan. It pits cars and drivers in a series of two, three or four day races that take place not only over asphalt but over the snow and ice of Sweden, or the baking sands of Jordan’s desert.
The MINI WRC is powered by a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder Di turbo-charged engine
The cars competing at the top level of the sport are based on four-cylinder two-litre production models. But while they may look like your average high street car, these small hatchbacks are refitted to take on every dip, camber and roll. Regardless of the road surface they can accelerate from a standing start to 100kph in around three seconds.
New direction
With nearly 27 years of experience in all types of motorsport, it’s rallying that is really at Prodrive’s heart. This race engineering company has 100 international rally wins and six World Rally Championships under its belt thanks to its previous work with Subaru.
However, despite these successes, Subaru cars were retired from the sport by the manufacturer. So, following an inevitable downsizing at Prodrive, the new business plan was to find a manufacturer that would be willing to have its hatchbacks converted into rally cars that could be sold to enthusiasts around the world. With this as the basic idea, Prodrive set about designing 3D models of potential cars.
“We started off with a ‘generic car’ that we built as much parameterisation into as we could,” says Prodrive chief design engineer Paul Doe, standing by the open bonnet of one of the first customer MINIs to roll out of its facility in Banbury, Oxfordshire. “It had to be as table-driven as it could, so from the top level we could switch between MINI and ‘Car B’ and ‘Car C’.”
Having a parametric model to work with was not new, but the need to have a 3D model that could slip between the dimensions of several possible cars using Excel data sheet tabulations was an invaluable tool at the development stage.
Having touted its wares to several possible manufacturers it became clear that BMW’s MINI was the pick of the bunch, with the German manufacturer keen to reciprocate the idea with its new Clubman model.
“This was the first car that was done 100 per cent virtually,” says Doe, appreciating that MINI gave them all its CAD data straight from the beginning, something that most manufacturers wouldn’t dream of.
Number crunching
A rally car is built up around data and calculations. “If you did some sort of flow chart of what information you need to start off with it’s amazing,” says Doe. As he explains, the front edge of where the cushion of the rear seat is sets where the roll cage can be. Then the main hoop of the roll cage sets where the driver can be. This then helps set where the controls will be. Lastly, with the controls in place the configuration of the braking system can be assessed.
“This can mean completely different solutions for the cars based on slight adjustments of data,” adds Doe.
Working through the design of over 3,000 components, the overwhelming majority not to be found on your standard MINI Clubman, Prodrive opted for a top-down ‘tree-style’ approach to the design process. “We set up a lot of primary data and then pass that down to the assemblies below.
“We’re a much smaller unit [than when working with Subaru] and are very coherent in how we’re doing things,” explains Doe. “Where you have the engine and the gearbox - two major streams of work - the main skeleton at the top is driving all of that and it’s that which says where the engine is and where the gearbox is.”
“Because those tables are managed in PLM it allowed decent visibility for everyone as to what we were doing and how we were going to do it, and it made sure everyone was doing things in the same kind of way.”
Utilising PTC’s Windchill PLM system to run and organise the project helped keep everything in line and on schedule. “I would never want to be without it now, it’s another piece of technology that we’ve adopted for this project from the beginning, and it’s been another success,” says Doe.
“We’ve had a master model of the car, so everyone’s working off the same model and nobody’s overwriting anyone else’s work because it’s all controlled.”
As the team had more time to work on the car they were able to run FEA analysis through HyperWorks on the designs before they were signed off for manufacture. “We have 12 load cases. They’re not real events, they’re generic events: a single wheel bump case with over 10G, then we see the effects, then we add that load case plus going through a corner, and then a pure cornering,” says calculations engineer Jonathan Culwick.
“I don’t think you could find an event or stage and say ‘there it is - those are the conditions we’ve modelled’. What I think you could do is say that these provide a ‘window’ where the car operates, and we protect the car in that ‘window’.”
At your service
One thing that sets rallying apart from other forms of motorsport is the need to be able to service just about everything on them in 20-30 minutes (a full gearbox can be replaced in little more than five minutes), with the only parts not allowed to be changed being the body shell and engine.
“It’s not just a case of making the car fast and cheap and all these things, but you’ve got to make it maintainable, which is where physical mock ups come in,” says Doe.
BMW sent the team a bodyshell and Prodrive installed a secondhand engine to transform it into a physical mock-up for hands-on testing using the CAD model as guidance. “You can do it virtually, but if you want to optimise everything you can’t escape a physical mock-up,” states Doe.
Under the bonnet the rally model is barely related to its road-going cousin: a giant turbo is bolted onto the engine to raise 300bhp, its dry-sump engine is much lower and further back in the bay, new ancillaries, manifolds, cooling systems , suspension turrets and stiffness braces are all positioned precisely for weight distribution and ease of access .
Rapid prototyping meant that parts for the mock-up engine bays could all be printed off and physically positioned well before the real mechanics had even arrived from the factory.
“We could have three or four different set ups and print the parts on the rapid prototyping machine, bolt them to the engine and build it up as an active engine bay and [the technicians] could start to spot problems,” says Doe. “We’d ask them to come and look at the CAD but they’d prefer to be touching, holding: ‘does the tool articulation fit?’ and all of those things.”
A giant drawer full of parts prototyped on the team’s Dimension SST1200es printer from its UK supplier Laser Lines is testament to how many iterations the team went through.
The race is on
With the MINI now successfully through its development stage, BMW increased its deal with Prodrive to include an official MINI WRC Team entry into the World Rally Championships for 2011. “We all wanted there to be a factory rally team because it’s what creates the visibility and it really boosts the project,” says Doe.
The amount of work that goes into each of the eight factory and 20 customer cars is incredible, preparing each bodyshell takes hundreds of hours alone. To speed this up Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM) became a new buzz term around the workshops, and thanks to initial testing, the parts built through the FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) technology were deemed strong enough to go straight into the cars.
With only eight factory team cars, the air duct covers, grills and breakers are all built up on the Dimension machine saving the time and cost of expensive tooling and moulding. For Doe and the rest of the team it proved a short term solution that ended up being reliable enough to run with for real.
“Sometimes it’d be ‘we need something to go in here’ but it wasn’t really possible to get something made, so we’d model something up on the CAD and fire one off on the machine, in some cases in just a couple of hours, and have it fitted in the same night,” explains Doe.
“You can make a design that’s completely ‘unmanufacturable’ by normal methods, or at least not practically ‘manufacturable’. Instead of making it in five carbon pieces and then bonding them together, resulting in five patterns and moulds, we just design it and send it to the printer and it’s there and it works.”
Mainly the parts sent to the printer are those that don’t carry loads. The cars have a lot of rugged components, but also have a lot of parts that have no real stress on them that still need to be made somehow.
“A lot of the time we can’t justify not using it, which is odd!” states Doe. “We’re reaching a point of machine capacity now - there’s not often that the machine is sat idle, even though we’re fully through the prototyping phase. Now the machine is being utilised more than it was during the development phase.
“We have jobs that finish in the middle of the night and we’ve got 24 hour security, so we’ve trained all the guys on security how to swap the [printer build] plates over because it’s easy. You can send a print job over at 10pm from home, see that it’s finished and call up the guys and ask them to swap it over, and send through the next job so the next morning it’s finished.”
This has grown to the extent that the car now has a full parts list that is solely built on its Dimension printer.
New lease of life
As we step away from examining the printer in the midst of another job, the two factory team cars are wheeled into the workshop fresh from competition in the Sardinian leg of the WRC. At well over £300,000 each, these are specialist race bred machines with a fine pedigree coming from Prodrive, yet with an exciting future in the WRC thanks to the groundbreaking way in which the team is using the latest materials and technologies in their design.
www.minimotorsport.com
www.prodrive.com
A range of 3D printed parts within the MINI WRC
Airfilter
The lower ‘trumpet’ section on the huge airfilter was originally built as a feasibility mock-up part, with an eye to make it work for physical testing. “We did another model a bit thicker as we weren’t too sure how durable the material was, and that ran for the first two physical tests: it never went wrong, never cracked and we were impressed by that,” comments Prodrive chief design engineer Paul Doe.
Scuttlebox
This is like an airfilter for the passenger ventilation. Within it is a labyrinthine passage way to restrict any rainwater or other bits of debris from coming into the car. The complex nature meant it could be built as a single piece rather than five carbon fibre parts, with the extra expense that five sets of moulding would cost.
Rear arch extender
The motorsport governing body took a dislike to the MINI’s rear wheel arch: designed with an open rear to drag out hot air to help cool the rear brakes, they judged it illegal on the first of two days of examination.
Lips were printed off overnight stuck in place so, on the inspector’s return the following day, it was there and passed on the spot.
Bonnet air grill/vent shields
Only a few hours before the official launch of the cars to the world, BMW required a styling adjustment - a grill over the bonnet vent. A last minute print off done just in time, which was later amended for strength.
Computer screen holder
Customisable for height for each driver, this tray holds the information screen linked to the car’s ‘brain’. Drivers want it where they can see it and engineers want it low down for weight distribution - the printable case helps find the perfect compromise.
Speedometer/rev counter
Specially designed to be a product straight off the Dimension printer it consists of a large LCD display for showing gear/revs and it’s internal wiring components.
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Long haul seating tooled in short haul time
19 July 2011
Process type:
By using CAM technology, one enterprising firm is aiding the aviation industry to cut costs
Using CAM to help make production of aircraft seating more lightweight
The volatile nature of fuel prices has forced the aerospace industry to make weight reduction a high priority – leading to tooling for lightweight materials being a must.
Start up company DeltaCAD, based in Devon, has taken the initiative, providing a leading aerospace firm with aluminium tooling for carbon composite seat shells to be used on major civil airlines.
Reducing the weight of aircraft seating it significantly reduces overall aviation fuel consumption and CO2 emissions throughout the operational lifetime of the aircraft, with every kilogram of weight contributing to the running costs of an aircraft to the carrier.
The original CAD model was provided by the customer as a Unigraphics NX file with the part analysis and tool design performed using VISI Modelling from Vero Software.
“VISI is very tolerant of non-native data,” explains Dean Challis, DeltaCAD’s founder. “Often when models are originally designed, the manufacturing requirements are not always known. To make a part manufacturable it is vital to interact with the data and make the relevant changes.
These particular components were modified to remove some undercut areas and apply blend radii on sharp edges. Blending is typically a complex task, it often being necessary to explode a model into surfaces and manually apply the CAD modifications.
“VISI is very strong at switching between a solid and surface environment and this allows us to make complex changes where other CAD systems often fall over,” states Challis.
VISI is used to explode the model to help blend radii on sharp edges
All toolpaths for manufacture were programmed using VISI Machining and the aluminium tooling was milled using XYZ 1060 high speed vertical machining centres running Siemens 840D ShopMill Control, with WNT solid carbide end mills that have been specifically designed for cutting softer materials such as aluminium.
The geometry of the tooling makes it possible to cut full slots to 1.5 x D depth with high feed rates, typically twice that of traditional steel cutting tools - giving the cutters a tolling life of approximately 3,000 hours.
The manufacturers use VISI to accurately predict the actual toolpath cutting time and program accordingly, allowing a set of overnight programs that will run for up to 14 hours.
For all the carbon fibre junkies: the material used was a 2 x 2 twill weave cloth that is pre-impregnated with epoxy resin so that when the tool is brought up to temp (120-140 degrees depending on resin used) the resin cures within approximately 1 hour. The tool is then cooled as quickly as possible and the top half of the tool is removed, exposing the carbon fibre moulding.
The properties of the carbon fibre such as high tensile strength, low weight, and low thermal expansion make it very popular in aerospace industries, as well as in civil engineering, military, and competition sports – meaning such tooling and manufacturing techniques have enormous potential for expansion, and benefits to gain from the CAM software available.
The final tooling ready to accept its carbon fibre
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It’s show time
21 June 2011
Process type: Design
It’s that time of year when design students are gearing up for their final year degree shows. Stephen Holmes scouts out the talent
David McCourt
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee
Stepping back from the point-and-click haste that cameraphone convenience has delivered, the Slow Photography Camera offers an alternate route that plays on traditional photographic principles without losing the digital convenience.
The purpose of the Slow Photography camera is to provide a natural steppingstone between using a mobile phone as a camera before taking the plunge into professional grade digital photography
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design student, David McCourt, has designed a casing for the Apple iPhone 4, one of the top three most used cameras. The idea is to provide a natural stepping-stone between using a cameraphone and professional-grade digital SLR camera.
The Slow Photography Camera has three lenses; fixed focal length, macro and fisheye, all built into a manually operated turret. The user must then carefully compose their shot by looking through the top-down viewfinder and push the shutter release.
“I introduced the concept along with sketch models to some of my contacts, who are fantastic photographers, to gauge their response not only to see if it was a viable product, but to realise where the glitches and issues lay,” says McCourt
“Creating an original design for something that as of two months ago did not exist was quite daunting: how was the camera meant to look? When I first entered the workshop to create the camera, I was heavily influenced by cameras built in the USSR. I have always been fascinated by their tank-like build. I wanted to replicate this effect in my camera as best I could.”
Sketches were built into 3D models with accurate dimensions in SolidWorks before the prototype camera casing was built by hand in the university workshops.
The project is currently in negotiation to be created in a limited number, giving McCourt an exciting platform for his product design skills, and another camera for photographers to lust after.
Molly Anderson
Design Products MA, Royal College of Art
When striving for aesthetic beauty, designers can sometimes lose what is key to the product’s functionality, however in this instance the design finds its appeal in the simplicity of its shape.
Leading on from a larger project about collections, Molly Anderson was inspired to create a cutlery set by tools and in particular a radiator key found in a local hardware shop.
“The hexagonal shape of the handle is something that we are all very familiar with, particularly for handheld products like Allen keys and pencils, providing both grip and comfort,” explains Anderson.
“Development from concept to prototype started from the radiator key as the initial ‘sketch’. It included several rounds of quick model making to get a feeling for form and proportion, combined with sketching to define the details.”
“When I was happy with each of the designs, they were built in 3D CAD software providing greater accuracy and refinement of both the form and surfaces.”
After much sketching the knives, forks and spoons were built in Rhino for the quick iteration of surfaces, before 3D printing was used to make physical models once the objects had been translated into 3D software.
“I think it is great for quick prototyping, the speed and accuracy allows you to verify the real object, as you’re designing it; how it looks and feels, which is very important,” explains Anderson.
For the MA graduate the biggest challenge was getting the feel for the object while using virtual models: “replicating the simplicity and natural form that you create from making objects by hand into the virtual 3D world.”
Anderson’s graduation show (which is taking place from 24th June to 3rd July 2011) will feature several other groups of products. “Of course, the show is only a moment in the process, so there will certainly be more development if I wanted to take anything to market,” she says.
Richard Drummond
MDes Boat Design, University of Coventry
Following a five-month graduate placement at Studio Starkel, in Trieste, Italy, Richard Drummond’s final year project is aimed at sustainability in the yacht industry and particularily how it can be realistically implemented into projects in the near future.
The yacht Aeolus
“With the yacht industry showing signs of recovery, any new design must be tailored to the new economic climate,” says Drummond. “New clients may have never owned a large yacht before, they will be less likely to make large risky investments on unproven technologies and will want more for their money on a tighter budget.”
“Yachts of the future have to take into account the ‘green’ trend that is emerging throughout industrial design and the wider world. They have to be more representative of the owners and their business ideologies. Additionally, they must be at the forefront of future luxury, yet still hold true to the classic ideology of the Superyacht.”
His answer to these design challenges is the Aeolus, a 68m sloop rigged sailing yacht. With particular attention paid to its performance rig, it means that the yacht can be sailed in almost any condition at speed. Meanwhile, 10 tonnes of Lithium Ion batteries allow it to slip silently in and out of port by electric motor.
Exterior styling is based on the proportions of classic hull lines combined with a contemporary glass house superstructure that allows natural light into the upper deck interior and the double height dining room. The interior continues the theme of modern interpretations of classic yacht design, with furniture manufactured out of sustainably luxurious materials.
The project was designed primarily in Alias, with some of the surfacing done in Rhino, with the final rendering giving an impressive view of what the Aeolus would look like at sea.
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Masters of the material world
20 June 2011
Process type: Design
Al Dean takes a trip to Cambridge to visit materials information and selection specialists Granta Design. He discovers a company that’s grown in both breadth of portfolio and mastery of subject
Without materials nothing exists. That is a fact. And certainly when it comes to developing new products, the same is true.
Granta Design’s CES Selector system allows the use of key material properties and performance indices to search and filter materials according to functional needs
But then consider the tools designers and engineers use on a daily basis, particularly the 3D centric systems we concentrate on in DEVELOP3D. Apart from a cursory assignment of material for visualisation purposes, massing studies and simulation, the study and selection of materials rarely gets a look in as part of the digital workflow.
Curious, don’t you think? Granta Design has been at the forefront of digital material selection techniques for over two decades now. For those that studied at one of the hundreds of universities that teach its methods, the names Mike Ashby and David Cebon will be legend. Part of the Cambridge University set, Ashby and Cebon developed a technique called Computer Aided Materials Selection.
This enabled the user to interrogate a database of materials using a combination of cross compared material properties and graphical display techniques, to find the correct material based on a set of selection criteria. Users can filter their selection based on these criteria and apply performance index methods to identify the optimal choice for specific combinations of design objectives.
This Cambridge Engineering Selector methodology (today embodied in the CES Selector software) has become standard fare for many engineering students and its charts will be familiar to many readers I’m sure. The CES Selector application framework soon took off and the pair looked to commercialise their work, founding Granta Design in 1994. Granta Design has since become a powerhouse in materials related technology.
The CES Selector tool broke away from its academic roots and has since grown as an application. The company has also built a reputation and technology that provides the ability to not only select materials, but also for organisations to manage increasingly complex in-house materials data.
The Granta Materials Information (Granta MI) platform provides tools that allow a whole host of different industries to collect their materials information together, rationalising and standardising it. The company is also establishing links with other technology providers in the design and engineering space. There are now live links between Granta MI and Dassault’s Abaqus as well as Pro/Engineer. And, of course, the recently announced project with Autodesk resulting in the Eco Materials Adviser.
Mainstreaming of materials selection
On my first visit to Granta Design’s headquarters in Cambridge in a decade, the burning question was why, after 20 years of educational success and deployment in all manner of aerospace and defence organisations, was the concept of digital materials selection not adopted amongst the mainstream? According to Dave Cebon, Granta’s managing director, the answer is complex. “It’s a lot to do with the users, the size of the company and the user profile,” he says.
“In education, it’s screaming along. It does very well in more innovative consultancies. It does less well in more mainstream engineering because there’s a lot of conservatism built into engineering and the risk averse processes in place. You don’t usually allow the average designer in an aerospace company free rein. You say, ‘This is a set of materials that you’re allowed to use.
They’re approved materials, we’ve already checked them out, we have the numbers, we know how they work. So you can choose from this short list’.” This situation is starting to change. Many organisations that have adopted Granta MI material information management system are now looking at adopting the concept of material selection but to their own inhouse data. “We’re now going full circle,” comments Cebon.
“What we’re finding is that our customers, who have previously been interested in managing that materials data, are now interested in our selection tools to put on top of their own in-house data and make the best decisions. That seems to be the main driver and within that context you get some other interesting dynamics happening within companies. We had one customer that came in and said ‘We spend $6 million a year on raw materials. We want to spend $4 million. Can you help us?’”
This customer had grown by acquisition and found itself with multiple divisions across the globe, each with their own materials specification, suppliers and preferences. Consolidating those discreet efforts into a centralised searchable database will afford them greater purchasing power during procurement and greater control over the whole process.
I was curious to know how this shift in Granta Design’s commercial business opposes the academic roots of CES Selector. “The whole thing has refined a lot,” says Cebon. “We started off with the world of materials and allowed users to select the optimal material from that full set. That’s perfect for education, but not for industry. Industry wants to make the right decisions but using a smaller set of materials.”
Sustainability focus
Of course, today more than ever, you can’t discuss materials without considering sustainability and eco-design. After all, much of the emphasis focuses on the materials used in the design and manufacture of products.
Whether that’s recyclability, the mandated removal of hazardous substances, removing material or switching material to develop ever more light-weight products. Materials are at the core of many sustainability projects.
Granta Design is no newcomer to the sustainability space. Mike Ashby has been working on extending the core materials database to capture environmental factors, not only of the materials but of their associated manufacturing processes too.
This has resulted in the Eco Audit Tool, built into the CES Selector system, which allows the user to consider the environmental impact of a product concept or iteration across the different phases of a product’s lifecycle - material production, manufacture, transport, use and disposal.
Unlike typical Life Cycle Assessment, these rapid calculations are performed in the early stages of design, allowing environmental impact factors to be integrated into the selection process. “ Mike Ashby ran a project in the university to build our first eco database and that would have been over ten years ago,” says Cebon.
“It was a long project and became the back bone of our eco data long before ‘ecostuff’ was fashionable.” I wondered how the focus on these eco tools had affected Granta Design’s day to day work. “An interesting thing was that the selection of materials to minimise environmental impact fits perfectly with our standard selection methodology,” says Cebon. “Normally what you’re trying to do is get some objective, whether that’s mass or cost, which you’re trying to minimise.”
“That’s your objective function. Sometimes, the best way to reduce the energy in your product is to reduce its mass. So, eco-selection doesn’t mean selecting the materials with the lowest embodied energy, it means selecting the material that gives you the lowest mass,” he adds.
However, there are some applications where the objective is embodied energy, such as civil engineering. “The Built Environment is interesting because the embodied energy is very high, but the use of phase energy is also very high and they trade off.
Whereas in an aircraft, you don’t care about the embodied energy because it’s all about the fuel consumption - that’s everything. The vehicle is burning kerosene for 20 hours a day, 356 days a year. That is its dominant primary impact and anything you can do to reduce it is critical,” explains Cebon.
“The thing about eco-selection is that it’s a direct extension of what we’ve been doing. First we do a selection for minimising mass or heat conduction and then we need to add the embodied energy issues and material process to get all of the different phases of the lifecycle.”
Final thoughts
Materials information and selection is an increasingly complex proposition. Take the use of composites. We now need a greater understanding of how materials perform.
Not only in a generic sense, but down to a manufacturing batch-level. This is something that’s becoming increasingly key in industries such as aerospace and defence.
It’s no longer enough to know the general performance characteristics of a composite. There’s a need to track the properties of that material, broken down by manufacturing batch for both the carbon fibre and the resin, often on a per part basis.
Alongside this, the world of compliance and materials legislation means that much of the design and engineering world is going to start dealing with materials information more routinely and to an incredible depth, down to the chemical composition or the CAS numbers of the chemicals used in a material’s production. Then there’s the push towards more sustainable design, which is about making intelligent choices and finding the most appropriate material for the given use case and geography.
When you combine all these factors, it’s clear that materials are really at the heart of what designers and engineers do. And what Granta Design has in its various product offerings, is a rich and unique set of tools that provide the user with insight into possible new materials, offering perhaps a different choice or a greater chance of innovation.
What I find most interesting is that these tools are finally starting to find their way into the 3D tools we use to define the products. It can only benefit everyone who uses them.
www.grantadesign.com
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The Power Plate PowerBike
15 June 2011
Process type: Design
Having brought a revolutionary method of training to our gyms, Power Plate, a glutton for imposing punishment, has released the PowerBike to melt away fat and supersize muscle mass
The Power Plate PowerBike
- The experience: An arse-aching mountain course? The teethchattering cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix? A smooth sprint finish? The adjustable vibration levels help replicate outdoor rides in your front room.
- Shakedown: By adding vibration through the two pedals, intensity is increased and the stretch reflex is prompted. This means that, although the amount of effort put in and calories burned can be increased,
the length of the workout isn’t.
- Materials: The mechanical vibration that produces different forces threw up various engineering challenges and led to extensive material testing in order to dampen unwanted vibration distortions and noise.
- Crank: The unique pedal and crank system delivers more ‘pedal distance’ through mechanical vibration with every revolution, which generates more muscle activity per stroke.
- Aesthetics: “We made sure the design would express speed and acceleration, even on a stationary bike,” says Jelte Tempelaars, Power Plate senior vice president product development. “We wanted it to be innovative, modern, stylish, and design-led but without sacrificing functionality.”
- Design: SolidWorks and Pro/Engineer were used for the design and engineering respectively.
- Prototypes: 3D printing was used early on for design validation and testing of various parts. A 1:6 scale model was then built to get a better feel for the dimensions and overall product before a final 1:1 model was produced using vacuum moulding.
- Ergonomics: “We thoroughly investigated the biomechanics, the materials used, seat position, the q-angle (distance between pedals) in order to build the best stationary bike,” says Jelte Tempelaars, Power Plate senior vice president product development.
- Price: £2,995. You’ll think it’s worthwhile when winter returns.
www.powerplate.com/uk/
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Take Wing
14 June 2011
Process type: Simulate
An established user of CGTech’s Vericut NC verification and simulation software, DutchAero is now also benefiting from Optipath machining optimisation module
DutchAero, an autonomous part of the Italian aerospace company Avio, produces aero engine parts at its 2,000m2 advanced machining facility in Eindhoven.
The NC code for an aero engine impeller gets the Vericut treatment
Manufacturers including GE, Rolls-Royce and Snecma in Italy all rely on DutchAero’s support in both civil and defence projects. “For example, we produce components for the F136 engine for the Lightning II joint strike fighter aircraft. These are fairly significant components with machining cycle times covering multiple shifts,” explains Patrick Delisse, HSM CAM engineer.
In the mid 1990’s DutchAero started to produce more complex aluminium structural parts and so invested in more complicated machine tools. It also installed Vericut NC code verification software from CGTech. “We needed Vericut to provide confirmation of the error free programming of the tool path, to protect both the raw material/component and the machine tool,” says Delisse.
CAD/CAM data comes from the company’s Siemens NX (Unigraphics) software, while Vericut provides an independent verification and simulation that the toolpaths run gouge-free and that the machine’s axes movements do not cause any collision between its structure, the workpiece, fixturing and cutting tool.
Simulation support
Machine simulation is very important for DutchAero and the latest machines installed, a Breton 5-axis turnmill machine and a StarragHeckert STC 5-axis machine, are all modelled in Vericut. CG Tech created the latter, while the machine supplier provided the model for its machine and Delisse added the dynamics.
“We used to do all development in house, but these days we work in close cooperation with suppliers,” says Delisse. “With the functions of a 3-axis it wasn’t too complicated, but for 5-axis it becomes very complicated so we rely on CGTech for simulation support.”
DutchAero’s large Pietro Carnaghi VTL is also modelled in Vericut. As this lathe can change cutting heads from horizontal to vertical, Vericut is able to get the tool in the correct orientation to completely simulate any machining operation it carries out. Tool management software comes from WinTool and the cutting tool assemblies are modelled as accurately as possible for use in Vericut.
Delisse uses Vericut interactively on his PC. “I run Vericut from line to line until it encounters an error, which is modified and stepped to the next error, and so on,” he explains. “Finally, I restart Vericut and run it through again to ensure the code is problem-free. I usually do this overnight so when I come in the following day and the code is all correct, it can then be issued to the shopfloor.”
Optimisation software
DutchAero also uses CGTech’s Optipath machining cycle time optimisation software, which adjusts NC program cutting speeds to make the machining process faster and more efficient. The software works on a simple premise.
Based on the amount of material removed in each segment of the cut, it calculates and inserts improved feed rates where necessary. In areas of light material removal, Optipath speeds feed rates and decreases the feed rates as more material is removed. Without changing the cutting tool trajectory, the updated information is applied to a new tool path.
Cutting down cycle times
Optipath is selectively used and, according to Delisse, judgement calls are made on which parts to run through Optipath.
“Some project parts have been running for a couple of years, even a small reduction in the cycle time provides a worthwhile return as you keep on making that saving,” he says.
“Usually we shave a significant percentage off the machining cycle times. And, it’s not just the time that we save it is also the cutting tools and the reduced stress on the structure of the machine tool. Generally tool life is extended when a NC program has been optimised and more often than not the surface finish is improved.”
www.cgtech.co.uk
www.dutchaero.nl
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The heat is on
08 June 2011
Process types: Design and Manufacture
The Orb has hit the beauty industry. But as Tanya Weaver discovers, looks can certainly be deceiving as beneath its gorgeous exterior lies some very innovative design and advanced heating technology
Although it may look rather beautiful and serene from the outside, the Orb is crammed full of advanced technology, enabling it to perform a rather clever task.
The Orb, draws your attention with its interesting design details including its soft ring of light, sphere shape and laser etched flower pattern
Developed for use in beauty salons and spas, it’s essentially a continuous heat chamber that keeps skincare products such as oils, waxes and muds warm during a beauty treatment. Once removed from its base station, the technology within the product maintains its contents at a constantly warm temperature for up to one hour.
The Orb is the brainchild of husband and wife team Jane Scrivner and Kevin McWilliams. Having worked in the skincare and therapy industry for many years including running her own salon in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Scrivner spotted a definite gap in the market. “It came out of a very simple idea that a lot of beauty treatments are improved by applying warm products to the body. But the reality is that the way products are being warmed and kept warm is not very good or technically safe,” she explains.
Current methods involve placing a vessel containing the skincare product either inside a bowl of hot water, propping it on a radiator or placing it inside a hot towel cabinet. However, as soon as the vessel is picked up, the temperature of the product within immediately starts to cool down. The process of having to keep it warm becomes distracting for both the therapist and client.
So, the idea was to invent a way of keeping the product safely warm for the average treatment duration of one hour. Being an engineer with a background in heating technology, McWilliams had created a rough egg-shaped prototype out of polystyrene. Armed with this and their business plan, which was based around launching a series of novel appliances aimed at the beauty industry over a five-year period, the couple began looking for investment.
They managed to secure £120,000 from the University of Warwick Science Park’s Minerva Business Angel Network and Midven, the West Midland’s specialist venture capital company. Aside from funding, the network also introduced the pair to the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) West Midlands, which provided further support through its New Product Development programme.
Helping hand
One area of support was to put them in touch with the Coventry-based product design consultancy Smallfry, which would be able to help turn their vision for the Orb (at the time they called it Facepot) into a manufacturable product. Although Scrivner was very clear that she wanted a beautiful, reliable, safe, continuous, practical and portable product, she didn’t quite know what it should look like.
Smallfry believes that in order to design successful products you must walk in your client’s shoes to help understand both the overt and latent needs of the target user. So, the Smallfry team went over to Scrivner’s salon to experience a treatment and appreciate firsthand the problems she was having both from a therapist’s and a client’s point of view. “It was quite pleasant actually having all these hot oils and muds applied to your skin,” laughs Steve May-Russell, Smallfry’s managing director.
It became obvious to the designers that, with no specific means to keep the skincare products warm, the therapist was frequently distracted. They all agreed that the experience was definitely made less relaxing because of it. “When on the table just in a towel, you are feeling pretty vulnerable and you want to be made to feel at ease. The last thing you want is someone who keeps nipping off all the
time to reheat the oils,” describes May-Russell.
Design DNA
Smallfry strongly believes that design can be used as a business tool for commercial success. In order to develop innovative and practical products that sell its team spends a long time with the client at the front end of the design process discussing the market context, the strategy, the brand and other opportunities.
In this case, Smallfry discussed with Scrivner and McWilliams, amongst other things, where the Orb could sit in the marketplace and what the brand objectives were. “So, in a way, at the very beginning you start to prescribe the DNA of this thing that you are going to build,” says May-Russell.
From here a range of concept sketches were created by Smallfry’s team on their Wacom tablets, led by creative consultant Daniel Bartram. These were then worked up in Photoshop and Illustrator and shown to Scrivner and McWilliams. “We call this the ‘Mr Potato Head’ phase. The client picks their favoured concept and the aspects of the other concepts they like and we amalgamate them to create something gorgeous that exceeds their expectations,” explains Bartram.
One of the features that Scrivner and McWilliams were particularly taken with was the wave around the product that helps to enhance its spherical shape. “I was able to add this distinct detail without overpowering the product’s initial purity and beauty,” says Bartram. “This in turn helped with practical challenges of how to keep component split lines to a minimum and also made it more ergonomic as the high sided areas provide a natural and intuitive way to hold the Orb.”
Another feature that they liked was the soft ring of light in the Orb’s base station, which illuminates whenever it is plugged in. “I created the ring of light as a bit of drama,” explains Bartram. “It also adds value to the product and overtly draws your attention to it.”
Turn up the heat
Having created an SLA prototype for aesthetic purposes, the next stage was to look at the heating technology.
Although McWilliams had already sought a manufacturer of electric heating solutions - DBK Technitherm, based in Wales - the dilemma was not only heating the product but retaining that heat. Various ideas were discussed and debated between himself and the Smallfry team and the ‘eureka’ moment came when McWilliams thought of using phase change materials (PCM). “I had been doing some work on that for other projects in SPApliance’s stream of products. I realised that using the PCM together with a heater would give us a solution,” explains McWilliams.
Basically, a PCM is a substance with a high heat of fusion that is capable of storing and releasing large amounts of energy. In this case, as the material changes from a solid to a liquid and then back again, it absorbs a lot of heat during the process. “The best way to think of it is a special way of storing heat. It’s a heat store but it stores a lot more heat than a normal block of material of that size because it has a special phase change capability,” explains McWilliams.
Within the Orb, a disc of PCM (the heat store) is placed between the electric heater and removable product cup. When connected to the base station the electric heater is energised via spring-loaded probes and the heat store absorbs the heat and conducts it to the removable product cup to bring the contents within it to an ideal temperature of 70 to 80 degrees. Typically this takes less than 15 minutes.
During this process, as the heat store absorbs the heat, it changes from a solid into a liquid. When the therapist removes the Orb from the base station, the heat store starts to return to a solid state and in so doing releases its stored latent heat. During this phase change it will continue to conduct heat to the product cup and maintain that ideal temperature for up to an hour.
Meeting of minds
DBK and Smallyfry actually met before DBK started working on its heating element and Smallfry started refining the product. Smallfry always work closely with the manufacturer on its projects and in this instance both Smallfry and McWilliams felt the earlier the designer and manufacturer met in the process, the less problems would be caused further down the line.
“DBK came to our offices and we had a two hour head scratching session with a flip chart and scribbles,” says Bartram. “From there we worked closely with them on the technology and to ensure that the design intent was kept.”
In order to work out how the technology would all fit within the Orb, Bartram brought the design into SolidWorks, a tool he has been using for over 14 years and which he finds especially useful for technically challenging projects such as this. “The breakthrough was creating a core chassis moulding on the inside that all the components clip to,” describes Bartram.
These CAD models went back and forth between himself and DBK to ensure that all the technology could fit within the space. A number of prototypes were also created to prove the technology and were used by DBK to carry out various tests in its labs.
Up to the challenge
Bartram admits that this was a very challenging project. “Every design challenge that you can think of was chucked at it. The Orb not only had to be gorgeous, but also the ergonomics had to be considered and it had to be a comfortable temperature to hold despite all that heat inside,” says Bartram.
May-Russell adds, “The reason why I love this project is because the challenge was all technical. It’s got some belting technology inside but looks so serene outside.”
Certainly the biggest challenge was the colour selection, which according to May-Russell is always a very emotive subject with clients. Scrivner knew that she wanted two colours in the Orb range, one of which had to be white. “But I discovered that there is no such thing as the colour white. There are thousands of different shades of white from blue white to ivory white,” she comments. The other colour they eventually settled on was a dark chocolate brown.
Texture and finish was of course also very important. Although limited to plastics, they soon discovered from speaking to a plastics consultant and drawing inspiration from the car industry, that a great deal can actually be achieved in plastic. The Orb not only features a combination of matt and gloss finishes, it also has a flowery pattern laser etched onto the outside. “This was a very steep learning curve because we not only had to quickly find out what plastic to use but whether it would qualify for global plastics requirements,” says Scrivner.
In amongst all of this McWilliams and Scrivner also had to file for patents. They currently have four patents pending on different aspects of the product.
Final stages
Once the product was finalised, Smallfry sent the CAD files to DBK who then liaised with the toolmakers Mouldtech, which produced the tools and plastic parts at its subsidiary in Portugal. The assembly of the Orb then took place at DBK.
Following a few modifications after the first run, which was colourless and was done for proof of concept purposes, the second run consisted of a few hundred sets. These were used for the launch, which took place at two trade shows earlier this year.
So far interest has been very favourable and Scrivner is hard at work promoting the product and talking to distributors. Meantime, McWilliams confesses that he is keeping out of mischief by concentrating on SPApliance’s remaining product range.
www.spapliance.com
www.smallfry.com
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The Æsir Æ+Y Phone
31 May 2011
Process type: Design
The concept of renowned designer Yves Behar, Æsir’s ‘Æ+Y’ is a mixture of European watchmaking, a smidgen of a Daft Punk robot suit, and some very clinical engineering
- Concept: Behar’s vision for the Æ+Y was to create “the anti-smartphone”, simplified in its functionality to focus on voice and clarity and only allow users to talk or text: “We propose better and long-lasting as our starting criteria”
- Acoustics: The sound chamber within the Æ+Y phone was engineered for superior voice and acoustic performance with crisp clarity.
- Tradition: The phone was engineered to utilise specialised technologies and traditions, many of which are rooted in Europe, resulting in a long-lasting alternative to typical phones that are usually replaced after a few years.
- Materials: Due to the sapphire crystal’s hardness, Swiss watchmaking techniques were used to manufacture the raw crystal into a perfectly clear lens that would mate with the ceramic casing.
- Design: Designed “from the outside in” using Pro/Engineer, it took more than two and a half years to develop and over 7,000 hours of engineering time.
- Price: Get saving, the gold Æ+Y will cost you around £37,000.
- Specialism: Æsir turned to Product Development Technologies (PDT to successfully engineer the phone and its range of unique features and materials.
- Prototype: Using in-house rapid prototyping and CNC techniques, PDT developed a range of highly functional development prototypes for validation.
- Details: The edge-to-edge key alignment and keypad assembly required 20 miniature screws in order to obtain the unique movement of the keys and feel of the key press.
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Reinventing the wheel
26 May 2011
Process types: Design and Manufacture
Lamiflex, a leading composite specialist, utilised the VISI suite of design and manufacturing tools from Vero Software to put a modern spin on the traditional exercise bike
The Lamiflex Group, based in Bergamo, Italy has for over 30 years supported various industries with its high tech composite materials. The company started production in 1976 with the development of rapier ribbons, which were made from composite materials for the textile machinery sector.
With its oversized wheel and carbon fibre frame, Ciclotte certainly breaks the mould of traditional fitness equipment
Through constant research and investment Lamiflex has since expanded into other market sectors, such as aerospace, where it uses a special ‘autoclave polymerisation of composite materials’ process.
Certified by helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, this process produces both stiff and flexible lightweight ducts for ECS systems installed in aircraft or high performance vehicles and machinery used by the military.
Over the years, the group’s technological innovations in production and research have led to its current position as a market leader in the field of technical composite laminates.
Composite materials are, by definition, structures made up of several component materials, typically thermoset resins strengthened with carbon, Kevlar or glass fibres, which provide certain characteristics (usually mechanical) and a matrix that holds the fibres in position. This not only gives protection but also offers other specific characteristics for particular applications.
Laminated composite materials can be produced as sheets of continuous strands of fibre, layered so that each fibre lies in a specific direction. This means that reinforcement is only added where needed so the amounts of material used can be optimised and, as a result, the weight of each product kept to a minimum.
The main purpose behind the development of composite materials is, without a doubt, their high ratio between density and mechanical strength. This gives them performance levels similar to those of metal (or even higher) but at far lighter weights (50% less).
On yer bike
In 2009, Lamiflex were involved in the development of an innovative piece of fitness equipment designed by Italian product designer Luca Schieppati. The Ciclotte exercise bike has an ultra-modern carbon fibre frame, touch screen display and reduced pedal distance to ensure the correct biomechanics throughout the complete leg rotational movement.
The large central wheel forms the cornerstone of the design and is reminiscent of the classic unicycles dating back to the end of the 1800’s. However, due to its cutting edge engineering and design aesthetics, the Ciclotte has become a desirable object in the world of interior design and luxury fitness.
The bike has been designed to faithfully reproduce the dynamics and performance of on-road pedalling. As such it’s ideal for high intensity aerobic training, such as ‘spinning’, especially with the inventive epicycloid crank system.
A dual satellite system that uses four gears with varying cogs in a functional space of only 58mm. By multiplying the number of flywheel rotations - about four flywheel rotations to every pedal rotation - it helps generate a high-intensity magnetic field (from the main wheel). This maximises the resistance level and produces plenty of thighburning resistance.
Follow the leader
The Ciclotte is a follow on from the Ciclò project, an innovative prototype of a single wheel city bike, which is now part of the permanent collection exhibited at the Triennale Design Museum in Milan.
“The concept from Luca Schieppati excited our company and we wanted to help bring the product to life using our vast experience of modern composites,” explains Federico Carrara Castelli, R&D director at Lamiflex and Ciclotte project leader.
At the beginning of 2009, a first aesthetic prototype was produced to test the market feedback before moving onto a fully functional prototype. To guarantee the exact requirements and size of all functional mechanical components, including the carbon-fibre handlebar and saddle, all components were designed in 3D and simulated as a virtual assembly.
This highlighted any potential issues prior to the assembling procedure, which brought over 60 separate components together.
Move to CADCAM
To coincide with the Ciclotte project, Lamiflex also took time to evaluate the software market and invest in a new integrated CADCAM system.
“Previously at Lamiflex, we used a parametric CAD system that we found difficult to use and quite restrictive when working with complex organic surface forms”, explains CAD designer, Marco Perani. “After extensive benchmark testing, we decided to implement VISI from Vero Software as we believed it offered the best balance between performance and price. We are currently running multiple licenses of VISI Modelling and VISI Analysis for Design, and VISI Machining with Compass Technology for 2D through to 5 axis milling.”
“We have used VISI for the design and manufacture of all composite mould parts that were used to build the Ciclotte. With regards to the moulds for the carbon fibre wheel and the handlebar, all of this was achieved in less than 100 hours of CAD work,” adds Carrara.
Lamiflex run several milling machines including two simultaneous 5-axis CNC’s running VISI Machining
Once the moulds were complete (and polished), the fabric and epoxy resin are applied. They are then inserted into a vacuum bag and placed inside the autoclave for the curing process. Once hardened, the parts are then passed through to the CAM department for finish machining.
“At Lamiflex we run several milling machines including two simultaneous 5-axis CNC’s running VISI Machining,” explains Carrara. “For the finish machining of the composite products, the ‘trimming’ method is often used, where the side of the tool is driven along the surface edge.
For additional control, synchronisation curves can be used to control the tool movement in local areas where the potential direction changes are at their most extreme.”
“For the machining of planar holes, the tool is tilted perpendicular to the surface, but when product holes are difficult to reach, an extra tilting of the tool is required in order to avoid collision with the tool holder. When the toolpath is complete, the machine operator is able to virtually walk through the complete program using the kinematic simulator and prove the toolpath is collision-free,” comments Carrara.
Fit the bill
Concluding, Carrara states “Introducing the software has streamlined our manufacturing processes, reduced the potential for error and ultimately increased our productivity. We are a company always looking for innovative, often revolutionary solutions and consider Vero to be an important partner in this philosophy.”
The Ciclotte was officially launched in the UK towards the end of last year to rave reviews. It is available in three versions, full carbon, silver (fibreglass) and steel, for the approximate price of £8,000.
www.vero-software.com
www.lamiflex.it
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Seal the deal
18 May 2011
Process type: Design
Delcam manufacturing software has successfully enabled a small tooling company, Tower Tool, to undertake a major project for Boeing
Tower Tool, a company specialising in moulds for rubber seals, recently completed its largest project – the cargo-door seal for the freight version of the Boeing 777.
The seal for the Boeing 777 was produced by Tower Tool using Delcam software
The seal measures three by three metres square and has a small and variable cross-section. Like many of the company’s projects, the moulds and the associated checking fixture were supplied to Meggitt Polymers and Composites.
“When the Boeing representative visited us, he seemed a little nervous about having a relatively small company responsible for the tooling for such a critical component,” admits Myles Ball, Tower Tool’s managing director.
“He was a lot happier when the first seal was delivered in 18 weeks, six weeks earlier than the norm for a seal of that size. In addition, the seal fitted perfectly and worked first time.”
Tower Tool has specialised in moulds for rubber products, in particular for aerospace seals, since it was founded in 1957 in the centre of Leicester.
The company took its name from the nearby clock tower. It moved to its present site in 1995, where it has bigger and better premises. Meggitt, together with GKN and Trelleborg, are the company’s major customers, but it also undertakes work in other transport sectors and for medical applications.
Sound investment
Unlike many customers who have bought Delcam software after a recommendation from an existing user, Ball first invested in the software in 1998 after speaking to a company that had decided on a cheaper CADCAM package. “The owner told me that he had made a big mistake and that he wished he had paid the extra for the Delcam system,” he remembers. “From that moment, I knew I had to have Delcam software. The demonstration convinced me; the software seemed to be far more intuitive than the other packages I’d seen.”
Ship shape
Comments from a Delcam user were important when new engineering manager, Andy Lowe, arrived at Tower Tool and began using the PowerSHAPE design software.
“I found PowerSHAPE to be very different from the system I had used previously but a sub-contract draughtsman that we used told me it was the best system for tooling design so I stuck with it. Ironically, I became so much more productive once I got used to the different way of working that we didn’t need to subcontract as much of our design work,” says Lowe.
“The flexibility of the software is important to us,” adds Ball. “For some projects, we are supplied with a fully-detailed CAD design of the seal so we use PowerSHAPE just to create the mould.
At the other extreme, we can be sent drawings of two adjacent parts and are told to create something to fill the gap between them so we need to design the seal from scratch. PowerSHAPE also makes it very easy to make checking fixtures from the tool designs.”
A cut above
“The PowerMILL CAM system also gives us many benefits, not least the ability to machine undercuts in three-axis by using special cutters,” he continues. “The flexibility of rubber means that undercuts are far more common in rubber moulds than in those for plastics.”
But for Ball, even more important has been the support that the company has received from Delcam. “Whenever we have any problems, the help-desk staff go out of their way to help us. The regular training days are invaluable in keeping us up to date with developments in the software and the latest design and machining techniques,” he concludes.
www.delcam.com
www.tower-tool.co.uk
Small screen
Korean mouldmaker Young Shin Corporation specialises in the manufacture of plastic moulds for LCD televisions for major brands such as Samsung, Toshiba, Hitachi, Sharp and Panasonic. Four years ago the company implemented eight seats of Delcam’s PowerMILL software in a bid to reduce the delivery times for its moulds and also to cut its manufacturing costs.
Following this successful implementation, further orders took the total to 18 seats of PowerMILL, including two for continuous five-axis machining, plus two seats of Delcam’s feature-based CAM system, FeatureCAM, to generate programs for gun-drilling, and one of the PowerINSPECT inspection software for On-Machine Verification as part of the company’s quality-control procedures.
The use of PowerMILL and the switch to shop-floor machining have led to a significant increase in productivity. Previously, the machine operators would often have to wait for many hours to get NC data from the CAM office. These delays have been eliminated now the operators generate their own programs, so shortening the overall production time.
Furthermore, because the operators are very experienced in the latest machining techniques, they are better placed to decide upon the most appropriate cutting tools for each part of the manufacturing process. As a result, machining efficiency at Young Shin has increased, the quality of the moulds, and of the products manufactured with them, has improved, and production times have been reduced.
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It’s a cover up
17 May 2011
Process type: Design
Stephen Holmes has been taking a look at what’s out there to protect our beloved smartphones and iPads
Print works
Using 3D printing to produce the end product for consumer goods is considered by many to be the future, however Freedom Of Creation (FOC) are well ahead of the game.
“When producing everything with 3D printing and designing it all in 3D, we are able to bring products to the market that are aimed to the mass of niches rather than mass markets,” exclaims founder of FOC Janne Kyttanen.
“We can create products with different features for every mobile device regardless if they are high movers or not. Thus, contrary to other companies who only target the high moving devices such as the iPhone or Blackberry, we can target them all.”
The company, based in Amsterdam, produces an inspiring range of products ranging from lampshades to wall coverings, seating to jewellery. 3D printing is at the core of everything.
The phone and tablet cases come in a variety of different patterns and weaves, mostly designed by Kyttanen himself.
At FOC sketching is a thing of the past - everything goes straight into 3D CAD and then straight into 3D printing to make the development cycles extremely fast.
The biggest challenge with this process is quality. Producing 100,000 units of the same, but slightly customised products and not getting any returns.
So is computer-aided simulation something FOC relies heavily on? “No,” is Kyttanen’s frank reply. “I have a good gut feeling, which I have developed over the last 10 years, so testing on the computer is not needed anymore.
“I just look at the product on the screen and I know how it comes out of the machine. Pretty much like a good painter sees his painting in his minds’ eye, before it is finished. I can visualise complex engineering assemblies in 3D with relative ease.”
Everything is as much a work of art as it is a highly functioning product.
www.freedomofcreation.com
Patterned protector
A problem with cases is that they can often hide the beautifully designed product that you’re trying to protect, so a minimal approach is often a welcome one.
The Jbare Design iPad Wrap allows the beauty of the hardware underneath to shine through, and involves no opening or closing.
“I knew I would be getting [an iPad] so I began to think about protecting the thing,” says Jeff Bare, the man behind Jbare Design. “I decided a minimal wrap that covered the corners and kept the iPad from
resting directly on its aluminium back would be ideal.”
Protecting the surfaces with minimal bulk (it adds only 4mm extra in width), the sides remain open so when handling the iPad it is protected, but your hands only feel the bare iPad.
Bare sketched out a variety of designs by hand, incorporating core feature sets, such as magnets for on the fridge, kickstands, handles and hooks.
Playing around with these in Photoshop and Sketchbook Pro on the iPad, patterns were then drawn up in Adobe Illustrator before moving into 3D and SolidWorks, including its rendering program Photoview 360.
Then came the clever part: Having used 3D printing to produce prototypes to prove the fit of the case, the same method could be used to allow custom, on-demand designs. “3D printing was a vital role in the development of the iPad Wrap,” explains Bare. “Online 3D printing fabricators Shapeways has a great service, which I used exclusively for this project.
“3D printing made getting the fit perfect, to trying out different patterns on the back easy. Being able to continually iterate this product and push updates to customers instantly is an incredible power.
“’Iterate, iterate, iterate’ is something I hear in web/software product design advice often: on demand manufacturing makes that possible to achieve in my design field, and I love it. I iterate, push it out to the customers, get feedback, and iterate again,” exclaims Bare.
The final product is a lightweight protector that gives the customer as much input as to how they want their case to look as the designer has.
www.jbaredesign.squarespace.com
Natural protection
As much as the new iPad 2 cover has brought a smile, with its ability to fold, roll and position the device, there’s something quite natty about it.
It’s bright, cheerful and functional, but what I want is to get back to nature: some classic veneers and intricate carving - For all the Apple device’s polished glass and jet black aluminium, there’s something
comforting about smothering the new iPad in a sheath of wood.
Miniot have been designing covers for Apple devices from real wood since the iPhone 3G and the iPod Classic, with the natural progression being to design a cover for the latest addition to the Apple stable.
It’s clever too: a tight louvre design allows the solid wood face to roll back into a solid stand for the fancy tablet to rear up on so you can watch movies, type, or even display it in portrait.
Made individually by the tiny company in its Netherlands workshops, the sketches are transformed into 3D using Rhino before the data is transferred to Miniot’s CNC machine.
The final covers are carved from a single piece, with the choice of six different woods - oak, padouk, smoked oak, walnut, maple and cherry - or even a mixture for the different segments (our personal preference is cherry).
Magnets are attached, allowing the cover to stick both to the iPad and itself when rolled, and this is then covered with an ultrasuede microfiber on the inner.
Hand finishing removes any sharp edges or possible splinters, and leaves the light, 3mm thick cover with a ‘hand-made’ look of traditional craftsmanship.
For something more personalised you can even have an image laser-etched onto the wood - making the fine timbers of your casing look even more refined.
www.miniot.com
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Playing free
16 May 2011
Process type: Design
By investing in new 3D graphics technology, a playground manufacturer has been able to enhance creativity and thrive even under deadline pressure
Climbing, swinging, riding, rocking, balancing and jumping: just some of the activities you can do in a Wicksteed playscape. You can even have a quiet sit down in the shade when you’re in need of a breather. These play zones are such a hit with youngsters because they reflect and incorporate customer feedback - children are frequently consulted through user group projects.
Wicksteed has been designing, building, installing, landscaping and looking after playgrounds since 1918. Offering the widest range of playground equipment, sports court and safety surfacing in the UK, it is the country’s leading supplier to local councils, architects, schools, builders, holiday parks and the community. The company regularly wins awards for inspirational design, high quality and the use of sustainable products and recycled materials in its landscape-led play environments.
Bringing play worlds into real life
Wicksteed’s in-house graphics design facility is one of the most advanced in the industry with nine graphics specialists using Autodesk 3ds Max, supplied by Micro Concepts. Designers bring play worlds to life by incorporating local features and sensitively blending each playscape into the surrounding environment with careful use of colour and layout.
Wicksteed’s design team is always on the go, meeting a series of rolling deadlines. The company wins much of its work through competitive bid processes so is continuously producing proposals as well as fulfilling orders. “Most days we are working to two or three deadlines,” says graphics designer Phil Cox. The statistics for one typical twelve-month period illustrate this: the graphics team worked on 1219 proposals, producing 1,250 plans in AutoCAD and 1,330 drawings in various styles. “It’s not easy to get a group of Councillors all sitting around a screen so our customers tend to prefer drawings. Each day ends with a courier pick up so we are always aware of a definite timescale.”
The freedom to be creative
As the models Wicksteed creates are both extensive and detailed, they are often quite large. Phil explains: “I was working on one model in which there were trees and hills as well as our equipment and the file size was 235MB. Every time I tried to move the model around on the screen to look at it from different angles, my whole system froze completely and I had to switch my machine off.”
Knowing the pressure under which the department works, Micro Concepts suggested using AMD professional graphics and Phil therefore conducted a benchmark to compare an ATI FirePro 7800 from AMD with his existing card.
“There was a huge improvement in my ability to move the model around the screen with the ATI card. The model never froze as I panned across and zoomed in and out. I could run animations without hesitation. Previously I’d been turning off colour to allow my computer to run more easily, but doing that makes it harder to see detail so I spent my time switching colour on and off. The new card gave me so much more power that I could leave all the colours on the screen which meant my workflow was much better.”
Andy Prentice found the same benefits. “I’m working regularly with files up to 300MB in size and the ATI FirePro 7800 card is great for rendering scenery in 3ds Max. When I develop a site model I want things to move as smoothly as possible so that I can get a good idea of what is going on. The card provides superb processing power for visualisation. It speeds up colouring and shading, switching between views and moving objects around the screen. It is definitely a lot more fluid and quicker to respond.”
When workflow seconds matter
“We will not lower our standards by rushing but even on a tender with a big budget we only have a couple of days to turn around the design,” comments Phil. “The sales process is therefore more efficient when we can model a scene to a very high standard within those two days.”
Andy again: “When I am modelling a scene I start with an idea of what I want to achieve and then, provided I have the time, I can use my imagination and experiment. With the ATI FirePro 7800 I now have that time. That’s the way to win a job.”
Phil agrees, “Our chances of winning directly correlate to the quality of work we produce. Any time we spend not being productive means less time to spend on creativity. Whenever my machine froze, I was forced into cutting corners, making say a simpler animation when I knew that time spent smoothing out the camera movement would pay dividends. Our designers spend most of their time working with scenes, any extra time we can gain supports the sales process.”
www.amd.com/firepro
www.wicksteed.co.uk
www.microconcepts.co.uk
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Back in black
04 May 2011
Process type: Design
Whilst in Portland recently Al Dean stopped by at Ziba, the designers behind the new TDK Life on Record audio products. Here Tanya Weaver tracks how they successfully managed to bring an analogue icon into the digital age
Who can forget the experience of creating a mixed tape? Hours spent poring over the song selection and then carefully recording each track onto a TDK cassette.
One of Ziba’s main tools in the design process is sketching. Virtually hundreds of sketches are produced in order to explore various ideas
It was about music, listening and sharing. This has become somewhat lost in our digital world. Today we are able to access thousands of songs online and can easily download them and create playlists in minutes.
In its quest to bring back this tactile experience of listening to and sharing music TDK tasked Portland-based design agency Ziba to help it do it. The result is the recently launched TDK Life on Record range of sleek black audio products including two and three speaker Boomboxes, a 360-degree Sound Cube, two Belt-Drive Turntables and high-quality headphones.
In creating storage devices over the years - first cassettes, then CDs, DVDs and now flash drives - TDK had lost a clear consumer focus. It needed to once again connect with its users. With Imation having licensed the TDK brand five years ago, it gave the perfect opportunity to explore where the brand was going and the possibility of developing new products.
“The situation we were in was that we not only needed an industrial design group but also a partner who could help us defi ne a strategy for the brand both short term on a new product line and long term taking the brand forward,” explains Tren Blankenship, global marketing manager at TDK Life on Record.
Brief encounter
So, having decided that Ziba was the agency that would help them do this, they approached them with a pretty open-ended brief. Together they sat down and brainstormed hundreds of different ideas and produced countless sketches across a range of categories from storage, audio and gaming products all the way through to peripherals for PCs.
The teams quickly agreed that the focus had to be on audio products. “We proposed to TDK that we do a design language program that defines a handful of products. This would involve developing rules and beliefs about the brand and its consumer and then outputting some reference products that would demonstrate what that looks like,” says Paul O’Connor, a creative director at Ziba.
Ziba asserts that it differentiates itself from other design agencies by really focussing on in-depth qualitative user research at the front end of the design process. By being consumer focussed it believes that it can create products and brands that are better connected to the target consumer.
In this case, by utilising one of its main design tools - brainstorming – the designers soon realised that these products really had to be about the experience of listening to music more than the tech spec.
They drew inspiration from TDK’s heyday of the cassette tape and how it enabled consumers to meaningfully engage with music. “There was an emotional attachment that people had when making mixed tapes and we wanted to create audio products that had this same emotional connection, to really give people a hands on experience with the music again,” says Blankenship.
Paul Backett, Ziba’s industrial design director, explains that in TDK’s quest to create newer versions of storage devices, they hadn’t really recognised the essence of what they did. “This essence wasn’t in storage but in the real value of creation and sharing,” he comments. “We wanted to bring this essence and meaning behind the brand back and make products that would connect with people on these levels.”
Face the music
As part of its research into gaining a deeper understanding of the experience of music and different music cultures, the Ziba design together with the TDK brand team jetted off to five different music loving cities: Tokyo, San Francisco, Manchester, Sydney and Berlin.
After three months of investigation they honed down on who their target consumer was going to be - the Music Prophet. These were young men in their 20s and 30s that weren’t necessarily musicians but had a great passion for music. They would dedicate hours to listening to their huge music collections.
From talking to them the designers soon discovered that despite digital music being virtually on tap, they felt a sense of detachment from it. They felt nostalgic for the listening experience that analogue music gave them - the social nature of records and cassettes, the crackle of vinyl and tactile feedback of their music players.
Loud and clear
So, the question was: what does the Music Prophet need from TDK?
The answer lay in products that would give them a better experience of listening to music. This meant combining the best of the analogue experience with the convenience and style of new digital technology.
They called this ‘Digi-Log’: bringing the warmth of analogue to digital listening. Making this their primary design guideline, they set about creating a line of audio products that would allow listeners to see and touch the music as much as possible.
Although initially sceptical, creating a boombox seemed obvious. It after all was the ultimate out-loud listening experience of the 1980s. Also called ghetto blasters, these iconic products epitomised the sharing of music and helped shape popular culture.
“If you put a boombox down in the park or on a street corner you were making a statement. They were considered to be offensive and we were really intrigued by the cultural origins and relationship of the birth of hip hop and what that meant to people,” says O’Connor.
But O’Connor also realised that in order to do the boombox justice the design team needed to play cultural historians. It seemed that today they had just become sad caricatures of themselves more likely to be featured on a t-shirt or fashioned into a handbag. He felt that without gaining a true respect for where boomboxes came from and knowing why they went away, the designers would not be able to capture their essence.
The boombox design process really kicked off with the question of how big it could be. One of the first things the designers did was cut a giant block of white foam using its in-house hot wire foam cutter.
Although, the size could be considered absurd, they were trying to embody that boombox attitude of not being afraid to go big. “It was strange because normally you would play around with the product’s size for weeks but this was so spot on,” says O’Connor.
“We knew it was causing some disturbances in the force because it engaged people in conversation about whether it was too big or not. In some projects we’d react to this by altering the product’s size to one everyone was happy with. But in this case we wanted to keep it at this size that polarised people because we are asking them to commit to taking a stance on it,” he adds.
So, by making a quick foam model in this instance proved to be very beneficial. In fact, Ziba strongly believe in the power of model making. For them it’s crucial to be able to quickly fashion something with your hands instead of just jumping straight into 3D. “If you know how to make 3D foam models using your hands then you’ll understand how to model things on the computer in 3D.
I think it’s terrible that many of today’s students think they can just make something in 3D software; 3D software isn’t going to make it for them,” argues Christian Freissler, a senior industrial designer at Ziba.
Box clever
So, having lived with the large rectangular foam model of the boombox in the design studio for a while it led them to the creation of a 10-inch x 10-inch sound cube. “We thought why not create a boombox that has speakers on all four sides,” says O’Connor.
This may sound like they were going off on a tangent running away with their ideas. But the designers purposefully didn’t get the engineers involved as they really wanted to defi ne the products and create a design language before bringing in someone who would tell them that technically it couldn’t be achieved.
“So we suspended disbelief for a little while by letting that vision carry on and take route otherwise there are always plenty of people around to kill ideas, there is no shortage of those people,” says O’Connor.
“As we got further and further into the process and the products became more fi nalised, we started to bring in audio and acoustic engineers on our side to make sure that what we were designing could actually be made and done at a realistic price for us,” adds Blankenship.
The team at TDK were very much involved in the design process and shared Ziba’s vision for the products. “What we saw was that a lot of the products especially around Apple devices had become very generic. We agreed with Ziba’s recommendation and philosophy that we really needed to change that market space,” says Blankenship.
Ziba’s interaction designers worked alongside the industrial designers on the interface, looking at how the users could simply and intuitively interact with the products. Many prototypes were developed until they achieved an interface for each of the products epitomised the notion of Digi-Log.
For instance, on the boombox an LED display was placed next to chunky controls and touch-sensitive buttons, giving precise control and tactile feedback. They also devised the signature graphic element of the music visualiser that would be used across all the products. This ‘visual heartbeat’ pulsed when the music played, providing a connection to the music.
Colour me pretty
Ziba also created many theme boards exploring the different colours and finishes that would help establish a unique design language. The materials needed to portray craftsmanship and precession and so they looked at leather, aluminium and acrylic materials.
The end result are different tones of black contrasted with the glossy acrylic and champagne-coloured knobs and details. Its a design that echoes the iconic black and charcoal TDK cassette tape with its copper pin stripe.
So, having created a design language for each of the four products they then refi ned them more or less in parallel. As O’Connor says, Ziba were most clearly responsible for design intent not the details of the execution so in this project, their CAD files went as far as the surfaces. The main tools used in the process included Autodesk Sketchbook Designer for digital sketching and Rhino for CAD. “Ziba has a long history with Rhino.
It’s a cheap but really good tool. It’s not parametric so we sometimes have to start over with things but then at the same time, it’s quick and easy,” comments Freissler.
From these CAD files they created cosmetic models, which were then taken by representatives from each of the Ziba and TDK teams to the Chinese manufacturer. This helped to ensure that the vision was held.
“The beauty was that as a cosmetic model existed it gave our client something to fight for. It’s just a real tangible way of understanding when compromises happen, what it means,” explains O’Connor. “As the Ziba crew and the client crew were united, we stood in the face of the manufacturing team and fought for what we wanted.”
From Blankenship’s point of view, they worked very closely with the manufacturer to make sure things were done right. One manufacturer produced the turntable whilst another produced the remaining three products.
Having a single company manufacture the bulk of the product line made it a great deal easier for TDK. “They understand the quality that we are looking for and because the products are fairly similar, there are a lot of components that we can use across the line,” he says.
Go on record
Following their vision for the products to China proved to be worthwhile because, according to O’Connor, the cosmetic models and final products are virtually identical. Having showcased the TDK Life on Record products at a handful of exhibitions, they were officially launched in February.
According to Blankenship, the reception to them has been amazing both from reviewers and the public. “We had the freedom to really redefine the brand and I think we did that very successfully,” says
Blankenship. “The audio line turned out pretty amazing, we are extremely happy with them.”
Who knew that listening out loud to music could look this good?
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Access all areas
05 April 2011
Process types: Design and Prototype
The Shannon Solo mini dumper is controlled remotely so it can operate in hazardous areas without risk to health and safety. Tanya Weaver caught up with Stuart Selway and Ryan Symes, neither of them engineers, who designed and manufactured the unmanned vehicle in the field, through a fascinating process of trial and error
The Shannon Solo is the UK’s first production remote control, mini hi-tip dumper. From a distance of 100m the Solo can be operated to transport 500kg of materials travelling at a speed of up to eight miles per hour.
As the Shannon Solo is operated by remote control, it can be used in a variety of applications including hazardous areas such as quarries or demolition sites
It was developed and manufactured by two entrepreneurs, Stuart Selway and Ryan Symes, over a period of three years. Although between them they have ample experience of the construction industry, they have virtually no design or engineering skills. However, through a process of trial and error they managed to create a final prototype of the Solo. It was only then that they had the 3D CAD model produced.
“We both had the same idea for the Solo dumper; we wanted to make something that was easy to maintain and simple to use,” explains Selway. “We are quite proud of ourselves because we are literally from the contracting and hire industry, we aren’t qualified engineers. But just through knowing what we wanted, we managed to get there.”
Selway and Symes established Shannon Plant Sales and Hire near Bristol in 1999. The business involved both selling and hiring out plant equipment. However, in June 2010 they sold the hire centre and renamed the company Shannon Plant (South West) Ltd.
The plan was to sell a range of plant equipment including its very own forthcoming Solo range. “When we sold the hire centre we then had the money and time to actually put the efforts into getting the Solo dumper finished,” says Selway. “For the past six months that is pretty much all we’ve done.”
Playing it safe
The inspiration for the remote controlled dumper came from Symes who had been doing contract work for the water authority close to deep water. Such areas are hazardous for operators due to the high number of health and safety risks involved. As a result, any plant equipment used has to meet very strict regulations.
So, the ‘eureka’ moment was when they came up with the idea for a dumper truck that could safely be operated in such hazardous work places. As well as deep water these could also include quarries, demolition sites as well as other areas that are considered dangerous for people to be in such as airports, power stations or railway sites.
“Everything about health and safety is about the operator. So when the operator isn’t on or near the machine in the danger area, there isn’t a problem. The risk assessment goes from pages down to a single sentence,” describes Selway.
Quality control
The brief they set themselves was pretty clear, essentially to make it as simple as possible to use and easy to maintain. They started off by attempting to make a toy remote control work with an existing mini dumper. “It never did,” laughs Selway. “Due to the frequencies the machine would go completely out of control, the levers would just break up and the connections, electrics and hydraulics just weren’t strong enough.”
Having soon realised that they wouldn’t get away with using cheap technology, they sourced their remote controls from Scanreco, a Swedish manufacturer whose products are widely used and comply with industry standards. Its digital remote control system is based on advanced microprocessor technology and, with its modular architecture, Symes and Selway could customise it to their specific requirements.
“It is a complicated system but basically it works by sending an electrical pulse from the portable remote control unit to open up the hydraulic valve in the dumper. This enables the operator to change the speed, direction and movement of the dumper,” explains Selway.
They also realised that they could not use the original valve block from the small dumper. They needed to create one specifically for a machine that could run four hydraulic drive motors on biodegradable hydraulic oil.
Often hydraulics used in the construction industry can be quite jerky but through dedication, a lot of hard work, as well as consulting some local hydraulics engineers, they managed to achieve a very smooth control. This meant that the dumper was able to edge up to a skip very slowly as well as move quickly across an area at a speed of up to eight miles per hour.
Apart from consulting the hydraulics engineers, Symes and Selway did not utilise the skills of any designers or engineers during the development process. With ample workshop space and a 3.5 acre yard, they had the room to build and test various prototypes.
“We were moving on quite rapidly over the last six months; making something and if it didn’t work, breaking it up and starting again. We tended to know what we wanted so we just carried on ourselves,” says Selway.
“As we aren’t engineers we tried all different things ourselves. It was just trial and error really until we stumbled on the right sort of valve that would do the job. We bought lots of different ones to be honest. It worked in the end and it works very well now,” he adds.
Rising to the challenge
A number of challenges presented themselves during the development process. One of which was trying to make the dumper’s skip come down slowly if weighted instead of too quickly.
However, the biggest challenge, and one that required the most work, was figuring out how the Solo could smoothly travel up and down gradients of up to 25 degrees. When coming down a slope if the hydraulics were open the flow of the hydraulic oil would actually overtake the motor running. This would result in the Solo running away.
“The speed of the wheels going round was pushing the oil round faster than the motor so it would just open up and go,” describes Selway. “We tried the cheapest option which was to restrict the oil flow but that messed up all the rest of it. So we had to find some valves that would actually restrict the oil flow correctly at the right time to eliminate the roll away. We did eventually manage to achieve it.”
Keep on trucking
Whilst creating the Solo, Symes and Selway came up with additional uses for it. This led them to the idea of creating a range of mini remote control transporters under the Solo name. “Although it has a 16hp Vanguard engine, the chassis doesn’t need that amount of power to run.
But what we have done is kept ourselves an extra 7Kw of power spare (about 20 litres a minute) so that we can put auxiliary units onto the machine. We are calling it plug and play, so you can take one unit off and put another on,” says Selway.
In fact, they are in the process of developing a sprayer, which can be used to spray hazardous chemicals or simply water for dust control, as well as a rotary lawnmower, which would be ideal for airports or alongside motorways. “We can basically make anything as long as it can run off that sort of power,” he comments.
Safe as houses
Building the Solo involved a great deal of testing and, as the manufacturers, Symes and Selway also had to CE Mark it. This is a mandatory conformance mark that certifies that a product has met European Union consumer safety, health or environmental requirements. Additionally, the Solo had to meet health and safety requirements such as machinery safety directives, outdoor equipment noise directives as well as radio directives.
All of this testing costs money and together with the cost involved in protecting their intellectual property through registering their design, this project was no cheap endeavour. “It has been a lot more expensive than perhaps we initially thought it was going to be,” admits Selway. “However, we have been very lucky because the sale of the hire part of the business helped us with a bit of funding and we also have our own premises with plenty of room, which has been very helpful.”
Hitting reverse
With the final prototype complete, they now required the rapid production of full manufacturing drawings. These were needed to produce a production model of the Solo dumper for its launch at the Executive Hire Show in Coventry at the beginning of February 2011.
In order to reverse engineer the prototype Symes and Selway enlisted the help of local company Inspired Lines, which provides design, visualisation and CAD services within various engineering environments.
Nick Shadrick, the company’s director, felt that the best method would be to develop a full 3D model of the Solo and then create the technical 2D drawings from that. The reason being that this 3D model could then be utilised when Shannon came to develop its future bolt on products or if visualisations were ever needed.
“I spent two days in total at Shannon where I hand measured all elements of the existing Solo dumper and created a fully detailed 3D assembly while on site,” explains Shadrick. “As the design had been totally developed by hand at that stage we used the model to assess possible improvements, modifications and standardisations of parts and features.”
As the model was measured by hand, Shadrick had to virtually get inside the machine to measure the various components. However, with testing going on at the same time, they couldn’t strip it down completely to nut and bolt. “There was nothing so tricky that we needed to scan any parts because it’s very much based on standard framework to build a chassis and then plate forming to create the main body,” says Shadrick.
He built the 3D model exclusively in AutoCAD 2011. “Contrary to many opinions I have found the recent developments in 3D functionality of AutoCAD have made it a viable option for this type of project,” he argues. “I regularly use and lecture with various parametric modellers but have not written off the functionality of AutoCAD especially when dealing with one off projects that could vary from huge multi layered 2D/3D translations of environmental designs to quick mechanical component sketch ups.”
With the Executive Hire Show looming, the deadline was very tight but Shadrick managed to complete the manufacturing drawings within a couple of weeks. “The open minded, forward thinking approach of the guys at Shannon Plant allowed for the design and detailing to progress quickly and hit the tight deadlines required,” he comments.
Local support
Manufacturing and assembly of the Solo dumper is taking place onsite in Shannon’s vast workshop facilities. Initially, it will be made in batches of ten but if demand is higher this can be increased to batches of 20. “If we need to go bigger, we have the premises in place, it will just mean getting additional manpower. We are ready for whatever happens,” says Selway.
Next to launch is the Solo Sprayer, which can be used for watering golf courses, as well as spraying chemicals in hazardous areas
At the Executive Hire Show the Shannon Solo received many positive comments and feedback. “I must admit that everyone took on board what we have done. We had a number of companies that would like to buy the product and identified lots of different purposes for it. We are actually now developing a diesel engine for it through the feedback we got at the show,” says Selway.
With the dumper and sprayer launched and the lawnmower soon to be brought to market it’s shaping up to be an exciting future for Shannon. And although it has been hard work, Symes and Selway have enjoyed the process. “We have had great fun making it to be honest.
It’s a serious bit of kit but there is a fun side to it too,” says Selway. “Everybody that we have tested it on or has had a go at using it, you can just see the smiles on their faces. They pick it up straight away and they are also not scared of using it as they are nowhere near it.”
When you see the mini Solo dumper in action, it seems such an obvious solution and almost begs the question ‘why wasn’t it thought of before?’ “Maybe it’s so obvious that everyone missed it,” smiles Selway.
www.shannonplantsales.co.uk
Hands on development
In our age of computers and advanced CAD technologies it seems quite foreign to not utilise CAD from the beginning of a product development project. In most cases Inspired Lines, a Somersetbased company providing design, visualisation and CAD services, is called upon by clients to be involved from the very start or early stages of development.
However, there are also times, like its work for Shannon Plant, where projects call for refinement of existing designs or simply bringing together elements of hand developed designs into a functioning digital model for evaluation.
“The Shannon project is an example of a small to medium sized company utilising in-house experience and hands on skills to problem solve and experiment on design ideas,” explains Inspired Lines’ managing director, Nick Shadrick. “I am convinced that utilising CAD software from the start would have helped massively with the development of this type of project but I also believe that depending solely on digital models from the outset would have stifled the creativity of personnel who have years of knowledge in physical design problem solving and prototype development.”
Development assembly for Brook Food Processing Equipment, a UK supplier of used and new bakery equipment
Another company Inspired Lines has been working with in a similar manner is Brook Food Processing Equipment, a UK supplier of used and new bakery equipment. The company’s development team uses its vast experience in hands on design and development to improve existing products and create new ones.
Inspired Lines is tasked with creating digital models and assemblies to bring together features and ideas for refinement, standardisation, visualisation, manufacturing documentation and digital testing if required. “Inspired Lines has been a breath of fresh air to us both the extremely fast turnaround times. This is something so important when trying to develop a new product,” explains Roger Staniforth, director of Brook Food Processing Equipment.
Shadrick believes that this combination of physical design development along with digital development creates a good balance and allows the creativity of all personnel to progress freely.
“Of course many companies are relying more and more on digital prototyping and design given the fantastic progress of the technology. Unfortunately this naturally phases out the vital experience in hands on development skills,” he comments.
“As a CAD user and lecturer over the last twenty years I have witnessed this trend but believe that there is a growing enthusiasm for the reintroduction of practical skills training that, when coupled with the CAD technology available, creates an ideal combination.”
www.inspiredlines.co.uk
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Kitchen Gadgets
17 March 2011
Process type:
Stephen Holmes dons his chef’s hat and discovers an exciting new world of kitchen gadgets
Twist and shout
Salt and pepper is the perfect marriage of condiments: a union found on the tables of the grimiest of cafes and the most glittering of restaurants. Any changes made to these classic dispensers have to be special.
The Y-grinder is setting out to reduce the footprint of this essential table furniture with its clever duet of salt and pepper grinder in one. DesignWright (a team of two brothers, Adrian and Jeremy Wright) was originally asked by kitchenware company Joseph Joesph to come up with some ideas for a new peppermill.
“We came back to them with three concepts,” says Adrian Wright. “Two of them were for a singular pepper mill and for the other concept we thought it would be interesting to put salt and pepper together in one product.
“We wanted to come up with a solution that communicated that this product was different from others on the market – the Y-form almost allowed us to express ‘mixing’.”
The Y-grinder mill has a unique twin-chamber design allowing both salt and pepper to be dispensed from the same unit
Sketches were initially produced for the dual chamber grinder, but for a product that relies on its dexterity in the hand DesignWright preferred to make a series of simple cardboard models.
“When you grind pepper people are used to having a cylindrical form: put two hands on it, you grind and you find that your elbow is up in the air. We wanted to check that by using the ‘Y’ it would still be feasible to actually grind salt and pepper from it, and it would be pleasant to use,” explains Adrian.
The final designs and dimensions were proven in a 3D model so the team could move on to the final prototype stage with the aid of the manufacturers.
A fully working prototype was an essential part of proving the project, which consisted of 42 components. “The factory made an STL model prototype, and for the two gearboxes inside it, they were machined so they could make it in brass.”
“We wanted to really check it out from a visual point of view, from an ergonomics point of view, from a ‘does it communicate how you use it’ point of view, and also just checking that our design was feasible.”
The completed design is a universal hit, winning global design awards at prestigious red carpet events; the product however is just as happy on the kitchen table.
www.designwright.co.uk
Cut and run
Japanese cooking knives often hark back to an age of the Samurai - razor sharp, hardened steel swords - but the Toginon range of knives offers something a little more modern.
The kitchen knife comes with two blades and a sharpening and reconditioning service. When the blade needs sharpening it is sent back to the factory in the supplied envelope and the spare blade can be
used in the meantime – leading to a good-as-new knife for life.
A ‘sandwich design’ of the handle means the blade can be easily removed by the user by simply unlocking it with a coin, and removing the rubber grip that also helps keep water out.
Robert Beagley-Brown of Beagley-Brown Design, developed the product with the Oribe Design Centre in Gifu, Japan, for client Shimizu Hamono.
“Firstly I researched knife technology, types, history and culture and carried out user research to understand how people use knives,” says Beagley-Brown. “Second was to sketch lots of concepts.
“The concept sketching and blade outline designs were done with Adobe Illustrator,” he continues.
“The handle shape was developed by carving plaster of paris prototypes and then the shape was replicated and refined using Rhino.
“Making physical prototypes and testing them with users is always very important. Refinement of the shape was done on the computer and I worked with the moulding company and the blade manufacturer to detail those components.”
The hardest part of the brief was to prevent rust forming on the 440C stainless steel blades – the hardest metal used for knife blades. “The client insisted on using a high chromium content stainless in order to get the best cutting edge but this meant any water inside the handle could cause rust spots.
“The solution was the sandwich handle design with rubber sheets to prevent water ingress.” The blade is protected by a copper alloy laminate to stop it from rusting and to provide an antibacterial coating.
“It was an incredible experience spending two months in Japan and working with this small family-owned company,” concludes Beagley-Brown. “I even got to visit a Samurai sword maker while I was researching the project!”
www.beagleybrown.com
Scrubs up well
Kitchens are not just home to creative culinary flair, but also tedious amounts of cleaning, tidying and other mind numbing drudgery.
However, not all is lost as it gives you an excuse to splash out on your sink-wares like this handy soap and scrubber ‘saddle’ caddy.
Toronto-based designers Ross + Doell came up with the concept of it straddling the partition between sink bowls as part of a brief to design a simple kitchen product for under $10.
Concepts generated needed to be easy to install without tools or instructions because of the planned multinational distribution through homewares store Umbra.
Sketched-up by hand first, the team worked on the basic form and single piece shape using Autodesk’s Sketchbook Pro software.
From there a 3D model was built in Pro/Engineer, with emphasis on keeping the model similar to the concept designs, but with practical boundaries added for manufacture.
The simple shape of the design was one of the most difficult elements to achieve for designer Mike Doell, having to create a shape that “would survive endless iterations and modifications.”
Using a Dimension 1200 SLA model to verify the scale of the product, the print was then used for casting various materials to get the right ‘feel’ for the final product.
For marketing purposes, Bunkspeed was used to render an image from the Pro/E model that could be employed on the Umbra website.
It’s a deceptively simple product that continues to sell in millions of units per year as the world continues to try and tidy up the mess following the morning’s breakfast.
www.rossdoell.com
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Paving the way for customisation
16 March 2011
Process type:
Construction equipment manufacturer Guntert & Zimmerman was able to take control of its complex SolidWorks assemblies and AutoCAD drawings by implementing an engineering document management system from Synergis software
Guntert & Zimmerman (G&Z) is a small company that competes and thrives in the highly competitive construction equipment market by carving out a niche that larger companies don’t or can’t own. The Californian firm offers a complete line of high performance, state of the art concrete highway, airport and canal construction equipment.
G&Z uses Adept to manage its SolidWorks assemblies, some of which may include 7,000 to 10,000 parts
“We don’t have a huge staff, yet we do big things,” states Jerry Dahlinger, vice president of engineering at G&Z. Take, for example, the company’s S850 Quadra base and concrete slipform paver, which has placed miles of airport aprons, runways, taxiways, and highways around the world, including North America, France, Australia, and India. “The S850’s top level assemblies might have 7,000-10,000 parts and sub-assemblies. And we’re developing machines even larger than that.”
“We’re selling to the top highway and airport paving contractors in the world,” explains Dahlinger. “Our real niche is customisation. Because we’re not the biggest supplier in the highway/airport paving market, we offer custom solutions to the customer’s problems. As a result, engineering has to react very quickly to requests for design or feature changes to our standard product line. We make-to-order much of our equipment.
”There are other factors that require G&Z to be agile. “Our markets have changed,” notes Dahlinger. “Historically, we built large highway paving machines but now the projects are getting smaller, and the paving width is smaller. There is a bigger market for a smaller machine so we spent the last couple of years developing a new smaller highway paving machine. We started from scratch. Virtually every drawing and every model on it is new. We just introduced the new paver in the Pittsburgh, PA area and were featured on CBS news. That was a big accomplishment.”
Taking control
Because its product models were so complex, with many parts to track, Dahlinger wanted to give engineering an automated solution to help them manage and control their data.
Any manual system or method could only prove troublesome.
“We were using Windows Explorer to archive and track our files with AutoCAD,” explains Dahlinger. “When we started using SolidWorks, we thought we could continue to use Windows Explorer, but our
productivity went down and we were nearing a crisis. It turned out we couldn’t effectively use SolidWorks without a data management system that supported its interdependent file structure.
“To meet our deadlines, we had to be able to have multiple people working on the same assemblies or different sub-assemblies with the same top level assembly – without stepping on each other’s feet.”
While it was obvious that they needed a document management system, they still had to find the right solution. At first, Dahlinger considered a company-wide document management system, but couldn’t
get support from the other departments. Instead, he focused on solving engineering’s document management challenges.
“Our top system requirements were the ability to manage AutoCAD and SolidWorks files and streamline our ECO process.” That narrowed down the choice to a handful of solutions, including Adept from Synergis Software.
Dahlinger ultimately selected Adept for more reasons than he had originally outlined. “Adept’s biggest competitive advantage was the people that stood behind the product,” explains Dahlinger. “It was the people, plus the company’s 100% commitment to engineering document management.”
Synergis Software also offered a range of implementation plans, which ultimately helped G&Z stay within a tight budget. “The Adept pilot program was essential to selling this solution to the company’s owner,” describes Dahlinger. “I couldn’t get him to bite on the whole proposal, so I asked him if I could buy one or two seats for the pilot program.
“We did a pilot for a couple of months and were able to prove its success. Then we bought more seats and rolled out Adept to the entire engineering department and then to the production, purchasing and sales departments.”
Self-learning
Dahlinger and his team chose to implement Adept on their own, with helpdesk phone support from Synergis Software. “Doing this on our own was a pretty big deal,” recalls Dahlinger. “I thought that I’d have to be heavily involved, but I was able to delegate most of the implementation to one of our project engineers, Iovtcho Delev—and he ran with it. Iovtcho now does our Adept administration along with his previous duties. Implementation was a lot easier than I thought it would be.”
“There was a lot of automation available for bringing the data from our existing drawings,” adds Iovtcho. “With Adept, we were able to quickly find all of our duplicate files, then delete and rename them. It took us about two weeks to get all our data cleaned up.”
Managing design and ECOs
One of G&Z’s unique value-added engineering services is 3D modelling, which helps the company ensure fit and accurately conveys concepts to its customers.The engineering document management software plays a big role in supporting this effort.
“Adept makes us more productive by managing all of our parts and assemblies,” says Dahlinger. “In many cases, we may have several different overlapping areas of a machine. We need to find and open these files without worrying that other people might be working on the same area. Adept completely eliminates this problem.”
“We also have engineering projects that use existing AutoCAD drawings for details or production and SolidWorks for creating part models,” notes Dahlinger. “We don’t generally create another detailed drawing, but instead have a model of the part in SolidWorks and retain the detail of that drawing in AutoCAD. In Adept, we can find the AutoCAD DWG file and the SolidWorks assembly file since they both have the same part number reference.”
Adept’s built-in viewer lets G&Z share its designs in a lightweight format, enabling easy markup and review
In more recent product development projects, all the company’s new designs are created in SolidWorks and legacy designs and products are in AutoCAD. “Right now we have a hybrid model - meaning that a SolidWorks assembly may have AutoCAD components in it. Adept lets us preserve, manage, and view all the parent/child relationships between our 3D and 2D files,” says Dahlinger. “It also lets us create relationships between PDFs of our detail drawings and our 3D model,” adds Delev.
Besides engineering, there are people in manufacturing who take advantage of the workflow created in Adept. “We went a step further and designed a workflow that tracks our Excel-based engineering change orders,” explains Delev. “Now people can electronically view and mark up drawings, fill out an ECO form, and then assign it to one of the product engineers for review and assignment to a detailer for further action, if necessary.”
The link to ERP
In the midst of the recent economic downturn, G&Z has been streamlining its processes even further. The company wanted to eliminate double entry of data by automating its parts cataloguing and asked the Synergis Software development team to create a program that tied together the part information from SolidWorks with its ERP database.
“We had been doing a similar process with AutoCAD for years, but with SolidWorks, it’s a lot more complex to implement,” describes Dahlinger. “The program automatically populates our bills of materials in SolidWorks drawings with data from our ERP system.
“It searches the ERP database for the part number and then pushes the metadata from the ERP system through Adept into the SolidWorks model. From there, we create a drawing and a bill of material.”
Dahlinger elaborates, “To close the loop, we export the bill of material information from the SolidWorks assembly into a text file, which we then import into our ERP database to generate the bill of material for that same assembly part number.”
“In our earlier system, we had to transfer data from our ERP system to SolidWorks line by line, which was hugely inefficient,” states Delev. “Now we can transfer data on a full SolidWorks assembly and its components.”
“At one point, we looked at PLM but the overhead and administrative cost to implement and run a system like that was too much for us,” comments Dahlinger. “So instead, we use Adept for our engineering document management and the custom programming to tie our design data to our ERP system. This solution really meets all our needs.”
“I don’t understand how people can work in an environment like ours without the systems we use. I’m sure that when compared to a system of spreadsheets and manual data entry, we’re probably two or
three times faster with Adept.”
Remote control
From day one of using Adept, Dahlinger has been leveraging it to connect with remote users.
“We have an engineer-designer in Texas who has an Adept seat and works from home,” states Dahlinger. “He connects remotely to our database and does everything we do here in the office. Because of Adept, G&Z is able to build a virtual team of external contractors, which reduces overhead and helps Dahlinger get work done quickly.
“For example, Iovtcho might design a part and create the model in SolidWorks,” explains Dahlinger. “He will assign the model to the detailers - wherever they may be - either locally here in the office or out of state or offshore. They do the detailing with our drawing templates, then use Adept to sign the completed drawings in or assign them for approval with our workflow. We couldn’t work this way if we
didn’t have Adept.”
The digital drive
After three or more years of using Adept, Dahlinger developed a plan to get all the company’s hard copy drawing documents in storage – dating back from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s - into electronic format and then into Adept.
The team started out by deleting any hard copy AutoCAD drawings that were already saved electronically. Then they transported all the remaining hand drawn copies to an off-site storage facility.
Now, whenever they need an old drawing, they call the storage facility and ask for a scanned version, which is available, the same day or overnight. Engineering gets a PDF file to review and if it looks good, they sign it into Adept and instruct the storage facility to throw away the hard copy drawing.
“As we get the PDF files, we add the customer name, title block information and job numbers to Adept’s database,” says Dahlinger. “We’re close to having all our archive data easily accessible in Adept.”
Dahlinger concludes, “When you have a product like Adept, you get used to it and don’t always appreciate it. But given our company size, without Adept, it would be difficult, if not impossible to work as productively and efficiently as we do now.”
www.guntert.com
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Automatic for the people
15 March 2011
Process type: Design
2011 is the ten-year anniversary of DriveWorks, the specialist developer of design automation software. Al Dean talks to CEO Glen Smith and vice president Maria Sarkar about the last decade and where they are taking the company in future
Writing about design technology for the last fifteen years has brought me into contact with a huge range of people, technologies and organisations. One of the rare privileges has been seeing companies
start up, grow and become successful.
Configuring and costing a cupboard online using DriveWorks
DriveWorks is a prime example of such a company. It develops software that assists in automating product design based on a set of rules, either at a local workstation level, or wider scale across an enterprise.
My first encounter with Glen Smith, DriveWorks’ CEO, was back in the late nineties. In a room just off the factory floor at a customer site, he was demonstrating a custom built rules-based system for the
design of utility vehicles.
It was while cutting his teeth on customer automation projects at a SolidWorks VAR that Smith discovered that his engineering background, combined with new found technical expertise, brought him some interesting skills and a new way of thinking about automation.
Historically, companies looking to formalise knowledge of their process or product in a single system relied on systems that were typically tightly integrated into, if not inseparable from, the host software.
This made editing and adaptation almost impossible unless you hired a costly consultant.
While carrying out such work, Smith realised that the key was to separate the host system (which carries out the automation) from the data that drives it. This is something he picked up on when I visited
the team in its corporate headquarters in Thelwall, Cheshire last month, and which goes back to the company’s roots.
“We started with custom code,” explains Smith. “There were a few companies at the time that wanted a custom configurator, or to do some design automation, but there wasn’t really anything on the market - it was all done using macros. That’s how I started with the reseller. It then progressed from doing macros to actual programs.”
Doing things differently
Having worked on a number of live projects it was not long before Smith realised the limitations of a completely bespoke approach to design automation. “When you’re doing custom programming, it’s very easy not to meet customers’ expectations,” says Smith. “The problem is that you and the customer don’t know what’s involved until you start delivering and jobs always overrun.
Back then, it became very evident that there was a difference between system and data. The customer had his knowledge about the product which formed the data and we could create a system but, more often than not, the two became one - we were hard coding their data.”
It was this realisation that led to the creation of the DriveWorks (the system and company) which was set up by Smith and vice president, Maria Sarkar in 2001. “When we did all of the early work we decided to differentiate the system from the data so customers could add their own fresh data and keep the system running,” he says.
“When you do that, the system becomes completely different because you need the ability for the customer to enter their own data in a user friendly way - rather than just dumping it in a database, in files, or even worse, dumping it in the code.”
The importance of SolidWorks
A driving factor behind the success of DriveWorks was the decision to build on top of SolidWorks, one of the industry’s leading 3D product development tools.
Working with the system DriveWorks was able to implement its modular approach. “That separation of the system and data adds a lot more to the system because it needs to be generic,” explains Smith. “That then becomes paramount if you’re going to take it to another company with a completely different set of data.”
In addition to the technology, the way SolidWorks is sold, through an indirect channel of resellers, was also of great interest to DriveWorks. “Maria and I decided that seemed like a very good market opportunity and it gave us a lot of opportunities,” says Smith. “Because we are building a generic application, it meant we could sell through SolidWorks’ existing resellers.
“It also meant we could focus on building the application and let the resellers and customers do the data. It also meant a wider audience. If you’re doing work specific to each customer, there’s obviously a limit to how many customers you could have - to grow the business, you’ve got to grow the staff.
“As we both know, if you just grow the staff, then the revenue doesn’t grow with it and the business does not scale. This is the basis of DriveWorks, to create the product, take it to market and see where we went.”
According to Smith, the first year was spent getting the product right, working with a handful of companies to fine-tune the application, get the business model right and start to make headway with resellers in the SolidWorks sales channel.
“When we started out, we knew the SolidWorks market very well and we always wanted to be the best in the world at something,” he recalls. “While over the years it’s been tempting to become multi-CAD, the sole focus on SolidWorks was definitely a good thing.”
Development decisions
Having seen the company grow over ten years, it’s clear that DriveWorks has been ahead of the curve in many respects - DriveWorks Pro was a web-based automation system or product configuration system way back before the term cloud became a hot-topic.
So how does DriveWorks define each generation of the product? Maria Sarkar picks this up, “We’ve always made a big point of listening to what companies want to be able to do. We go out and visit customers regularly and talk to them about what they want to do.
This gets fed back to the product development team, headed by Philip [Philip Stears, lead developer, DriveWorks], they assess all of the suggestions that come in, review the ideas from visits so we take the best from everywhere and incorporate them into our product.”
This is one of the most interesting things for a relatively small developer. By ensuring that all of the sales work is done through SolidWorks’ VAR channel, DriveWorks has managed to remain a software engineering team, something which Smith is both proud of and has been instrumental in.
“My background is in engineering, then I started writing software for engineers,” he says. “Maria is in sales and business to business marketing. Obviously now we’ve got a lot of developers on staff, but having the engineering and commercial input are vital to what we do.
“It’s not just something programmers have created thinking it would be a good thing for a particular market they know nothing about. We’re essentially a team that understands the needs of companies that design, manufacture and sell products.
We understand how engineers think and what they need to be able to create. Increasingly we go out of our way to understand their markets too and how they need to interact with their own customers, hence the adoption of our technology inside and outside their company.“
Global reach
DriveWorks’ customer base is now spread across the globe and growing each year, particularly since the inclusion of DriveWorksXpress within the core SolidWorks product and the more recent release of DriveWorks Solo. Both are designed to be self taught, backed up with online training resources and example projects that assist getting the user up to speed without much intervention.
With a global customer base, has the team seen any regional trends in how designers and engineers are approaching automation? Smith is quick to confirm the nature of the challenges that today’s manufacturing organisations face.
“I’m not sure there are regional trends, but there are trends across the board. There are a lot more global companies that have multiple sites, multiple languages, different time zones.”
The economy and automation
DriveWorks Solo was brought to market last year to help make the system much easier to use and learn and to help meet the changing market demands brought about by the econoapocalypse. So how has the team has seen its business change and what challenges have its customers faced since the beginning of the economic downturn?
“A really good indicator was that the interest in our products went up and sales of our products went up,” says Smith. “Companies faced with tough economic conditions really have two choices. They can lay off staff because there isn’t as much work. Then when things do pick up, they have to go on a recruitment drive and re-educate staff.
Or they can spend that time getting better at their jobs, so when things do pick up, they can come out of it quicker and stronger.” “There have been many companies that have sat back and thought ‘OK, I don’t want to lose my best engineers, what can I do to improve the situation?’
Trailer configuration including tyres, doors, lights and side bars
In a highly competitive global market, engineering departments are harder pushed, asking for more variation of a product and companies can’t get away with saying ‘You can have any colour you want as long as it’s black’.
“People need the configurability. They have it in their daily, private lives. I can go online now and configure my own pizza for delivery in the next half hour. And if people have that type of thing at home, they expect that at work as well. And there’s no reason why they shouldn’t get it.
But the reality is that if companies have to design more, given the same time frame, they have two choices. Employ more people or design quicker. And a good way to design quicker is to automate.”
Amidst the tough market conditions, there has also been a trend for the average lifecycle of products to drop. There has never been a greater pressure on designers and engineers to turn around complete products in such a short space of time.
And usually on a much more regular and shorter interval than has historically been the case. I’ve long been convinced that design automation is a good thing, even if just used to take care of routine and perhaps mundane repetitive tasks that many engineers face on a weekly basis.
Smith agrees, “Because product lifecycles are shorter, even if you have a product that’s partially configurable, the chances are your competitors will come up with a better product. “You only need to go to an electrical store and look at the choice you have in televisions.
When I was young, there would be eight to choose from. Now there are 80. And then each of those eight might have been on the shelf for a couple of years. Now it’s a couple of months.
“Rates of new product introduction are going up, but the engineers are busy doing work for production. If you want more throughput, automation is a fantastic idea and you could go a long way to freeing up
those engineers to develop new products if you automate repetitive tasks.”
The cloud & the future
DriveWorks has been ahead of the game when it comes to offering web-based services. With our industry’s current fascination with ‘The cloud’, how does the DriveWorks team’s feel about this subject?
“I think to some extent we have always been ahead of the game with the technology we have developed,” says Smith. “There have been web-based sales configurators out there for a while, but going back to our philosophy of enabling people to do this for themselves, and having a sales configurator online that you install, put your own data in, manage yourself and get up on the web, really quickly – we are ahead of the times with that.
“There’s been a definite shift in our sales, to more web-based licenses for exactly that. A quite definite shift. It’s partly driven by globalisation, with more companies being part of multi-national groups and selling products all over the world.
Web-based services or products like this are much more accepted now. Also, if companies are already engaged with rules-based automation, allowing their engineers to define and use the system, it’s a natural step for sales staff to use the same system, especially if it ‘looks good’ too.”
While it’s clear that the DriveWorks team has a good solid plan in place for its existing product offering, there has been much speculation and discussion of SolidWorks’ own future strategy, particularly when it comes to the move to the V6 platform and perhaps a cloud-based product offering.
It’s clear that anyone who’s embedded in the SolidWorks partner community is going to be affected and should at least be making plans for the future and trying to gauge how these changes will affect their businesses.
DriveWorks is a perfect example. It is sold through the VAR channel exclusively and its entry-level product is delivered in the install with every copy of SolidWorks. When talking about the state of flux Smith is more than upbeat and in relation to the VAR channel, he foresees a mix of both mergers and splits in different territories but maintains his commitment to the channel and existing distribution method.
“We’re committed to the SolidWorks reseller channel - partly because our product is a mass market one, partly because we want to carry on being a product development company that develops software, not a consulting company,” he explains.
When drawn on the subject of a new platform emerging from SolidWorks, Smith is similarly upbeat. “SolidWorks, as it is today, will be around for a good few years and we’ll continue to develop our product to automate it for years to come. From that point of view, it’s business as usual.
In terms of movement to the cloud, to a certain extent we have everything we need to support that and we’re already doing it with modules within DriveWorks Pro and some of the things we’re introducing with DriveWorks 8.0 even more so.
“In terms of us integrating with a cloudbased CAD system, we’re ready to roll and just need the CAD vendors to make that happen.”
www.driveworks.co.uk
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Black magic
08 March 2011
Process types: Design and Simulate
Tanya Weaver talked to Black Diamond, a leading specialist in all conditions mountain gear, to find out how it used design and simulation software to develop its new free ride ski boot
Imagine if the hobby you love was actually part of your everyday working life. Well, that is what it’s like for many of the employees at Black Diamond, a Salt Lake City-based manufacturer of climbing and skiing equipment.
“Everybody is a skier or a climber and probably most of us do both,” says Ben Walker, director of R&D at Black Diamond. “It’s a pretty critical aspect of our entire design team.”
A few years back the company decided to venture into a new area - free ride ski boots. Free ride skiers hike up mountains and then ski down on fresh snow. Often, not being able to find the right boots to perform both functions of climbing and skiing, they would take two pairs with them, wear one and carry the other in their backpack.
The challenge for Black Diamond was to create one boot that had the functionality, performance and fit for both purposes. “It was a fairly logical decision to go into free ride boots because we already do skis and bindings, poles and avalanche safety equipment so to add the last big piece of skiers’ equipment to the collection just made sense,” explains Walker.
Team building
Walker manages Black Diamond’s design team, which consists of six mechanical engineering designers and four industrial designers. As many projects are worked on simultaneously this team is then divided into smaller teams for each project.
“The free ride boot project had a team of two mechanical engineering designers and two industrial designers for the first part of the process and then one each after that,” says Walker.
Additionally, each project team consists of quality assurance engineers and product developers, who work as a liaison between the designers and the factory. “Also occasionally we bring in people from our supply chain group to help with the logistics of a project,” says Walker.
The design process at Black Diamond is fairly traditional. “We start out doing a lot of conceptualisation, hand sketches and very rough, cobbled together prototypes to try out ideas,” explains Walker. “We also try to get some testing in on those to make sure that the idea is legitimate and valid.”
Once a concept is chosen, the design team will then bring their ideas into CAD. Black Diamond uses the Siemens NX digital product development system in the creation of all its products.
The six mechanical engineering designers use Siemens NX with one of the industrial designers using NX and the other three using Alias for Class A surfacing. “NX allows us to go from Class A surfaces all the way through to first prototypes and manufacturing,” describes Walker.
Concurrent design
The engineers and designers work collaboratively from the very start of any project.
“Our products are a little bit unique in that, with consumer electronics or automobiles for instance, there is a lot of engineering on the inside and then a nice shell that covers it all up,” says Walker.
“Our products, of which the free ride boot is a good example, the same parts that need to be strong and provide the performance characteristics are also the parts you look at. So engineering and industrial design really need to be incorporated into the same parts.”
NX allows the various team members to work on the boot design simultaneously. An industrial designer could be working on the outside surfaces, whilst an engineer focuses on the foot shape or on the cutter for the buckles.
“We have developed some fairly unique processes where using some of the tools in NX we are able to pass files back and forth between Alias and NX without losing history. We are also able to continually update and modify them on both the engineering and industrial design side,” says Walker.
For Walker, the one NX tool that is particularly useful is NX ShapeStudio with its powerful surfacing features. The same geometry created by the designers in NX Shape Studio is then used by the engineers to analyse the boot’s performance and to design injection moulded parts. The engineers will then carry out a number of simulations on the parts. For instance, the NX Nastran Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) tool is used to carry out a great deal of Finite Element Analysis (FEA).
The analysis results generated from this and other NX simulation tools are often very similar to the real life results, but it takes experience to achieve this.
“The tricky thing with any sort of analysis done in a computer is the analysis is only as good as the inputs you put into it,” says Walker. “That is always the challenge - finding a way to set up the boundary conditions that are really reflective of how that product will be used in the field.
“But as we have enough experience of skis, boots, bindings and all of the other products, both as users as well as designers, we generally have pretty good success with our analysis giving us results that are indicative of how it will perform in the field,” he adds.
Let’s get physical
Although the team makes fewer physical prototypes as a result of using CAE software, they still rely on them no matter how accurate the analysis is.
“The way we look at analysis is that it allows our design iterations to move us closer to the final result but in the end, since the products we build are really used in (not to sound too melodramatic) life or death situations, if something we build fails it really can be pretty catastrophic,” comments Walker.
“I don’t think it would be legitimate for us just to use analysis - we really need to ensure that the products we build are being built in a way that won’t fail.”
Each prototype, both those built early on in the design process as well as production parts, are very vigorously tested in the Lab as well as in the field. “The simulation tools are a nice part of the design process but once we get to actual prototypes or parts off tooling then we are always testing these in our Quality Assurance Lab,” comments Walker.
“We had some custom-built machines specifically for the boot project that are able to test both performance characteristics like the boot flex as well as strength, fatigue, properties of the different materials and mechanisms. These tests were done at both cold temperatures as well as room temperature to simulate all the different environments that the boot could be used in,” he adds.
Having a field day
The designers and engineers do a lot of the field testing themselves. “Our office is only about 20 minutes away from world class skiing so it’s not at all unusual to build some sort of prototype or aspect of the boot that we want to test and then go out in the afternoon and ski for a couple of hours,” says Walker.
So, does he call this work? “Occasionally,” he laughs.
The design team in Salt Lake City will then work with their colleagues at the office in China on the final design and manufacture of the boot. CAD files are shared between the two and any final tweaks can be easily made.
“Our designers and product developers spend a lot of time working directly with the factory to ensure that their processes match the way that we want them to be processed,” says Walker.
After being in development for two to three years, the free ride boot has successfully been launched. “It’s been a great success for us - a very good boot and in many ways it’s defined, I guess, a segment of the market that was not being very well addressed by ski boot manufacturers in the past,” says Walker.
“Being the manager of the design team it’s easy to say that the success all came from the design of a great product. From that perspective the CAD tools that we use, the expertise of the team, the way we work together - all those are really keys to the success,” he concludes.
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The power of Pi
02 March 2011
Process types: Design and Visualise
The PiCycle is a new breed of electric bicycle. Designed and manufactured in California, it is being touted as a truly sustainable transport solution. Tanya Weaver looks at how design technology helped realise this bold vision
The PiCycle is a new breed of electric bicycle. Designed and manufactured in California
When you see the PiCycle for the first time, you can’t help doing a double take.
With its arched aluminium tube it bears some resemblance to a bicycle, but not like one you’ve ever seen before.
In fact, it’s an electric bicycle offering pedal, motor or hybrid propulsion - a melding of the best of both a bicycle and motorcycle.
“I love that PiCycle elicits strong feelings including bad ones,” says PiMobility’s founder and CEO, Marcus Hays.
Hays set up PiMobility in Sausalito, California, in 2000. His aim was to create an electric hybrid bicycle that would be all about efficiency, not only of structure but also of purpose.
He felt frustrated that the only country where electric bicycles could be made cost effectively was China. He wanted to engineer a simpler structure that would achieve economies of scale without the need for cheap labour.
“My aim was to organise all of the otherwise disparate parts that comprise an electric bicycle and human powered propulsion into an integrated whole, eliminating plastic whenever possible and solving critical battery reliability issues,” explains Hays.
The question was: how would he efficiently connect two wheels with a motor, batteries and electronics? The most straightforward answer was inside the object itself. The arch ensued - a clear case of form following function.
Hays believed that this arch design would offer many benefits over conventional layouts. “The arch provides a number of opportunities to solve a long list of problems relating to electric hybrid bicycles that the double diamond simply can’t and wasn’t intended to,” he says.
Most importantly the interior of the arch offers a great amount of unobstructed space. This meant that Hays could do away with the plastic battery enclosures that he has such a gripe with and, instead house the batteries securely inside the arch itself.
As well as providing strength, the arch also provides cooling and heat dissipation for this power source, with air moving through the arch and over the battery length as the bike is ridden.
The arc angel
Hays made his first rudimentary sketch of the arch-based PiCycle in Spring 2000. Although he says several prominent engineers tried to talk him out of the project early on, he relentlessly pursued.
From pencil sketches, he jumped directly to the real thing and commissioned a commercial building firm to roll a four-inch tube from an off-the-shelf extrusion. Although this process took six months, when he received the tube he knew that he was onto something special. “When I saw my first finished tube it was simply beautiful to gaze upon,” he proudly boasts.
Committed to the arch, he then worked on making the design simpler. This involved, amongst others, subtracting tubes, reducing the wheelbase, implementing a rubber belt drive and embedding WiFi diagnostics. But it was by no means a smooth development process as many obstacles and challenges arose.
Finding the right machine technology proved highly challenging, as did sourcing the appropriate tubes that weren’t dented or twisted.
“The lack of any straight edges also made for some mind-bending challenges during otherwise straightforward processes such as welding fixture construction,” recalls Hays.
Sustainability drive
Throughout the development Hays remained loyal to his vision of creating a truly sustainable transport solution. “Green design and manufacturing processes require deep commitment as the temptation when finances are being challenged is to round off the corners,” he explains.
“I encourage all to resist the temptation of implementing low cost, antiquated, and otherwise failed methodologies because the end product and experience for all concerned - including employees, customers and management - is so much better when the aim remains true.”
Sourcing the right sustainable material for the arch itself was a key consideration. Hays chose recycled aluminium, as it requires just one-thirteenth the amount of electricity to produce when compared to virgin aluminium, further reducing environmental impact. “After factoring in life cycle the evidence supports down-cycled aluminium being the cleanest possible material for motor vehicle platforms,” confirms Hays.
Although the current PiCycles are made from this material, he says that he will keep looking at new materials and will replace it if something better and more sustainable comes along.
Hays wants to utilise as many green manufacturing processes as possible and although the PiCycle has fewer welded intersections than a double diamond construction, his objective is to minimise the amount of welding necessary and possibly even replace it. He feels it’s rather time consuming and the objective is to make the PiCycle as efficient a structure as possible.
Hays has also carried out a life cycle assessment of the bike. “We estimate that a PiCycle frame offers a 50-year lifecycle,” he explains. “Combine this with the fact PiCycle is ‘battery agnostic’.
This means that the tube interior invites virtually any battery configuration or chemistry so when the time comes in roughly 15,000 miles to replace the batteries, PiCycle will not be outmoded by battery pack issues.”
The life of Pi
The PiCycle project has been many years in the making and has required a great deal of patience on Hays’ part. As he puts it, “Human power is a very fickle energy source.”
Apart from a lack of any outside funding, one of the main reasons for the slow development process is that with it being a completely new design, he had to invest a great deal of time in ensuring it was ergonomically sound. “Aligning PiCycle’s ergonomics perfectly with the rest of the machine required several generational evolutions (four to be exact),” he says.
However, the project was given a real boost when in 2009 PiMobility became an Autodesk Clean Tech Partner. This program supports emerging clean technology companies in North America and Europe by providing them with up to five licenses of Autodesk design and engineering software. “It was at this juncture I was able finally to integrate all of my ideas into a single CAD file,” says Hays.
“The Autodesk support also opened doors to engineers previously beyond my price range. This revolutionised Pi’s workflow and in 2010 we undertook what was literally an ‘axles-up’ redesign such that while the shape of PiCycle appears relatively unchanged for 2011, it is a completely new product,” he adds.
Hays and his team were able to use each of the Autodesk programs - Inventor, Vault, Alias, Showcase and Publisher - via Parallels desktop for Macs, which allows for Windows applications to be run on a Mac.
“As a latecomer to this technology my discovery that Inventor incorporated relatively intuitive tool sets with Mac compatibility to boot made what otherwise would have been an especially difficult technology transition into something much less difficult and in some cases even enjoyable,” comments Hays.
Whilst Inventor has been used for 3D modelling, Alias with its conceptual design tools and Showcase 3D visualisation software is turning out to be especially valuable for the website ‘configurator’ that the PiMobility team are currently erecting on picycle.com.
Autodesk Vault data management software is also proving to be very useful considering that PiMobility’s supply chain consists of some 36 individual suppliers scattered from Louisiana to China. “The intuitive quality of all the Autodesk software products we are using makes it possible for all our teams (engineering, design, communications, technical manual and writing teams) to integrate and interface very efficiently and economically,” says Hays.
Within just a couple of months of using Inventor, the team made some valuable discoveries. For instance, they realised that by simply increasing the tube diameter from 4 to 4.5 inches they could alter the design of the battery pack shaving $360,000 in cost over 1,000 units.
“This change not only impacted the battery pack for the better but relieved several areas where tolerances were especially tight including the phase-change based material that houses the battery and electronic components within the tube,” explains Hays.
“This alteration also made it possible to relocate the charger to the tube’s interior eliminating the need to lug external battery chargers around in a backpack or messenger bag.”
It wasn’t just the frame that was modelled in Inventor but all the components too. “We were having so much fun with the software Autodesk granted that we went mad modelling everything on our shelves - tyres too,” smiles Hays.
Although Inventor is a digital prototyping solution PiMobility still opted to make physical prototypes of the PiCycle. “With Inventor we no longer have to make prototypes but we do anyway,” says Hays. “Mostly because we’re a bunch of kids when it comes to riding anything new, which makes it impossible for anyone here to wait for production.”
Local support
Hays has tried to source components as locally as possible but with most bicycle parts made in China, Taiwan and Malaysia he can’t help having a global supply chain.
They do however source PiCycle’s down-cycled aluminium extrusions from mills located within a few hours of PiMobility’s headquarters.
This aluminium is then bent in-house with the use of a mandrel bender. “We have a machine that bends each tube in approximately 30 seconds,” explains Hays. “And because the fork is forged we can manufacture a PiCycle in approximately one hour.”
As a result of the less labour-intensive design and rapid manufacturing process the company is able to maintain production in-house and still be profitable. All fabrication and welding assembly is carried out in PiMobility’s 5,000 sq ft factory. “Quality is initially a priority over pure dollars and cents,” comments Hays. “We find that by doing most things internally we have more control over quality, resulting in happier customers and ultimately, we believe, more profit.”
Additionally, producing the PiCycles locally means that much of the transportation carbon that often affects even environmentally sustainable goods can be eliminated.
“We’re constantly tweaking our logistics to enhance fuel efficiencies but despite these various imperfections we estimate that every PiCycle embeds roughly 200lbs of carbon dioxide per vehicle during manufacturing,” admits Hays.
More than a decade on from his first sketch, the PiCycle is now in serial production. There are 1,000 units currently being manufactured and these will be available from April. One of these models will set you back $2,995.99 (£1,880).
“The price of a PiCycle is governed more by LiION battery costs than any other component and unfortunately it’s something we have little to no control of,” explains Hays.
“Battery development and scaling trends do however point to a near term horizon of significantly lower prices mated to significantly higher capacity. Savings that we will most certainly pass on to our customers as they occur,” he adds.
In his opinion, the PiCycle offers far more than conventional hybrid electric bicycles.
“Ride a PiCycle at 35mph down a San Francisco-grade slope and the differences are immediately apparent,” he comments. “From PiCycle’s braking spec to its steering geometry, wheelbase and balance, there’s no other electric bicycle I’ve ridden (yet) that instills an equivalent degree of confidence.”
So, ten years later and Hays is a happy man.
His journey may have been tough and painfully slow at times but in the end certainly worthwhile.
With the imminent launch of the 2011 model, there are many more designs in the pipeline. “Practicality without dullness is our mantra and in keeping with this philosophy we’re introducing a tandem. ‘PiCycle Too’ not only adds the benefit of a second pedalling position but it offers ergonomics compatible with an eight year old child.
“I know because I have an eight year old godson who has been assisting in PiCycle’s development since he was four. His assistance ranged early on in the form of child carriers then evolved into tag along bikes, trailers and now that he’s taller he wants to help pedal to school and back…the future is bright indeed.”
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The art of parts
02 March 2011
Process type: Manufacture
Kramski, one of the world’s leading tooling and parts manufacturers, optimised its product development processes and improved product quality with an integrated PLM solution based on NX and Teamcenter
Kramski Group’s success story started in 1978 with the launch of Kramski GmbH in Pforzheim, Germany. Founded by Wiestaw Kramski, the company’s objective was to develop and manufacture innovative stamping and progressive die tools.
Just one year later, the company was selected as one of the award recipients in a contest recognizing the successes of newly established companies. The competition was conducted by the magazine, Capital, which honoured Kramski with 30,000 Deutsche Marks (the official currency of West Germany at the time) in prize money.
Much has changed since that time, except for Kramski’s continued success.
With a transformed business strategy in the 1990s, the company became a leading supplier of micro parts of metal and plastic. Kramski develops and manufactures most of its own high-speed, progressive die and mould tools and manufacturing systems for in-house part production. In fact, Kramski produces 100 percent of its tools, using 95 percent of the tools it produces in-house.
Globally positioned
A global company, Kramski has established development and manufacturing sites in Germany, India and the United States. The company delivers more than two billion parts like connectors, electrical contacts and switches to its customers around the world.
Automotive, electronics, telecommunications and medical technology represent its primary targets. Customers in these and other select industries benefit from the company’s extensive market experience and technology expertise, which ensure both high and consistent quality across its product lines. This includes professional golf putters designed and produced both in Germany and the United States by a separate business unit.
For all products designed and manufactured at the Kramski sites, high precision and productivity are imperative. The high productivity achieved by the company’s tools and manufacturing systems allow it to produce parts in Germany and sell them worldwide at competitive prices.
This also applies to all other sites. While the Florida-based US site produces goods mainly for US customers, Kramski’s main customer base is located in China. In addition, the Kramski Lanka Pvt. Ltd. in Sri Lanka delivers mould and die tools and composite parts to customers throughout Asia, Europe and North America.
Moreover, Kramski’s decentralised manufacturing strategy means excellent cost benefits for both the company and its customers.
Advanced technology
Converting innovative ideas into reality requires not only know-how and dedication of employees, but also the use of advanced technology.
In the case of a manufacturing company like Kramski, this includes productive and precise computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine tools for drilling, milling or electrical discharging, as well as sophisticated IT solutions to support and optimise design and manufacturing processes.
Kramski was an early pioneer of CAD and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software like many other manufacturing companies in the 1980s and 1990s. Management noted that this was a time that CAD/CAM systems generally promoted advantages greater than they could deliver, meaning that ultimately there were no true turnkey solutions available to handle all of the specific requirements of product development.
In 1995, Kramski deployed a 2D CAD system that was highly customised in order to address missing functionality and to automate time-consuming routine works.
Although this system was quite successful, over the years more and more barriers arose. For example, the missing functionality to define complex 3D surfaces made it difficult to reliably manufacture parts within consistent quality standards.
In addition, without an integrated software system for managing processes and product data, it was complicated for multiple designers to simultaneously work on the same tool, thus increasing the risk of data control and revision issues.
The move to PLM
Due to the limitations arising with its customised system, in 2005, Kramski began deploying Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) technology from Siemens PLM Software. This included NX, in conjunction with the Product Data Management (PDM) system, Teamcenter.
Critical to the selection of NX was its broad-based functionality and overall flexibility, as well as its support of process-specific applications for the design of progressive die and mould tools, including Progressive Die Wizard, Mold Wizard, and Electrode Design. Especially important was the seamless integration between NX and Teamcenter.
Kramski deployed Teamcenter to improve concurrent engineering design processes and to manage product data and release status. This includes a clear control of release processes and access rights, automated bill of materials (BOM) creation, and workflow optimisation.
The company also wanted to provide designers, as well as manufacturing engineers, shop floor employees and other personnel with easy access to 3D model visualisation.
From a business perspective, the investment in NX and Teamcenter was explicitly aimed at improving productivity, shortening development and production cycle time, and improving the quality of processes and products.
Customisation for further automation
Considering the complexity of Kramksi’s progressive die tools, and with metal forming no longer being done with just stamping and bending of sheet metal anymore, Kramski employed an internal programming team to further extend the advantages of NX and Teamcenter.
In fact, producing the company’s tools most effectively is accomplished with modules for deep-drawing, laser welding and assembly functions. The intent of the customisation project was distinctly different than what the company implemented with its prior system, that being, to add functionality.
The customisation of NX was done to further automate routine work processes and shorten design time, including a streamlined approach to filling libraries with proprietary standard parts.
“The designers should concentrate on their design tasks and not be interrupted by routine work,” explains the system developer for NX and Teamcenter at Kramski.
“For example, part numbers, positioning information and other material master information are automatically assigned to parts and checked by the system, so that the data for the exchange with our ERP [Enterprise Resource Planning] system is correct.”
Concurrent engineering
Shortening the development cycle time for a new tool requires the capability for multiple designers to work simultaneously on the same project.
“Progressive dies consist of one assembly and multiple sub-assemblies for the different required steps,” notes the group leader of tool design at Kramski. “With Teamcenter, we now can control the access rights, which allow different designers to work in parallel on different subassemblies.
“Usually, a designer works on one particular subassembly at a time. Once the work reaches a specific status, another designer starts on the same module with detailing or drawing creation. Here again, Teamcenter controls the access rights.”
Increased transparency
The vision to replace technical drawings with 3D product models for visualisation has sparked a provocative debate within the manufacturing industry for years.
At Kramski, this point is regarded very pragmatically. The goal is not to achieve an absolutely paperless factory, but to simply reduce the number of drawings. The first step has been done with the move to 3D CAD and advanced PDM. Up-to-date 3D models of tools, manufacturing systems and end products are made accessible to all involved parties at any time.
This not only makes the complete product engineering process essentially transparent, it also reduces possible misconceptions and constant queries.
Improving quality
Across the board, the deployment of PLM has led to a measurable quality improvement of products and processes.
There are numerous examples of this success. Integrated, 3D surface-design functionality enables higher precision and consistently reproducible tooling parts. The prior system often required manual adjustment of areas with freeform surfaces.
According to the group leader, “With this functionality, we obtain a high degree of added value, and without 3D we couldn’t manufacture our parts at the required quality. In addition, we can flatten the 3D part to automatically produce and get the shape of the flat blank.
“Based on the blank, we can easily define the width of the sheet and the feed. This functionality was not available in the 2D system. Another plus is that the strip in 3D corresponds to the strip in the real tool. With this function, notches or recesses are not overlooked and an accurate design of the different stations is possible.”
There’s another advantage. The fine-tuning process, which is virtually always required to turn the theoretically exact end product into the real one, has been measurably simplified using NX.
Enter Teamcenter to further improve processes. “With Teamcenter, we always have a uniquely defined drawing for our tools,” notes the group leader. “With the defined workflow, the data is always up-to-date. With the combination of NX and Teamcenter, we always have a properly defined and up-to-date parts list for our tools. Our colleagues on the shop floor cannot access outdated or wrong data, and if an old drawing happens to be lying around, it is readily recognised.”
Teamcenter uses stored data to automatically generate a tooling sheet, which contains critical tool parameters. In addition, the bill of materials and other important process-related documents are generated.
Competitive edge
Teamcenter and NX have led to a more transparent and secure product engineering process, from concept design through manufacturing and assembly.
Designers are focused on their work and are now working in parallel and collaboratively. Improved visualisation capabilities have resulted in the clear communication of design intent.
Kramski’s products are being produced at a higher level of consistent quality. And Kramski continues to fervently identify areas for process advancement, including a focus on the ongoing process of part standardisation to achieve continuously shorter development cycle times and the automation of more workflows.
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Bottle it
23 February 2011
Process types: Design and Manufacture
From water and soda to beer and gin, Stephen Holmes can certainly hold his drink with the latest in reusable bottles
Swig from your Sigg
Sigg bottles are made from leak-proof, recyclable, extruded aluminium: perfect for storing your New Year detox supply of water; or gin to help you fall back off the wagon.
Whatever the tipple inside, the bottle itself is the result of over 100 years of Swiss craftsmanship – originally designed as a bed warmer and later transformed into a drinking flask for use by mountaineers up in the Alps.
All components are designed, engineered, sourced and manufactured in Switzerland under the watchful eye of Sigg product development manager Andreas Germann.
“Every year a new collection is introduced, comprising more than 150 designs that complement current colour and fashion trends,” states Germann. “The designs have allowed Sigg to move from a functional product to an aspirational lifestyle brand that combines Swiss craftsmanship with the best of international art.”
Underneath the art is the traditional aluminium body; a special liner inside the bottle to prevent any taste or odour transfer from different beverages, and a bottle cap that is tested at least 55,000 times to check for any change to the material.
All components are modelled in Autodesk Inventor taking in all the traditional detail as well as any new designs.
“Bottles and caps are developed and improved based on consumer or retailer insights,” says Germann, adding that these are worked on in a dedicated development team ‘lab’.
“This team is responsible for coming up with sketches and technical product features, as well as carefully considering production feasibility. The development team will also design and/or adapt any tooling necessary for production.”
The bottle model is then sent out to various graphic and industrial designers for them to create the artwork and any other additions to the cap. “This step is necessary as more and more competitive re-usable bottle companies are launching ‘design’ bottles,” says Germann.
The whole process is very hands-on with CAD playing only a small part. Traditional physical testing is employed; with emphasis on the trial and error techniques that have been used at Sigg for decades.
The resulting bottle is fashionably attired on the outside, but is an incredibly tough and sustainable piece of design.
KOR-Blimey!
Drinking a pint of ‘council-pop’ has never looked so elegant or damn sophisticated since the launch of the KOR ONE. At first glance it could be passed off as a trending fad; another example of ‘over designed’ gimmickry. In reality it’s had a lot of thought and care put into its sleek lines and distinctive shape.
“KOR Water recognised the need for a healthy, sustainable, environmentally sound way to stay hydrated and challenged our design team to create a reusable water bottle as innovative and inspirational as it was healthy and environmentally sound,” says Ravi Sawhney, CEO of California-based RKS Design, the team behind the KOR ONE.
Its distinctive obelisk shape, the integrated ‘halo’ carry handle, the white trim, a spout designed for pouring and to feel good on the lips, and a one-button opening mechanism that gets rid of fiddly screw-tops leaving the lid hinged open at 180 degrees: it’s pretty special for a water bottle.
Initial concepts and sketches were turned into a 3D model that could be reworked to encompass all the key design features using PTC CoCreate, giving the team a flexible model that could be used in a variety of ways.
“Our firm’s in-house rapid prototyping lab produced models that aided various aspects of the design process in establishing appropriate ergonomics, aesthetics and function,” explains Sawhney.
By doing so RKS achieved what it describes as the ideal size and shape of the mouthpiece: “the single, most key point of user interaction.”
Such was the desire to keep the bottle crystal clear it was at the bottom of the bottle where the design team worked closely with the manufacturer to eliminate the “gate”. The ‘nobbly bit’ normally located in the centre to optimise the flow of plastic was moved off to the side because they wanted the bottom to also remain clear.
Once you’ve drunk from a KOR ONE you’ll never be able to show up in the gym using an old Gatorade bottle again.
www.korwater.com
www.rksdesign.com
Beer monster
After your detox has ended (failed spectacularly) you’ll want to use your new drinks vessel to help get back to normal – fitting in a super-size beer.
Cool Gear International designs, manufactures and markets an innovative line of freezer bottles, storage containers and insulating products that can use a reusable “freezer gel” to keep drinks and food cold longer.
The company’s fun product line grew out of the imagination of a team of artists and graphic designers that initially eschewed 3D design tools.
This all changed when it came to manufacture.
“When we began having some issues working with overseas manufacturers, we realised the need for a 3D CAD system,” states Cool Gear designer John Mason. “We believed that a 3D CAD system would not only provide greater accuracy, but would give us greater control over the final design, resulting in less variability and creating the efficiencies we needed to support an expanding product line.”
Taking the 2D designs into SolidWorks, the team can better visualise the final product. The software also helps Cool Gear rework designs quicker, and better manage its data compatibility when working with its foreign product manufacturers.
“More of our products involve multiple pieces,” says Mason. “The improved visualisation we enjoy with SolidWorks helped us to do a better job on that design. As a result, we were able to create a higher-quality product, while reducing the design cycle and minimizing scrap at the same time.”
Cool Gear are also benefitting from in-house rapid prototyping, using its 3D data to build life-size test models on its Dimension SST1200 3D printer.
“There is just no substitute to holding the physical design in your hand,” exclaims Mason. “Before implementing 3D CAD, we had to wait on prototypes, which often did not match what we envisioned.”
The company estimates that it is producing cups, containers and mugs 25 per cent quicker than before, pushing its previously 2D designers to be more creative with the possibilities – such as its monster 1.6 litre Titan Mug, which should get you through even the dullest first half of the football.
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Little box of tricks
11 February 2011
Process types: Design and Manufacture
Love it or hate it, the Boxee Box certainly evokes an emotional reaction from those who see it. Tanya Weaver talks to the industrial designers behind the creation of this bold new digital media product
We have entered the age of the Smart TV. Through a set top box or technology integrated into the TV itself, you can now enjoy free and paid for content on the internet from the comfort of your couch.
Boxee concept sketches
Although there are now many players in this market place, a small US company - Boxee - that once had lofty ambitions of taking the Smart TV industry by storm is now doing just that. Its first device is a sleek, asymetrically aligned cube that breaks with tradition with a shape that can’t be stacked.
The Boxee Box plugs into the back of the TV and connects to the web via a wired or wireless N network connection. Users can watch movies and TV programmes from the internet, stream videos from nearly any website, exchange recommendations with friends through social media sites as well as organise personal music, photos and videos. It also comes with a nifty remote that incorporates a QWERTY keyboard on the underside.
“My favourite bit about Boxee is that even on its first boot up, the TV Show and Movie libraries are already pre-populated with thousands of titles from sources we’ve indexed online. Every Boxee device is an internet jukebox ready to play,” explains Zach Klein, Boxee’s chief product officer.
Small beginnings
Five friends founded Boxee in 2007 with the idea of providing free, open source software over the internet. It soon caused quite a stir with users downloading the software and installing it on any computer capable of being connected to a TV.
By converting an iPhone into a remote, or using a simple PC remote, users could then sit back and watch online content on a bigger TV screen. Although this method of creating a ‘Boxee’ worked fine, the real challenge was then to make the software available to a wider audience. It soon became obvious that Boxee needed to create a standalone device that would perform the same role.
In order to achieve this Boxee increased its small team to 19 employees, including Klein who joined as head of product in September 2009. He was sought out for his knowledge and experience of the digital media industry having spearheaded a number of projects including co-founding and designing Vimeo.com, a popular video-sharing community.
“My role was created in an effort to unify the experience between every touch-point with our users, whether it be our software, our website, or the devices we power,” says Klein.
“In addition, my personal objective was to grow our software to better leverage the interesting and boundless content that is already freely and legally available online. I’m constantly inspired by the quality of community-generated videos on vimeo.com; I want to easily see that stuff on my TV,” he adds.
In practice
For Klein the software’s user interface was vitally important. As new users would be experiencing and interacting with Boxee for the first time through this device, it needed to be enjoyable and easy to use.
“We certainly already have a passionate and savvy user base, but I also knew that what we were making would be useful to anyone that currently uses the internet to watch video. I wanted them to try Boxee and for their experience to be intuitive and flawless,” he explains.
But the software is only half the story as Boxee now had to create the hardware that would match this interface. For Klein it was important that the hardware and software shared common characteristics, as they would both be expressions of the company, which, in his words, is creative, irreverent and just slightly odd.
“When we started the process there were only two givens: we didn’t want another ‘pizza box’, and the remote had to have a QWERTY keypad,” says Klein. The reason for including the QWERTY keypad on the underside of the remote was that instead of subjecting users to another on-screen keyboard, the remote would include a keypad that could be used as you would a smart phone.
Boxee established a partnership with D-Link, a global manufacturer of networking solutions, to produce the device and then went looking for an industrial design agency to create it. The agency chosen to bring this product experience to life was Astro Studios, which has racked up an impressive portfolio including the Xbox 360+, Microsoft ZuneHD and various Astro Gaming products.
“Being avid users of Boxee’s popular software we were inspired by the company’s irreverence, ingenuity and emerging technology,” comments Michel Alvarez, Astro’s lead designer.
“Its always an exciting opportunity to help develop a new product for an emerging brand. In the case of Boxee Box, we had full support from their team to create something radical and unique, and as designers we are always looking for opportunities like these to make an impact in the consumer world,” he adds.
The initial meeting between the two companies allowed Astro to get a better understanding of the functional requirements of both the main unit and remote. It also revealed the iconic impact Boxee was looking to make, as Alvarez explains
“The Boxee Box was to be their flagship hardware and our goal was to capture the whimsical nature that is ‘Boxee’ while delivering a design that would be memorable and respected as a high-end piece of home electronics.”
Thinking caps
Astro kicks off its design process with a group brainstorming session to capture initial thoughts, details and themes. No idea is ever discarded and all are built upon in order to create, what Alvarez calls, “mild to wild” product themes. In the case of Boxee, a wide range of set top boxes with unique proportions and animate gestures were explored.
“Traditionally we use large Post-its and sketch various concepts and stick them onto a large project wall where we can see them all,” describes Alvarez. “Once we feel we have enough of a range, we begin to move and categorise some of these themes into larger ideas, adding support imagery or sketches to the wall.”
The most promising concepts are then developed into rough foam core models to further evaluate their impact on actual scale. One of the wilder concepts was the idea of a three-dimensional cube emerging from a flat surface. The designers felt that this pure, geometric shape highlighted the simplicity of Boxee’s software.
“When building the ‘emerging box’ we knew that we had landed on an ownable product theme that was simple and obvious,” says Alvarez. “For us the emerging box symbolised Boxee’s emerging technology and their out-of-the-box approach to internet TV.”
However, is this really a practical shape or is it merely a case of style over substance?
“Although the emotional aspect of the design drove the exploration, there are several practical improvements that compliment the asymmetrical design of the box,” argues Alvarez.
“For example, the tilted angle of the box helps to naturally drape the multitude of cables from the rear of the device, improving the stability of the unit on a tabletop edge. This angle also helps funnel the cables in one main direction integrating them into the animate gesture of the product.”
In fact, Alvarez explains how each side of the box delivers a functional aspect of the product experience. On the front the Boxee logo communicates whether the device is on or off. When off, the front reveals a sleek, mirror-like surface but when switched on a green Boxee logo mysteriously emerges from the darkness.
The adjacent side presents the SD media slot, which has been shaped to mimic the Boxee logo’s mouth. The power button has been designed as a surface undulation on the tapering top surface, while the bottom of the unit is secured with green, non-slip rubber helping to ground the product.
Key attraction
As well as the box, Astro also designed the double-sided remote. “Our simple remote divides the user’s interaction into two major sides; the more traditional multimedia side and the more in depth QWERTY side,” says Alvarez.
“The multimedia side features a simple four-way nav with two additional buttons (play/pause and menu), which are all centred on the remote so as to not be pressed accidentally when typing on the QWERTY side.
“The QWERTY side contains a full keyboard of letters and symbols, similar in size to a mobile phone keyboard, that are pocketed into the main surface so they are also not accidentally pressed when rested onto a table. The feel and size of the keys help deliver an integrated keyboard experience while the sheer simplicity and intelligence of the design makes it uniquely Boxee,” he continues.
Astro makes use of a number of design tools. During the design process, the designers primarily use Alias, Rhino, and SolidWorks. In the case of the Boxee Box project, Alias was used to develop early design variations of the main unit and SolidWorks helped refine the remote. In parallel, Illustrator and Photoshop were used to finalise all design details including rear venting and de bossed graphics.
“We also developed photorealistic renderings in Bunkspeed Hypershot and eventually a set of appearance models that helped further define the look and feel we were after for production,” explains Alvarez.
Look and feel
Using the CAD data developed for the main unit the designers created prototypes using Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) additive technology. This helped them to fine-tune certain design elements on the box such as the rear cable interactions.
When it came to the remote, several rough foam models were initially created with keyboard and button variations spray mounted to each side. These were then tested by a range of Astro employees of varying hand sizes in order to really evaluate the proportions and get the ergonomics right. The look and feel was then further refined through several FDM prototypes reflecting the actual volume and weight of the proposed design.
Once the design of both the main unit and remote were finalised, the CAD files were translated into Pro/Engineer for mechanical engineering and ultimately manufacturing. Both the engineer and D-Link use Pro/E so this meant that they could efficiently work back and forth between themselves as the design progressed through manufacture. “There were certain trade-offs along the way, but having all parties aligned on the same vision made it easier to preserve the original design intent all the way through production,” says Alvarez.
Show time
Launched at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2010, Boxee Box was certainly a showstopper outshining many of its competitors. The device received both the ‘Last Gadget Standing’ award as well as being a ‘Best of Innovations’ Honouree in the Home Entertainment category.
Since then D-Link and Boxee have worked closely to add further capabilities and content to the platform. The Boxee Box shipped towards the end of 2010 and is now available in over 30 countries. In the UK you can get your hands on one for £199.
Boxee realises that in such a fast paced industry you can’t afford to rest on your laurels. “We’re never satisfied as perfection is always on the horizon,” says Klein. “The nature of video on the internet is changing quickly, as well as the mainstream user’s sophistication with technology, so we’re continuously challenged to iterate.”
This attitude was demonstrated at the most recent CES in January 2011 with Boxee announcing a partnership with HDTV manufacturer Viewsonic who will deliver the first TV with Boxee software embedded directly into it. Although this means that you no longer need a Boxee Box if you want to watch internet-based TV, there will no doubt be consumers who may opt to do so because of the emotional attachment they have formed with their quirky, sunken cube.
www.boxee.tv | www.astrostudios.com
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New beginnings
24 January 2011
Process types: Hardware and Manufacture
Norton is a 100 year old motorcycle brand that seemed to have lost its way. Tanya Weaver visits its Donington Park factory to find out how this legend is being reborn
Norton is a brand that resonates with many people who still feel an immense pride for this quintessentially British motorcycle manufacturer.
Following the success of the Commando 961SE, Norton has added two new production bikes to its Commando collection, one of which is the Commando 961 Café Racer
Founded in 1898 in Birmingham, the company has a long history of manufacturing both road and race bikes that have stood for performance and excellence.
Norton fans, many of whom still own a Norton bike, have certainly not forgotten its glory days and when in 2008 it was announced that the brand was returning to the UK after a recent tumultuous past, there was much talk about the rebirth of a legend.
Norton’s new home is in an industrial unit alongside the Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit in Derbyshire. From the outside, this low key metal shed doesn’t quite prepare you for what you’ll encounter inside: a shop floor filled with about twenty gleaming Nortons waiting to be delivered and a small workforce buzzing with activity.
The man responsible for bringing Norton back to British soil is UK businessman Stuart Garner, who purchased all the trademarks and development work relating to the brand in 2008.
Norton had been over in the US for the past 15 years where Kenny Dreer, a well-known restorer of vintage bikes, had set up a company in Portland, Oregon, specifically to develop a new Norton Commando road bike.
Although a number of prototype bikes had been designed, sadly not one went into production and in 2006 the company shut down. So, having sealed the deal in just four days, Garner bought a 15,000 square foot factory in Donington Park and started to recruit a brand new team to get his new venture up and running.
The first employee to come on board was Simon Skinner, Norton’s new head of design, who had previously been at Triumph for seven years working on many bikes including the 675 and the new Tiger 800. “I was the first employee here and then I nicked a couple of guys from Triumph other places.
We now have a really strong little team, which gives us a fighting chance of doing something really good,” he says.
Plan of attack
The plan was to first get the retro sports version of the popular 1960s and 1970s Commando model, which the Americans had invested so much money and time developing, into production.
This would then enable the team to start designing brand new Norton models. Although Skinner was very impressed with the styling of the prototype bikes it didn’t take him long to realise that they were not manufacturable.
Not one component could be carried over, which meant he would have to start from scratch. “We had to completely redesign it - every nut and bolt, engine and chassis,” he explains. “Although Stuart Garner picked up the brand thinking it was pretty much ready to go we soon discovered that was far from the case.
We would have loved nothing more than to have worked from the prototype and gone into production but it just wasn’t possible.” The biggest change that would have to be made was putting a new electronic fuel pump for the fuel injection as the carburettors were just not functional.
It was only really when he opened the CAD files of the prototype that he realised all the work that lay ahead of him.
As a Performance Partner of PTC’s VAR Inneo, Skinner had already negotiated a deal for two seats of Pro/Engineer, so although the CAD files had been created in the US using SolidWorks he was adamant that Norton should be a Pro/E house.
“Having used it before I knew that you can do pretty much everything you need to on a bike in Pro/E,” says Skinner. “There is also, of course, Mechanica and other useful features.” Within a year the team had remodelled it in Pro/E, redesigned it and tooled it.
The next stage was setting up a supply chain, which Norton wanted to source as locally as possible. “Selecting a supplier base for the Commando was as tough a job as redesigning the bike,” admits Skinner.
The reason for this was that motorbikes aren’t manufactured in the UK anymore and because they were only after a few hundred parts as opposed to thousands, the team had to seek out small engineering companies.
“We try and keep parts and components as British as we can. The theory is that if we can buy it in the UK then we will,” says Skinner. “If we can’t then we need to go to a premium supplier elsewhere in Europe as I don’t want to go to the Far East.”
At present the bike is about 70 to 80 per cent British with the engine being built in-house at Norton, frames made in Luton and the engine cases cast manufactured in Telford. Components sourced from suppliers outside of the UK include the Italian Brembo braking system, Swedish Ohlins shock absorbers and the carbon wheels from Blackstone Tek in South Africa.
These quality components don’t come cheap and the result is a high performance and premium bike that will set you back around £16,000. “We want to raise the game and be more of an Aston Martin brand than a Ford. Not everyone will be able to afford a Norton but I want everyone to want one,” says Skinner.
Made in Britain
Production on the Commando 961 SE started in March 2009 and the 30 strong staff set about making a couple of hundred bikes in the first year.
Due to its success another two models have now been added to the range - the Commando 961 Café Racer and Commando 961 Sport - but production will not be increased dramatically as Garner’s plan is not for Norton to mass produce products.
With two bikes being built per day, ten new Nortons are emerging from the factory each week. “We don’t want the values to grow to such an extent that we need another production line - we want to keep it as a hand built, niche product,” says Skinner.
In fact, at the recent NEC Motorcycle Show held at the end of November 2010, Norton showcased its hand-built credentials by running a CNC machine alongside the display of the bikes. This also highlighted the fact that Norton is the only UK bike manufacturer actually building its products in the UK.
So far there has been a huge interest in the range from both the motorcycle press, who have given it good reviews, and Norton fans. The bikes have even attracted some pretty high profile customers including Orlando Bloom, Bruce Springsteen and Top Gear’s Richard Hammond.
As Skinner says, it was as if there was a market out there just waiting for Norton to arrive. Many customers are also buying more than one bike - one to ride and one to display in their homes (one customer is even hanging it from a beam in his living room).
“We have a finance package for the bike but not one person has taken it out yet and we have guys buying two to three bikes at a time. That will dry up eventually but what that gives us is an association with the brand,” explains Skinner.
Done deal
With the type approval process almost complete, Norton has also set up a dealer network of nineteen dealerships worldwide for 2011.
With all of these dealers having put in their orders, the 2011 order book is now running to over 3,000. “We can’t make that many, we could make 2,000 at most,” says Skinner happy to keep it as an exclusive brand.
Inside the factory, together with the build room and design offices, there is a storeroom as well as a small machine shop. This houses a number of CNC machines supplied by Hardinge-Bridgeport as well as a Faro arm.
Currently, Norton is only machining a small amount of parts in-house. Also, having only recently discovered that its engine supplier cannot keep up with demand, a new engine build room has been erected outside where the components for the engines will now be assembled. This is no small endeavour as there are 265 unique components included in the total of 553 parts that are used to make the engine.
Obviously this news has caused some upheaval, and recent down-time in the factory, but Skinner believes that it’s for the best as it means that the engines will now both be designed and assembled in-house, so reducing costs and allowing for greater control.
“It’s much easier to scheme it out on CAD and get it made next door rather than having to go through a third party,” he comments.
This also meant Norton had to change the nature of its business as the plan was to not build the engine in-house. “But we will come out the other side,” smiles Skinner. “There is a big light at the end of the tunnel and the tunnel is getting shorter and the light is getting brighter.”
New designs
Now that Norton is successfully building its bikes in-house, Skinner is concentrating on the next range that will feature a completely new design.
The challenge is in ensuring that it looks modern and fresh but still has the Norton design DNA running through it. “It’s really tricky because how do you make it look like a Norton if there hasn’t been a modern Norton for 20 years?” asks Skinner. “It’s also quite a lot of responsibility because I don’t want to be the person responsible for messing up a 100 year old brand.”
Although Skinner won’t reveal what he has up his sleeve he does say that it will be out in two years, will look like an Aston Martin DB9 on two wheels and will cost in the region of £25,000. Skinner gets inspiration and ideas for these new bikes from various places but especially the automotive industry.
The design process then kicks off with his tools of choice - pen and paper. As well as sketching by hand he also uses Photoshop in these initial stages. From then on, the sketching and feasibility in CAD happens side by side.
“With the new bike I have been working on, I have laid it all out in CAD with a fully adjustable geometry part underneath,” says Skinner. “This means that I can change the position of the suspension and various bits, then put the engine in and wiggle it around to where I want it to be.
“Then I’ll do a side view in Photoshop. So, I’ll sketch out the bike and I think that looks a bit weird - the engine is in the wrong place and then do them completely side by side,” he explains.
For Skinner, designing the exterior of a motorbike is very different to that of a car. In a car the engineering is mostly hidden under the bonnet whereas on a naked bike it’s all exposed. For this reason he aims for Norton to be a design-led company. “We certainly need to have design right at the forefront of what the brand stands for,” he says.
As a result, it’s paramount that design and engineering are integrated right from the start.
“Having worked on projects from scratch at Triumph, as well as speaking to designers at other motorcycle manufactures, they are all the same in that the engineer is involved at the start of the project when they are briefed about it, then the stylist does the drawings and a 3D mock-up in clay or foam, then the engineer comes back onto the scene and will reverse engineer it into CAD,” he says. “So although the stylist’s job is now done, the engineering still has a long way to go.
For me that doesn’t work, they need to be completely integrated.” Being a small company with a passionate and dynamic team, and with a new stylist coming on board in early 2011, working this way will certainly be possible.
Racing ahead
When Garner set up his company he described it as a three-legged stool - one leg is building road bikes, one is racing and the other is licensing and merchandising around the brand name.
So although Skinner and his team are concentrating on road bikes at the moment, race bikes will also be very much a part of the brand. “Racing is at the heart of Norton with Rem Fowler having won the first Isle of Man TT in 1907 and we have raced bikes ever since,” he says.
Garner, who also owns Norton Racing Ltd, and in September 2009 broke the World Speed Record at the Bonneville Salt Flats riding a Norton NRV588, not only plans to bring Norton back to road races like the TT, but also in the ultimate bike racing championship, Moto GP.
Skinner has every confidence that Garner, with a string of successful businesses already under his belt - including fireworks, baby stroller and engineering firms - will bring Norton back from the brink and re-establish it as a premier British motorcycle brand.
In fact, the company is expanding and is currently looking out for designers and engineers to bring on board (see DEVELOP3D Jobs to find out more).
www.nortonmotorcycles.com
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Box clever
17 January 2011
Process types: Design, Manufacture and Prototype
Tanya Weaver discovers that with a product designer’s touch MTT Technologies Group’s latest range of Selective Laser Melting machines are much more than metal boxes with technology inside
Walking around last year’s TCT show, which was held at Coventry’s Ricoh arena during October, you were sure to come across some rather innovative rapid prototyping technologies.
Using SolidWorks 4D Products could easily find out how all the parts and components would fit inside the smaller dimensions of the SLM125 as opposed to the bigger SLM250
MTT Technologies Group, a Staffordshire-based company that specialises in the design and production of a range of additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping technologies, was exhibiting its range of Selective Laser Melting (SLM) machines including the SLM125 and SLM250.
This pioneering process is gaining increasing interest due to its ability to create highly complex and intricate metal parts. It uses a high powered laser to fuse fine metal powders together layer by layer direct from CAD data.
“SLM is gaining ground in medical, orthopaedic, dental, aerospace - in fact, lots of industries are starting to review it as a manufacturing technology due to its ability to create parts that can’t be replicated in any other way,” says Robin Weston, group marketing manager at MTT.
Previously the company had been selling another supplier’s SLM machines, however, when this relationship came to an end MTT realised that it was vital to keep the products in the range.
“We decided that, like all our other products, we would design and build our own SLM machines and market them as our own product,” says Weston.
As the larger machine, with its build range of 250 x 250 x 300 mm, was the more popular of the two machines and sold in higher numbers MTT decided to develop that one first using its in-house design resource. However, it soon realised that the smaller machine with its build area of 125 x 125 x 125mm would also need to be developed if it was to launch both machines at a forthcoming trade show.
“Once we had stopped selling the supplier’s machines we had a very short window to get our product line back in place and we didn’t have enough resources in-house to do both projects,” explains Weston. So, the company pulled in some additional design resources in the form of Cheshirebased product design consultancy, 4D Products.
Against the clock
4D initially assisted with some small elements in the design. “Once I had gained knowledge of the 250 system I received the brief to design the 125 machine, which was taking the SLM250 as a platform of technology but then stripping out as much cost and complexity as possible,” describes Iain McCall, 4D Products’ director.
It would still feature the same innovations as the 250 machine, including inert powder handling, safe change filter system and vacuum assisted inert atmosphere, but would be suitable for an office environment and would importantly be able to fit through a normal sized door.
“At the very start we were given a point in the diary that was just three months away. It was really short but we did it and we did it with enough time for it to get manufactured, put together and shipped to the trade show in Cologne,” comments McCall.
Although Weston realised that the design would be constrained by the technology that needed to be wrapped, he wanted the machine to be more than just a metal box.
“A lot of the previous versions of this technology were designed by engineers who were experimenting with how to make the fundamentals work so the usability aspects of the machines (such as cleanliness, safety and the way the operator interacts with the machine) were not well resolved.
So part of the brief that 4D was working to was to de-skill the process – to make it more intuitive and certainly safer so that you minimise the exposure to the powders. Essentially make the technology accessible,” describes Weston.
Sketch up
At the very start of the design process for the SLM125 project McCall sat with MTT’s R&D director and worked out how all the parts would fit within a smaller package.
“Within half an hour we had a biro sketch of how the machine might look with gas handling in this half and electronics in the other. Schematically we could draw it out between us very quickly,” recalls McCall.
Being such a mechanically complex machine he moved very quickly into the CAD environment in order to resolve all this fine detail.
He started with the known elements and using the supplier’s CAD files of the standard parts he built a CAD model of the machine around that.
“The PC is rack mounted so there were CAD models of that and the laser too so we had all these elements dropped in and almost arranged them in an assembly without anything around them. This was the starting point really,” he explains.
The 2D CAD system MTT had previously used ultimately led to frequent errors when building complex, large component machines.
Having seen McCall using SolidWorks to create models and witnessing how much easier it was to design in 3D, the company was spurred on to invest in two seats of SolidWorks. “4D Products was really instrumental in us getting 3D CAD in-house,” admits Weston.
McCall adds, “With MTT using SolidWorks during the project we could very easily create and swap data onsite and offsite as well as constantly keeping track of reviews.”
Taking advantage
Although the SLM125 was always going to be a sheet metal box, McCall wanted to design it as an enclosed system that was as well laid out as possible and straightforward to use.
“It was ‘more designed’ if you like within the constraints of where it was going to be used – it’s an industrial machine at the end of the day but it started to look like a whole system rather than a collection of machined parts,” he explains.
4D also took advantage of the nature of MTT’s business and its low volume manufacturing skills and made full use of its in-house rapid prototyping facilities during the development process.
“They were able to make an SLA model using our machines and then all those who have an influence on the product (like myself) can physically handle something and decide whether it was the right approach for what was needed.
That is a unique aspect of this business - we essentially use the products that we make for everybody else,” comments Weston. So, three months later, on time and on budget, the prototype of the SLM125 was ready for the trade show.
Although the market has been tough Weston is pleased with the investment it made in 4D’s design service and has in fact now noticed an acceleration in interest in both machines and is getting some serious enquiries.
Big to small
For 4D Products, MTT’s SLM system is just one of the many types of projects that the design consultancy gets involved with.
Having set up the company in 2008 McCall and fellow director and co-founder James Bell set out to offer a product development service for various industries.
“All our projects offer different challenges. The SLM125 project consisted of several hundred components and a fairly spacious product envelope.
Recent medical diagnostic products we’ve designed are much smaller - sometimes only two components that must meet strict criteria such as functional requirements, ergonomics requirements as well as strict cost points to be viable,” explains Bell.
“No matter what the brief we take a staged approach to understand very clearly the requirements and scope to operate within and then look to deliver the most effective, attractive and innovative solution possible.”
For a small consultancy it also gets a great deal of return business and has managed to retain all previous clients. For instance, it created a very successful urine screening test device called Uri-Plus for the Mast Group, a UK manufacturer and supplier of diagnostic products for clinical, industrial and veterinary testing.
The product was recently short-listed in both the Innovation in Diagnostics Project and Healthcare Project of the Year categories in the Northwest BioNow Awards.
On the back of its success, Mast is now working with 4D on the design and development of a disposable widget for MRSA screening. So it’s obvious that companies like Mast are seeing a return on the investment they make in design and also appreciate the personal service that 4D offers.
“The products we have done for MTT, Mast as well as our other clients, can be generating revenue for the next five to ten years based on an investment in a small period of time it takes to develop the product,” says McCall.
Helping hands
While Bell and McCall are actively involved in delivering every project, they will employ experienced staff and specialist sub contractors to assist in delivering specific projects, allowing them to be flexible and relevant in the services they offer.
“With the current economic climate we feel that the best way for 4D to remain competitive and sustainable is to offer a core service that is as applicable to as many businesses as possible,” says Bell. “We don’t seem to have any problems demonstrating our broad range of capabilities and then filling the gaps as and when required.
In the past we have brought in specific skills in stress analysis, specific mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial design and 3D animation skills.”
In fact, with the SLM125 project McCall drew on the expertise of a mechanical engineer who worked with him on delivering the project.
In addition to the broad range of consultancy projects, 4D has also recently launched its own branded product called Snapswall, an innovative photo display system.
It was launched on the internet during November and as well as being accepted into three stores in the North West of England, it will now be sold by major high street photo retailer Jessops.
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Light it up!
11 January 2011
Process type: Design
Stephen Holmes takes an illuminating look at three companies lighting the way ahead with the 3D technology
Clear-cut beauty
Crystal specialist Preciosa has been crafting stunning chandeliers and light fixtures for over 60 years, producing the ideal focal point in many prestigious buildings around the world.
Based in the Liberec region of the Czech Republic the company works with a Bohemian tradition that dates back to 1724, although its methods of design and production are strictly 21st century.
After a customer approves the initial sketches, Preciosa engineers use Inventor to create 3D models. From these models, the company can generate 3D views for customers to review and approve designs, as well as create the technical documentation needed for production.
For a company that creates custom fixtures for cathedrals, music halls, hotels, and palaces across the world, being able to digitally prototype a product and send it out quickly for review is a huge benefit to its turnaround time.
“Modern chandeliers may have lots of intricate design elements, such as triangular glass parts arranged in a spiral,” notes Vladimir Kadlec, head of the engineering team. “It would take us a month to design
this type of chandelier in 2D. But with the 3D design capabilities in Inventor, it takes two weeks or less.”
“The 3D models we create in Inventor are digital prototypes that we can evaluate from every angle,” says Josef Oulehla, an engineer at Preciosa. “Inventor lets us test for interferences before we go to production. As a result, we can eliminate mistakes and save money.”
By allowing designers to assess the appearance of light through the crystal and reduce the amount of physical prototypes, it has helped cut design time by 50 per cent. When it comes to production, having an accurate model to work to has helped cut manufacturing mistakes by 70 per cent.
In addition, using a 3D model allows Preciosa to meet critical weight requirements given to them by architects. “We must take into account the material and weight-bearing capacity of the ceiling,” explains Kadlec.
“Using Inventor, we can very precisely calculate the weight of a chandelier so that we know it will never fall down.”
www.preciosa.com
Virtually lit up
Taking shopping online might work for music, film and other media, but for some items you need a better sense of perspective - you need to be touchy-feely.
Getting your hands on something, or just being able to judge whether it’s going to fit into your home décor, is a big part of shopping and something some designers are tackling head on.
Internationally renowned industrial designer Tom Dixon has been at the forefront of furniture and interior furnishings design since the mid-1990s. Right now this UK-based designer is leading the way with how far 3D furniture and lighting designers can take their products.
His ‘Virtual Milan’ is a virtual interactive environment that enabled online viewers from anywhere in the world to experience his design studio’s stand at the Superstudio Piu design space, which was held during the Milan Furniture Fair during April 2010.
By navigating an avatar of their choice, viewers are able to explore all the elements of the stand as if they were actually at the exhibition, viewing Tom Dixon lighting products in real-life scale and colour in a lifelike 3D environment without travelling to Milan.
The same 3D models, designed in SolidWorks and transferred into Dassault Systèmes 3Dvia community platform, can also be viewed on an iPhone with the 3Dvia mobile app. The consumer can easily place the models into real life photos of their interiors to see how they would fit into their home décor.
The result is not only an expansion of the Tom Dixon brand on a global scale, but also a higher level of customer satisfaction.
The days of buying a new light fixture only to find that once home it is too big/small/clashes with your mohair rug and lava lamp are over.
www.tomdixon.net
Under ground, over ground
In-ground exterior lamps are not typically beautiful objects, but with some tight engineering and a slick aesthetic they could be deemed pretty enough for over-ground use.
As a result UK-based Paviom set itself a brief to offer new products with an environmental edge and, with the assistance of designer Jason Thawley, has created the distinctive Lofoot family of exterior lights.
A chance encounter in an ex-Ministry of Defence scrap yard with some Hawker Hunter jet plane navigation lights gave some inspiration to the shape of the light units.
As Thawley says, “These lights had been designed without compromise, to travel through the sound barrier, be subject to extremely fast changes in pressure and temperature yet work faultlessly.
“The design was simple, well thought through, extremely well engineered and manufactured.” The Lofoot lamps were sketched out to be modular units, helping to cut down on the amount of seals and bezels needed, before being drawn up in AutoCAD and transferred into Autodesk Inventor.
Tackling the problems of needing to be watertight, but allowing no condensation to be trapped within, the modular design meant they could be unplugged from their fixings and repaired in a controlled climate, without the need for numerous expensive parts.
This also led to the ‘bulb-like’ aesthetic that proved so likeable that it has been commissioned into a variety of projection and post-top variants, all with the casing out on show, giving Paviom a full family of products from a single design brief.
The 3D models were put to further use with the models being transferred into Autodesk 3ds Max to provide all the marketing images and potential variants to the client’s individual requirements.
The final products were built from high-quality aluminium to last 60 years. Using sustainable materials ensures that this range of energy efficient lighting is 90 per cent recyclable at the end of its life.
From under ground these lights might not see as much of the world as the Hawker Hunters, but through solid design they should easily last as long.
www.paviom.com
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At your service
30 November 2010
Process type: Manufacture
Jaivel Europe is a UK centre of excellence that offers its customers a range of benefits including digital manufacturing services, which Vericut software plays a key role in helping to deliver
Jaivel, an international engineering services group, was originally started in 1998 by Vipul Vachhani to service the Indian advanced engineering market. He went on to set up two centres of excellence.
Jaivel Europe’s business development director, Barry Lomas, says that Vericut is required for new product introduction and the streamlining or re-engineering of existing components
The first is a manufacturing facility in Raijkot where all CAD activity for the group takes place and the second in Mumbai is purely for CNC programming.
With a growing European client base, Vachhani realised that a European office would be beneficial to not only increase the company’s existing orders but also help to address the obvious shortage of engineering staff available.
So, in 2005 he opened Jaivel Europe knowing that the UK had an insufficient supply of good quality engineers. This Mansfield-based facility is the hub for all UK customer facing activities and offers a number of key solutions. Business development director, Barry Lomas, explains: “We have three overlapping business streams.
With the knowledge and capacity available at our facilities in India, we provide outsourced machining or programming services to various sectors, including aerospace, power generation, motorsport and the medical industry.
Currently we have access to around 70 engineers in the UK and India who can be placed with customers as their workload demands either on-site, off-site or off-shore.”
The type of service that Jaivel offers it customers can be termed ‘Digital Manufacturing Services’. Lomas explains just what this involves: “Typically, in the aerospace sector the whole process starts when a customer receives a contract for the manufacture of a number of parts on a repeat basis - normally per month.
As a turnkey solution we’ll take it from that point right through to the final stage, which for us is the First Article Inspection Report (FAIR). Working with the customer’s engineering department we cover the entire process, we decide on methods of manufacture and the machine tools to be used.”
Hand-in-hand
While the manufacturing engineering is being done in the UK, the information is shared with India so that the resource level can be adjusted to achieve any set deadlines.
It is a robust model and the processes and systems work well. Jaivel Europe’s customers can have a whole turnkey solution or they can access parts of it, or just hire resources as needed, effectively accessing and managing extra resources.
“We are currently working with a number of tier one and two companies,” says Lomas. “We work hand-in-hand with the company’s engineering team to level out the peaks and troughs of resource problems many companies face .
Vericut becomes invaluable as we approach these projects, whether its engine components or landing gear using different methods - Barry Lomas, business development director of Jaivel UK
As different businesses use a variety of software, Jaivel Europe uses all the leading CAD/CAM packages such as Catia, Unigraphics/Siemens NX, Solidworks and Delcam’s PowerMill.
Whichever software is used to create the NC code every component program is proven using Vericut as an independent verification of the safe motion of the tool and machine dynamics. “We pride ourselves on the way we approach projects, which may be slightly outside of the box,” explains Lomas. “We provide the customer with all the information so they can see that it is different to how they would have tackled it.
So, Vericut becomes invaluable as we approach these projects, whether it’s engine components or landing gear using different methods. To achieve cost savings and such like you have to ‘shake the tree’ to see if you can do something unusual and Vericut allows us to prove the process concept.”
He continues: “A great example of this involved a brief from a company that was manufacturing impellers on a 4-spindle Lichti machine, which was an old machine to say the least and only two of the spindles were making good components.
The company ordered a new Lichti machine that was on an extended delivery time, so it purchased two single spindle Hermle CNC machines. Our brief was to make the part for much less than it cost with the old process, which was difficult because we had to include the value of the new machines at around £300,000 with single spindles, as opposed to something that was written off in costing terms with twin spindles.
So, we developed a true 5-axis plunge milling approach. The old method was to rough machine, semi finish, and finish, so we eliminated the semi finishing and went straight from a roughing cut with the 5-axis plunge milling getting it close enough so that we could eliminate that next step and go straight into the finishing cut.”
Model behaviour
With the cycle time dramatically reduced, Vericut proved that the CNC code was going to achieve the required savings and that no potential spindle/workpiece collisions would damage the new machine tools.
Jaivel actually uses Vericut to present potential solutions to the customers using screen shots and animation in some instances. And, as part of the turnkey project, Jaivel often has to model the machines for the customer. “Sometimes they already have that information if it’s a legacy machine, and the manufacturing data is believed to be robust.
However, we do not want to crash any machine, and no matter how good your engineers are it is an absolute must that we have the confidence. Running a program through Vericut makes sure that it is doing exactly what we expect it to do. The last thing we want is to damage a customer’s machine tool or collide with a component which results in manufacturing down-time,” comments Lomas.
He points to another advantage of using Vericut: “For project work, it is imperative that we program and deliver the various new parts on a priority basis.
We have just completed a project with over 130 components, and when you are dealing with that number delivered on a specified date detailed capacity planning in terms of changing from the obsolete to a new product is required.
That’s where Vericut kicks in, giving you very accurate cycles times so that you know how much capacity is available which allows you to plan and not fail on the delivery. I would say that Vericut is certainly required on new product introduction and streamlining or re-engineering existing components - taking the cost out.”
Reaping the rewards
Since it was set up, Jaivel Europe has built a reputation for delivering quality manufacturing services to its customers and Vericut has played a key role in this success. “When we established the engineering services side of the business, we knew that we needed Vericut and that the software would make life easier and give us more confidence.
Our customers trust the software and that is important to us,” recalls Vachhani. “The decision was straightforward; it was Vericut that we were going to invest in. Paramount to the choice was that it is a totally independent verification of the NC code - it’s checking and double checking and not using the same source code to check through the work you’ve done.”
Plans for further growth at Jaivel Europe include satellite offices in the UK North West and South West, where strong aerospace cluster groups have formed. Other research is being carried out regarding the potential for offices in France and the US.
www.cgtech.co.uk
www.jaivel.com
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Tall order
22 November 2010
Process types: Design and Simulate
Tanya Weaver discovers how Multitech Vibration Control has been able to save a great deal of time and fustration by investing in simulation software
Giant steel chimneys are often their own worst enemies when it comes to strong crosswinds, making dampers for the lanky industrial towers a must have.
A 3D image of a damper
A cost effective yet highly technical solution for minimising vibration on the chimneys, often found in steel manufacturing plants are dampers. “You can design a chimney and make it very economically viable by fitting a damper from the very outset,” says director of Multitech Vibration Control, Chris Pegg, a vibration damper design specialist company in the UK with its headquarters in France.
Designing, manufacturing and installing damper systems, Multitech fits them to the top of the giant chimneys to stop the various wind forces they face. “Dampers stop the excessive cross wind movements that occur as a result of the response of the chimney to the shedding of Von Karmon Vortices in the chimneys wake,” explains Pegg. “Or as a result of buffeting from upwind structures, and thus control these movements along with resulting stresses and minimise or eradicate fatigue.”
Frustrating work
Multitech traditionally designed the chimneys by hand with the help of spreadsheet software, but taking account of the sometimes 12 or more openings in a chimney shell for inlet apertures; trying to accurately determine the chimneys natural frequencies and mode shapes, it proved a complicated process.
These difficulties led to an attempt with Autodesk Inventor 3D modelling software for the design, incorporating Robobot Structural Analysis: a structural analysis software.
With FEA capability, Robobot is specifically geared for codified steel design, and Pegg gets the most benefit out of the package for this purpose.
“The FEA capabilities are good [in Robobot] just not as well suited to what I was trying to achieve,” he says. “I went down the route of Inventor knowing that it had some FEA capability that I explored, but the idea was that I would send 3D SAT files over to Robobot and I could open them without the timely frustration of getting my model with many apertures and stiffening going.
But it didn’t quite work out how it was supposed to,” states Chris. “Inventor has come along greatly in terms of what it can do with regards to FEA but it just won’t handle the large thin-walled structures that we have to deal with.”
As a result Multitech started to look around for simulation software and evaluated five simulation packages including Algor, Ansys and Cosmos. “I carried out thorough research because I didn’t want to spend the money and then find out that I wasn’t going to be able to use it or I wasn’t going to be able to do what I wanted to do.”
Under one roof
Autodesk Algor Simulation software, with its finite element modelling tools nosed ahead of the other packages, with the firm purchasing it from Autodesk reseller Envisage.
Having already invested money in Inventor, it seemed a sensible progression to maintain a system that could all work under the same umbrella with the fewest hiccups. “Robot Structural Analysis is now an Autodesk product as well. So I thought that in keeping it all under the same roof the file compatibility was sure to be there for the future regardless of anything that happened,” states Pegg.
Beginning to use Algor from the start of this year Pegg got past the initial quirks in using it, and is now fully taking advantage of all its capabilities.
One of the features he gets the most advantage from is its meshing capabilities: “Being able to decide on what type of meshing you actually want to do is a really good thing - you can go from mid plain, surface to solid meshing depending on what is best suited to your model,” he describes. “You can select the solver that you require for the job in hand or you can just let it automatically sort it all out for you.”
He recently used the software to assess two wildly windswept 70 metre high chimneys at a metals company in Wales. An assessment and design through its new software suite and Pegg and the team had designed the dampers, the frequency determined for apertures, ladders, platforms and everything else needed for the job.
Heat is on
As well as utilising FEA stress and modal/vibration analysis capabilities of the software Pegg also made use of the heat transient flow analysis in order to analyse the impact of temperature profiles on the design.
“The reason we used heat transient flow analysis was because we knew that the wall of the chimney was going to be around 70 degree celsius but as we were fitting a fluid damper to the chimney we didn’t want the temperature in the damper to get too hot otherwise you start to boil the liquid and you just end up creating a small pressure vessel,” he says. “We used Algor to analyse the temperature drop from the chimney wall through the support steel back to the damper system itself, which showed that the temperature was going to be just fine.”
Algor was also used to prove that the strengthening work that Multitech had done to the chimney was going to be suitable.
In fact, Chris had attempted to model these chimneys in Inventor before he had purchased Algor but had been unsuccessful with the thin walled structure being just too big.
Testing a Beta version of Inventor 2011 to try and see whether its FEA capabilities would be any better it still wasn’t sufficient. “Before I got my hands on the Algor software I must have lost well over a week just trying to make Inventor take the mesh and the same with Robobat. Then low and behold a day and a half learning curve with Algor and the following day I had got the model going,” says Pegg.
As a result, one of the major benefits of Algor for Multitech has been the sheer amount of time and frustration saved in being able to generate an FEA mesh and analysing the structure to solve the problem.
Instead of struggling with the models, it’s now a simple case of creating the 3D design in Inventor and then sending the file to Algor for it to mesh and solve. “With some of the other simulation packages I looked at you would basically hit go and have to wait a few hours for it to solve,” exclaims Pegg.
“That may be my own lack of skill with the packages, but with Algor you hit go and you might be able to turn around and do something else for 10 to 20 minutes but that is the maximum you are ever going to be waiting for it. So time-wise it has made a big difference to my life.”
Future focus
Although it’s still early days, having only invested in the software at the beginning of the year, Multitech feel that the investment may have already paid for itself. “It’s a very good piece of software and I have certainly had quite a lot of use out of it, it has certainly not been shelf-ware,” concludes Pegg.
Next up is finding the spare time to play around with all his new ‘toys’ and seeing what they have to offer - CFD calculations such as gas flows, pressure losses going through the ducting and chimneys, and trying to model air going around a structure to see how it responds.
The industrial chimneys of the UK will be a lot safer for Pegg having a few spare minutes with his new bag of tricks.
www.multitech-vibration-control.com
www.envisageuk.com
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Product design showcase - Ice Gallery
19 November 2010
Process types: Design and Prototype
Stephen Holmes strides out in search of the most rugged arctic transport he can find, before quickly returning indoors to find that winter sports can be played somewhere warm and comfy
Snow deep, mountain high
Tucker Sno-Cat have been producing tracked vehicles for three generations now, and with that level of experience you know they’re going to be tough through heritage.
Its giant, orange, monster machines are made for heavy workloads over terrain that even a heavily customised 4x4 truck would throw-up its breakfast at. A typical four-track Sno-Cat, despite having the ruggedness of a bear-wrestling lumberjack, is designed to simulate a standard pickup truck, with steering wheel, foot throttle, foot brake, etc.
By using conventional automotive controls it allows an inexperienced driver to operate it with a minimum amount of instruction.
Everything else is specially designed for the hardships of bleak snowy landscapes: hydraulic steering through pivoting both the front and rear axles; smooth movement over the terrain and constant four-point drive from its special rubber tracks, an advantage when maneuvering on sidehills and giving it a light footprint.
The front and rear tracks present a fan pattern on the terrain as the vehicle turns or crabs on a sidehill. This is a major factor in preventing ‘side slip’ on ice or hard faced slopes.
“Autodesk Inventor Professional 2011, AutoCAD, and Algor FEA,” lists Sno-Cat mechanical designer Albert Allen as the CAD tools they use to create this beast. “One of the ways we utilise the software is when sales have a request for a specialised application vehicle or implementation
“We use Algor FEA for hot spot identification along with Algor MES (mechanical event simulation). With the MES software we are able to simulate dynamic loading that was previously not possible”.
An example of this would be simulating the plow blade striking a tree while trail grooming – apparently quite a common mishap on the slopes – but it will give you peace of mind for when looking for wolverines to wrestle with this winter.
www.sno-cat.com
Home and dry
Don’t fancy stepping out into all that cold, inhospitable, ice and snow? Fear the bumps, bruises and fatal breakages? Don’t worry.
Taking to the fearsome skeleton bobsleigh requires calculated moves, split-second reactions, and balls of something much tougher than steel; so suppliers to the British Olympic team, Bromley Athlete Engineered Technology, have built a super-realistic simulator.
The sport, which uses the same levels of technology as aerospace and Formula1, is highly reliant on the abilities of its engineers to build the fastest sleds – with this technology being passed over into the simulator for a highly realistic ride.
Used as an educational platform to inspire the next generation of engineers, scientists and athletes ‘The Skeleton Challenge’ is taken around the world to promote engineering, science and technology using the Olympic sport as an example.
“We have been designing, developing, manufacturing and racing Skeleton Bobsleighs for over 15 years so we took this knowledge to create a stylised sled and a platform to mount it to,” says Bromley design director Dan Fleetcroft.
“After the initial ideas were discussed and refined the Simulator was fully modelled in 3D CAD, where all the engineering details, such as manufacturing techniques for the various components and the control mechanism, were defined.”
True to the team’s heritage of working in Formula1, they used every piece of software they could get their hands on: Pro-Engineer, Unigraphics, NX and Catia for starters, not to mention the FEA analysis to ensure loads could be supported. The sled was produced by Bromley’s technology partner Materialise in the form of Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) parts.
“The task of producing a low volume (currently three) fully functional, aesthetically styled and finished component that is lightweight, robust, and finished to a high standard, but without the requirement of expensive tooling is certainly a challenge,” says Dan.
Fresh back from a trip to Canada the simulator has already been ridden by over 8,500 children in its first few months. All of them without any crashes.
www.bromley-aet.com
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Motoring ahead
18 November 2010
Process types: Manufacture and Prototype
When it needed fully functioning prototypes for an affordable engine management system to impress a potential customer, Scion-Sprays chose Proto Labs’ rapid manufacturing services
As governments around the world plan to bring in tougher laws on engine emissions in order to meet air-pollution and fuel consumption targets, this poses a huge challenge for the makers of small (less than 250cc) low-cost engines.
The machined parts were delivered to Scion-Sprays within three days of the company having accepted the quote using Proto Labs online quotation systems
They find themselves faced with a decision to either invest in the development of more efficient engines or see markets close to them.
Thankfully, a company based at the Hethel Engineering Centre near Norwich has developed another solution - and after years in its development has recently secured its first commercial order. Scion-Sprays is made up of a group of engineers specialising in the development and manufacture of affordable engine management systems that it’s hoping will give OEM customers a real competitive advantage.
Our first commercial product is a fuel injection system specifically designed for a European manufacturer of light motorcycles and scooters,” explains Richard Hoolahan, manufacturing manager. “This new system will cut emissions of HC+NOx (the cause of photochemical air pollution) by around 35 per cent, and CO emissions by over 80% compared with a standard engine. It will also save 30 per cent on fuel.”
Founded in 2002 by Jeff Allen (a former chief engineer at Lotus Engineering) the firm grew out of research into the electrostatic atomisation of fuel. In the process, Allen (now the firm’s technical director), came up with the idea of a small, low-cost ‘constant volume displacement pump’ to control fuel flow rates.
“That pump proved to have greater market potential than the original research suggested because of its efficient, clean-burn credentials and its simplicity,” says Hoolahan. So with backing from an ‘angel’ investor, who saw both the business and the environmental benefits of the technology, Allen and a small team set about developing Scion-Sprays’ engine management system called Pulse Count Injection (PCI). Now, with the help of rapid prototyping services Firstcut and Protomold from Proto Labs, the company is planning to move from the development phase and into production.
On the pulse
PCI works by calculating the amount of fuel needed in each engine cycle and then applying a precise number of pulses of a fixed volume of fuel across the cycle.
By 2006, Scion-Sprays had produced its first working PCI prototype, which in turn led to the development of a fully integrated Quantum Fuel Injection (QFI) system. The modular design of the QFI system includes a throttle body (designed by Hoolahan when he was the company’s design engineer), PCI technology, sensors, idle control and ignition.
Because it has no high pressure pump and significantly fewer moving parts, QFI is simpler to build and maintain than a standard fuel injection system based on Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). Nevertheless, PCI technology enables QFI to deliver metered fuel bursts at up to 1000Hz and fuel atomisation at 50-80 microns SMD (Sauter Mean Diameter).
This combination of accuracy, reliability and ‘smart controls’, along with its low unit cost, makes QFI ideal for motorcycles and mopeds up to 250cc, and small utility-engines (such as those found in lawnmowers, strimmers and leaf-blowers), which cannot justify the additional cost of a standard PWM system.
An added attraction for OEM’s is that the throttle body matches the carburettor footprint in existing engine designs with minimum additional wiring and sensors and QFI-enabled engines are also Euro 3 and China Stage 3 emissions compliant, and bio-fuel compatible.
It was while developing a prototype of its QFI for a prospective European customer in the early part of 2010 that Hoolahan turned to Proto Labs. “I needed about 15 to 20 pre-production QFI systems for customer-testing, which meant they had to be fully functional and made from similar, if not the same materials that would be used in actual production units.
I used different rapid prototyping services to produce less-critical components,” he says. “But chose Proto Labs for the throttle crank and the stepper motor arm because there could be no compromises in the mechanical qualities of those parts: and the production method and the materials would be very similar to what we would use in the final version.”
Taking it online
Hoolahan decided to use Proto Labs’ Protomold injection-moulding service to produce the stepper motor arm from glass-reinforced nylon. However, he says: “I chose Firstcut’s machining service to make the throttle crank from the same material, partly because I wanted to compare the processes and partly because creating a mould for the throttle crank would not have been cost-effective. At this stage in the product development, it is very important to minimise costs.”
Online quoting systems rarely work as advertised, but this time they did
Hoolahan contacted Proto Labs using the company’s two interactive, online quotation systems: Protoquote and Firstquote. Both systems let him upload his 3D CAD models and then within hours sent back an accurate quote - not an estimate. “I was very impressed with the process, it was so easy,” claims Hoolahan.
“Online quoting systems rarely work as advertised, but this time they did. The Proto Labs systems gave us a complete price based on our CAD models; a price that was updated instantly when we changed the quantity or material, so we knew what we would pay for what we wanted. I also liked the personal touch! For example, Protomold suggested a small, design refinement, in this case adding draft angles to help release the motor arm from the mould.”
The machined parts were delivered within three days of Hoolahan accepting the quote. “The moulded parts took slightly longer but that is because of the tooling required. Nevertheless, they were with me in a matter of days, not months, like other suppliers,” he says.
Overall, Hoolahan was very impressed with the service, including the quality of the finished components: “Proto Labs delivered exactly what they said they could which was exactly what I wanted. The QFI system performed as it was designed to and, as a result, we secured our first commercial order from that European motorcycle maker worth €4 million over the next 3 years.”
www.scion-sprays.com / www.protolabs.co.uk
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The man who prints buildings
17 November 2010
Process type: Prototype
‘Printing’ life-sized buildings out of sand may be the stuff of science fiction, but Italian engineer, Enrico Dini, has developed a groundbreaking technology to do just that. By Greg Corke
Rapid prototyping and 3D printing technology has had a huge impact on the manufacturing industry.
Manufacturers can build up end-use components and products layer-by-layer that rival those made with traditional mould and die manufacturing techniques.
The D-Shape machine is a large aluminium gantry structure, which uses CAM software to drive a huge print head during the building process
Within the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, however, such additive manufacturing processes are mostly limited to scale models of architectural designs, which are used to help visualise designs or to present 3D information in a form that everyone can understand.
One of the most popular technologies in this field is from Z Corp, a US company that uses technology borrowed from inkjet printers to literally ‘print’ a model in 3D. Using a combination of loose powder and binder, Z Corp’s machines can build a physical model, layer-by-layer, and in a matter of hours present a finished design in glorious 3D that architects and engineers can pick up, hold and interact with.
Dream ticket
But what if you could print an entire building this way? Put a machine on site and set it going to automatically construct an entire building? This is the dream of Italian born Enrico Dini of Monolite UK, who has already created D-Shape, the largest 3D printer in the world, capable of printing sandstone structures up to 6m x 6m in plan and with little to no human intervention.
The binder transforms any kind of sand into a marble-like material with a resistance and tranction much superior to Portland cement
His largest structure to date, the Radiolaria, is a 2m tall sculpture inspired by the architect Andrea Morgante, but Mr Dini has already started work on a full scale, 8.5m high version, and that is only just the beginning.
Without the need for formwork and traditional labour, Mr Dini believes the impact on the construction industry could be huge, in terms of reducing both time and cost. With the technology able to build complex architectural forms, just as easy as it can produce rectilinear structures, it could also have a major impact on the face of architecture.
Mr Dini’s dream began in 2004 and he immediately acknowledged that in order to ‘print’ 3D buildings he would need to design a brand new technology rather than adapting current 3D printing technologies, which are designed to print minute amounts of material.
The primary challenge was to find a binder that would be able to fuse a granular material, and would have sufficient structural strength for a ‘printed’ building. His first attempts focused on epoxy resins, but he came to the conclusion that they not only suffered from technical challenges, such as flammability and toxicity, but they were far too expensive.
Instead he started researching and developing a new binder, made from environmentally friendly materials, which would be combined with a sand/stone powder-based granular material to make an ‘artificial stone’, with similar physical properties to sedimentary limestone. From here he refined the material to reduce lithifaction over time and improve waterproofing.
Proving the strength of such a material is essential to its success and the artificial stone has been subjected to a range of traction, compression and bending tests. According to Mr Dini, the results have been extraordinary.
“The binder transforms any kind of sand into a marble-like material (i.e. a mineral with microcrystalline characteristics) with a resistance and traction much superior to Portland cement, so much so that there is no need to use iron to reinforce the structure,” he says. “This artificial marble is indistinguishable from real marble and chemically it is 100% environmentally friendly.”
Enrico Dini has also worked with Belgian rapid manufacture specialist, Materialise, to produce bespoke limited edition furniture such as this chaise longue
The printer
The D-Shape machine is a large aluminium gantry structure, which uses CAM software to drive a huge print head during the building process. Like traditional rapid prototyping machines, the powder (in this case sand) is laid down and then cured with a binder. Excess material acts as a support to the binded structure and at the end of the process this is removed and can be reused.
With a current build area measuring 6m x 6m, accuracy is very important and in order to raise the printer head precisely it requires an extremely rigid frame. Despite these structural requirements, the machine is light and according to Mr Dini can be easily transported, assembled and dismantled in a few hours by two workmen.
In order to achieve the kind of speed required to construct a building, the machine features 300 nozzles on a 6m print head. Moving across the print area it is capable of producing one 5mm layer every four to six minutes.
Of course, the volumes of material involved in the process are not trivial. On a 30m sq building it needs 150 litres of ‘sand’ for each layer, which, with a print rate of 30cm-40cm per day, is the equivalent of 15 tonnes of sand per day. Given additional funding Mr Dini believes he could build a machine to operate at 1m per day, which would mean building a two storey house in 15 days.
Scaling the technology so it can build even larger structures is not a technological barrier. Additional funding would make this possible and plans are also underway to increase the resolution and reduce layer thickness to add detail to the structure and reduce the need for hand finishing.
Cost is a major driving force behind the D-Shape technology. Structures currently come in at €1,000 per cubic metre, but the goal is to bring this down to €250 per cubic metre or less. According to Mr Dini, despite the higher cost of the binder compared to Portland cement, the realisation costs of D-Shape structures are 30%-50% lower than manual methods, which involve the production of formwork and labour.
The future
Mr Dini is continually looking to improve the printing process, not only enhancing the resolution of the system, but developing walls or shells with integrated building services and improved thermal properties and acoustic absorbance. For more organic structures, additional research is also being carried out into forming joints in a single process and the use of post tensioning reinforcement.
A major attraction of the technology is its ability to work with local materials. While in more traditional terms this means any type of sand, dust or gravel, the D-Shape technology is also being lined up to print a building out of Moon dust. Mr Dini has been appointed by the European Space Agency to undertake this research project and the D-Shape will initially print a concept based on a simulant of lunar soil with a view to building a structure on the Moon’s surface in 2020.
Back on Earth Mr Dini is a huge fan of Antoni Gaudi and many of his dreams centre on the Catalan architect’s work.
The organic forms prevalent in his designs are perfectly suited to the D-Shape technology. Within five years Mr Dini is confident that he will be able to build a portion of Gaudi’s Casa Batlo, with a structure ensuring strength, thermal, and mechanical properties.
His dream, however, would be to complete one of Gaudi’s unfinished buildings, the Church of Colònia Güell in Barcelona. For a man who has put his heart and soul into printing 3D buildings this would be the pinnacle of what looks certain to be a fascinating career.
www.d-shape.com
The Personality behind D-Shape
Like his father before him, Enrico Dini (pictured above) trained as civil engineer, but he chose to work with his brother in automation and robotics in the footwear, automotive and marble industries.
This offered him more of a challenge to solve problems as the majority of civil engineering projects in Pisa, Tuscany, his home region, involved fairly repetitive work. Here, he gained experience in offline programming CNC machines, which he has since applied to the idea of construction-scale rapid manufacturing.
The Radiolaria
Enrico Dini’s largest structure to date is the Radiolaria, a 2m tall structure inspired by the architect Andrea Morgante.
The structure was modelled in CAD, then stress analysis software was used to validate its integrity without having to add additional reinforcement. The next stage was to export to STL, the industry standard for rapid prototyping, and then import the file into D-Shape’s dedicated software ready for ‘printing’.
It took ten days to print the structure, which included a containing shell comprising the binded model and loose sand, which was carefully removed by hammer. Mr Dini admitted that he was afraid that the structure would collapse during this process, but to his relief it remained intact. It was then hand finished to add to its aesthetic appeal.
A full scale, 8.5m high version of the Radiolaria has been commissioned for installation in Pontedera Italy later this year.
This will be located on a roundabout and due to the scale Mr Dini admits that it will be impossible to print on site, so he is currently working out how to assemble piece by piece and at the same time maximise the number of components that can be printed in a single build.
Due to scale of this structure it will also require reinforcement as he cannot be confident that the strength of the stone material alone will be enough to support the structure.
Tech Specs
Build area
Current – 6m x 6m
Output printing resolution
Current – 2dpi-4dpi (target 12dpi-25dpi)
Layer Thickness
Current – 5mm-10mm (target 3mm)
Tensile strength
Current 35-55 kg/cmq (target 80-100 kg/cmq)
Printer process cost
Current €1,000 / cubic metre (target €250 / cubic metre)
The D-Shape advantages
• Automated construction
• No formwork
• Freedom of geometry
• Materials used are abundant
• Similar fire resistance to concrete and stone
• Material strength higher than concrete
• Low waste
• Environmentally benign and recyclable
Squeezing the tube
Enrico Dini is not the only one investigating the potential of large-scale additive manufacturing for producing full-scale building components. The Freeform Construction project (http://www.buildfreeform.com) at Loughborough University, led by Richard Buswell, has its own take on the technology.
Freeform Construction has investigated a number of additive processes, but the project has focused on using traditional construction materials such as gypsums and cement-based mortars. The technique is called concrete printing, but unlike traditional powder-based 3D printing processes it deposits a ‘liquid’ concrete – think squeezing a very big tube of grey toothpaste. The machine uses a gantry and can produce components in a build volume of up to 2m x 2.5m x 5m. The project has already delivered a one tonne reinforced concrete architectural piece.
Dr Buswell explains that the challenge has been to develop components that are not only aesthetically pleasing but can be tangibly used as part of the construction process. This not only means understanding the strengths, weaknesses and physical properties of each process, verified through compression and flexural testing, but the importance of precision in relation to fabrication.
“If we are going to produce real components in buildings that are likely to be components that will fit together, things like tolerance are very important,” he says.
This focus on precision has also resulted in research into manufacturing walls with voids that can accommodate building service requirements such as pipes and cables.
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The big picture
16 November 2010
Process type: Hardware
The ATI FirePro V9800 professional graphics card and ATI Eyefinity technology are enabling Dassault Systèmes to deliver a spectacular six screen experience
Through its extensive software portfolio of SolidWorks, Catia, Simulia, Delmia and Enovia, Dassault Systèmes (DS) enables engineers and industrial designers to digitally define and simulate products, processes and resources.
With its latest brand, 3DVIA, it invites ordinary individuals to unleash their imagination and express themselves and their vision in 3D.
Dassault Systèmes has had positive experiences testing Catia V5 and V6 on six screens using an ATI FirePro V9800
Through a 3D platform of community, 3D content, and complimentary 3D software, consumers can create and share lifelike 3D experiences online.
As DS looks to establish 3D as the universal language for both businesses and consumers, it also exploits the latest developments in computer hardware in order to deliver a high performance and high productivity experience for its customers. Such hardware developments include the ATI FirePro family of professional graphics products and, in particular, the new ATI FirePro V9800 professional graphics card.
Christophe Delattre, who leads the Dassault Systèmes Research and Development (R & D) visualisation team in Paris explains, “A powerful graphics card is mandatory when handling large data sets in an application like Catia. It is key to getting the best out of the software and providing a real-time 3D experience. In R & D we regularly conduct compatibility testing of our software on various hardware configurations.”
Model behaviour
For compatibility testing the DS R & D team has some favourite models - typical customer assemblies that contain several hundred parts.
These are very large datasets with between one and five million polygons. The R & D team loaded these in both Catia V5 and Catia V6 and manipulated them using the ATI FirePro V9800 professional graphics card, taking a particular interest in shading and rendering performances.
“For a single card, it has a crazy number of stream processors - 1600! It must be one the most powerful graphics processing units ever made,” says Delattre.
One of the unique capabilities of the ATI FirePro V9800 is being able to drive six monitors from a single graphics card. According to Delattre, setting this up was quite straightforward. “We put the graphics card into a Windows 7 OS-based workstation. We plugged in six HD (1,920 x 1,200 resolution) LCD screens and we set up the screen configuration using the ATI Catalyst software. We started Catia, and it worked just fine.”
The team went on to explore ATI Eyefinity technology and checked out OpenGL support, dynamic manipulation of shaded models and assemblies, video memory for both large data sets and textures and real-time photorealistic rendering.
“Moving from one screen to six was very easy and we achieved very good performance and speed without the need to modify our application. This is clearly going to have a beneficial impact on our customers and their ability to conduct collaborative design reviews on power walls and within virtual reality rooms,” says Delattre.
Delattre also tested the bezel function in the ATI Catalyst software - this enables engineers to make an allowance for the edge of each display unit. “We did not have to remove any pixels and did not lose any part of the image.
In CAD, having a seamless image really matters. Actually the ATI FirePro V9800 professional graphics card is ahead of its time and we are looking forward to an ‘edge-blending’ capability in an upcoming version of ATI Eyefinity technology so we can drive several HD projectors for a large display wall. We are also waiting for LCD manufacturers to provide provide edgeless screens.”
The big screen
A key feature of the ATI FirePro V9800 professional graphics card is its plug and play simplicity. A PC cluster, which would be the normal requirement for supporting several screens, can require additional IT skills. “It is amazing that one card can drive a high-resolution projector and a big wall or room with stereo as well. It is definitively one step forward in terms of providing a life-like experience to DS customers,” notes Delattre.
“With ATI Eyefinity technology, the feeling of complete immersion is really impressive,” says Jerome Maillot, senior manager. “At Dassault Systèmes we aim to push the limit of high quality images on screen in order to bring users as close to reality as possible.
The ability to drive six display outputs simultaneously and achieve such a large image on a very high-resolution display is a great step forward for engineering collaboration.
Sharing a 3D model at full scale and achieving a significant cost reduction at the same time sounds like a dream, yet it is a reality. It is clear that the ATI FirePro V9800 professional graphics card has delivered the high level of technology that Dassault Systèmes has come to expect.”
www.amd.com/firepro
www.3ds.com
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Smell the coffee
11 November 2010
Process types: Design and Manufacture
Tanya Weaver ventures to the heart of Birmingham to discover how a small, innovative manufacturer is bringing its coffee and espresso machines to market
The West Midlands, with Birmingham at its centre, was once hailed as the UK’s engineering and manufacturing heart with many goods produced within its factories, plants, mines and mills.
Although there were a number of bottlenecks in the development process of the Piccino it was successfully launched earlier this year and will imminently go into production at Fracino’s factory in Birmingham
Today, it’s a shadow of its former ‘industrial’ self with many businesses having disappeared altogether or still in operation but manufacturing abroad. So it’s heartening to find a Birmingham-based manufacturer that is still thriving despite the UK recession and global economic climate.
Lying inconspicuously within an industrial unit in the Wryley Trading Estate just off the M6 is Fracino - the UK’s only manufacturer of cappuccino and espresso machines. “We are very lucky because we have been almost inflation and recession proof. In fact, we have had a 20% increase in turnover for the second successive year,” says Adrian Maxwell, Fracino’s managing director.
We want it made here in Birmingham because we want it to be a true British product. The quality of British manufacturing is definitely 100% and price wise it’s very competitive now Adrian Maxwell, managing director of Fracino
Adrian Maxwell’s father, Frank, started the business in 1964 and initially ran it out of his garden shed. Today this 27-strong company boasts a portfolio of 60 products and sells over 2,000 coffee machines annually.
Over the years its distributor base has expanded to 700 and, in fact, the falling value of the pound has allowed it to expand export sales to many new markets. “We have grown our distributor network probably by 25% and we also then deliberately looked for the export market because the pound was weak.
That paid dividends as well,” explains Maxwell. Korea, Turkey and Lithuania are among the latest countries to import the Fracino range and, according to Maxwell, China is a big growth market. But what about Italy, arguably the home of coffee? What do they make of this British product? Maxwell smiles and says that the Italians like it and as ‘Fracino’ has an Italian ring to it some even think it’s an Italian brand. This is amusing when you discover that the word Fracino is actually derived from putting the words ‘Frank’ and ‘cappuccino’ together!
Starting out
Frank Maxwell originally started out selling and servicing coffee machines but once Adrian joined the business almost 25 years ago they soon started to make their own.
“In the early days my dad just imported then sold and serviced espresso machines. But then that crunch period at the beginning of the 90’s happened and the Spanish factory we were importing from in large quantities sold out to an American firm, which subsequently ran into financial trouble. We just couldn’t get the product, it was an absolutely dead situation,” remembers Maxwell. “We could go to another manufacturer but I was sick to death of dealing with the Italians and Spanish because nothing was straight forward. We needed to control our own destiny and as we are engineers, we thought why don’t we make our own? That was really the start.”
Although the business didn’t immediately have all the money available for tooling they bought a factory in Birmingham and began on a small scale subcontracting a lot of the work out but assembling it in-house. “Then, of course, as the business grew we reinvested and bought our own tools so that we could make more of the parts and components in-house,” says Maxwell. In 2005 the business invested in a bigger industrial unit and in 2009 bought a CNC tube bender.
Maxwell is passionate about maintaining Fracino’s manufacturing base in the UK and as far as possible uses local suppliers. “We want it made here in Birmingham because we want it to be a true British product.
The quality of British manufacturing is definitely 100% and price wise it’s very competitive now. You can manufacture cheaper than you can anywhere else in Europe that is for sure. That isn’t factoring in shipping costs - just raw cost,” he claims.
Another reason why Maxwell wants to manufacture on-site and use local suppliers is that he feels more in control of the process. “For instance,” he explains, “if there is a problem it takes me 10 minutes to drive to the supplier and sort it out. Job done. But if it’s a problem that comes from Italy I then have to ship a whole pallet load of stuff back, fly over and by the end it would have taken me two days to sort out.” Having local suppliers also helps if you need parts in a hurry.
Fracino’s latest innovation - the compact Piccino (baby in Italian) – is specifically aimed at the home market
Maxwell recalls a recent occurrence when they needed panels very quickly and their supplier was able to deliver it straight away. “They put them on the machine overnight and we had them the next day. I couldn’t have done that if it was made in Italy,” he argues.
When it comes to the actual design, ideas for new products usually derive from a distributor, a sales representative or a customer either suggesting ideas for a new machine that isn’t in Fracino’s range or having spotted a gap in the market.
Traditionally Maxwell, who held the position of technical director for over 20 years, would respond by doing a few sketches, discuss these with the sales team, a prototype would then be knocked up and if it worked, it would go into production. “It’s a little more long winded now - in the early days we turned a machine around very fast but that is probably because it would have been a fabricated product with bought in parts. So, we just beat the box up, stuck the parts in, it worked, done.
A project now seems to take between 9 and 12 months from concept to production but the difference is that everything now tends to be tooled up. So we’ll buy injection mould tools, stamp tools, press tools - whatever we need so that the product comes out absolutely perfectly,” says Maxwell.
However, despite now being managing director he is still very much involved in the engineering side of the business and claims to never be happier than when he is surrounded by valves, thermostats and spanners. “I am still very hands on. Engineering is what I love doing - I was born fiddling,” smiles Maxwell.
As the company grew and having realised that there is more to a coffee machine than merely being a square box but instead a product that requires some style and finesse, Fracino have worked with a number of design consultancies in the past, and incidentally on both occasions received awards for the products.
For the design of the Roastilino, a counter top coffee roaster, Maxwell and his engineering team worked with London-based Opius Design. The product went on to win a Design Council Millennium Product award in 2000. The second award-winning product, which was created with the help of London-based consultancy Design Stream, was the Cybercino, the company’s first bean to cup coffee machine. Launched in 2009 it was awarded the Caterer and Hotelkeeper Equipment & Supplies Excellence Award 2009 for technical innovation and expertise.
Box clever
The spark for the Cybercino in fact came from Maxwell who had seen a gap in the market for a bean to cup coffee machine. “We hadn’t had one in the range and we weren’t prepared to buy one in from another manufacturer - we were not going down that road again. So, we made it ourselves,” says Maxwell.
Peter Nielsen’s sketches…cardboard models…and the prototype
However, developing a fully automated machine that can produce espresso and cappuccino drinks at the touch of a button was not as easy as it sounded and it was five years before the Cybercino reached the market. “It’s the hardest thing we have ever done and we have done some hard projects,” says Maxwell. “The reason is because you are reinventing the wheel. Unlike other bean to cup machines which all brew vertically, we wanted to maintain the quality of the coffee and so we tried to make the Cybercino as close to a traditional machine as possible. So you put the coffee in, it compresses it, makes the coffee, brews down - everything is the same but we tried to do that but automate it and it was very, very difficult.”
But they did manage it and despite having to iron out a number of niggly faults and re-engineer certain parts, this retro-style machine with its innovative technology has become a great addition to the range. “At around £7,000 it is an expensive machine so you aren’t going to sell them every day of the week but it’s doing well and we have quite a few people interested in at the moment,” says Maxwell.
Design in-house
Having previously outsourced design Fracino now has its very own in-house design engineer. Peter Nielsen, an MA product design graduate from Birmingham City University, came to Fracino in July 2009 on a three month work placement scheme. His task during this time was to work on the design of a new compact coffee machine for the domestic market called Piccino. Although he was unable to complete the project in the tight time frame, impressed by what he had achieved, Maxwell decided to offer him a full time position at the company and so complete the project.
At just 250mm wide x 310mm deep x 355 mm high the Piccino has two copper boilers and can both steam milk and make coffee at the same time. “We have designed the steamer to froth milk almost continuously so there is no pressure loss as with other home coffee machines which use aluminium flash boilers. Piccino features an external pressure gauge for the user to monitor steam pressure within the machine,” explains Maxwell.
As Nielsen explains, having received the brief from Maxwell the first stage was to build a test rig to see whether, in principle, the concept would work. Once that was proved he then produced a great deal of sketches and from those he created card models.
Maxwell laughs at how the design office was filled with dozens and dozens of card models. But it helped to refine their ideas and once they had selected a model Nielsen moved into CAD, a design tool that is completely foreign to Maxwell. “I’ve never done 3D,” he admits. “Design Stream always used SolidWorks but I have never touched it.” Nielsen explains that he modelled the components and the chassis in Rhino, constantly tweaking the design and producing many renderings.
From there he transferred the 2D drawings from Rhino over to AutoCAD where he started to model the part components. “As well as redesigning the standard forging and boiler top I also asked him to redesign the filter holder that you put the coffee in with the view that if we invest in the tool on that then we can use that part in our standard machines as well because it’s the same size. So it allows us to revamp our other machines which is quite nice,” says Maxwell. In fact, Maxwell admits that Nielsen had to virtually redesign everything that went into the Piccino.
Overcoming bottlenecks
From there they used Materialise, a rapid prototyping bureau in Sheffield, to create the prototypes for them to test the design. However, if they needed ordinary hand turned CNC parts or a rough chassis knocking up then the technicians in the workshop were able to do that on-site.
All Fracino’s machines feature large capacity boilers, which are hand built from stainless steel, copper and brass in the factory…inside Fracino’s factory in the Wryley Trading Estate just off the M6 motorway in Birmingham
A working prototype of the Piccino was shown at two trade shows earlier this year - Hotelympia and Caffe Culture. Priced at £435 plus VAT Piccino received a lot of interest but actually getting it manufactured has proved rather challenging with a number of bottlenecks that have caused delays. “We lost three months just trying to get someone to make the prototype chassis. “It’s been a major challenge,” says Maxwell. “So, now we have purchased a laser cutting machine and we will be doing it in-house.
It was simple brackets that took nine weeks to produce. So, from now on if we need a part we can turn it round in two days.” Although a new laser cutting machine is a big investment Maxwell believes that it will pay off in the long run and will also enable them to be more in control of the process. The good news is that Piccino is on the point of production and will be available in November.
On the move
Fracino will also soon be expanding as a new 24,000 sq. ft. factory has been purchased across the road from the current one. The plan is to install a new assembly line and move from batch to line production hopefully speeding up the process. Additionally, the sheet metal work, which is currently subcontracted out to three different factories, will now also be done in-house.
Currently Fracino use batch production however, it will soon be moving to line production in order to speed up the process…The Cybercino in use in the factory
“The last four months have been the ultimate test for us as we just couldn’t get the metal panels in fast enough. Our production has gone up about 20% and we just can’t get enough metal work in to satisfy our need,” explains Maxwell. “Coffee machines are quite heavy - the majority of the cost of a machine is in the chassis - that and the boilers. So, if we get that sorted then we really have total control.”
So, Fracino has weathered the recession and is certainly not resting on its laurels but continues to innovate and seek out new markets. But the burning question is, does Maxwell still like coffee? “Oh Yes. I absolutely love coffee and we serve the best coffee around. The fantastic smell of coffee in our reception where we take it in turns making lattes and cappuccinos for the team gives us our caffeine fix and powers us through the day!”
Runs in the family
Fracino is home to three generations of Maxwells - Frank Maxwell, the original founder and now company chairman, his son Adrian Maxwell, who was technical director and took over the role of managing director three years ago, Adrian’s wife Marion who is the credit controller and their daughter Rebecca who joined the business in June 2009.
Frank Maxwell, a design engineer, launched his business in 1964 having been inspired to go into the coffee machine business after bringing one back with him from a holiday in Italy. He initially worked out of his van and started importing and supplying coffee machines to retail outlets in Britain.
From the age of just two Adrian Maxwell accompanied his dad in his van on his trips repairing and servicing coffee machines. “Having worked with them for most of my life I know coffee machines back to front and inside out and upside down,” he smiles. “There isn’t much about I don’t know about coffee machines.”
From the age of 10 he worked in the workshop during his school holidays. “I would strip down the machines, clean, paint and then rebuild them. I got to a stage where I could even rewire them and put the electronics in. I did it for pocket money and I liked doing it - simple as that,” says Maxwell.
When he was 16 Maxwell and his father decided that it wouldn’t be beneficial for him to do his apprenticeship in the family business. “So I ended up doing my apprenticeship at Rolls Royce’s Coventry plant doing production engineering on gas turbines,” he says. “The basic training was absolutely superb; I did a bit of everything - machining, milling, grinding, electrical, drawing office. I really enjoyed it and learnt a great deal.”
After his practical apprenticeship he worked in the factory for 12 months but the demand for the company’s products was falling and Maxwell soon realised that there weren’t any job prospects there for him and so left to seek out new opportunities. He returned to help his dad during a particularly busy spell and hasn’t looked back. “I joined dad in 1986 when I was 22 and I have been there ever since.”
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Making the band
25 October 2010
Process type: Design
Stephen Holmes rocks out and looks at some of the instruments today’s bands are using to create their music
Vintage sounds
We’ve visited Korg’s European design hub before [D3D Feb 2009], but were impressed even further with its design for a hi-tech electric piano with a distinct vintage feel.
The Korg SV-1 Stage Vintage Piano has been designed with performance in mind
Korg wanted to create a compendium of its best vintage electric piano, funky clav, organ, strings and acoustic piano sounds, all in a single instrument, and the design office were happy to provide a similarly old school appearance.
The Stage Vintage Piano (SV-1) has a curved appearance, an analogue-style array of switches and knobs, and a distinctive metallic finish, and has already gained a legion of professional musician fans.
The structure of the SV-1 has been closely studied to emphasise both the performance aspect, with an extreme user-friendly analogical interface, and the concept of portability, with reduced size and weight.
Head of design Paolo Capeci worked on hundreds of initial sketches (he explains that this was the hardest part) before running them past the engineers to ensure the design was sound for all the electronic inners, and an initial 2D CAD model was built as a mechanical guide.
Capeci continued the process by taking all the sketches and the 2D guidelines into SolidThinking to produce an accurate 3D model that could be used for both the renderings and the geometric data for the engineers.
“I use several different softwares,” explains Capeci. “SolidThinking with its Construction History feature allowed me to manage the frequent modifications of the 3D project. I then used 3ds Max for the renderings.
“My colleagues at the technical office engineered my SolidThinking 3D with Think3. In this way we are able to get absolute control through all stages of the project, from the conception to the mould setting-up.”
It might have a vintage appearance, but everything within, and the techniques used to design it, are very much 21st century.
www.korg.com
Rock and roll star
Fender guitars are synonymous with some of the biggest names in music including Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Holly.
Add to that the legions of amateurs greasing up music store windows with their noses pressed against the glass, and they are desired items of beauty with a massive following worldwide.
With a collection of models that have barely changed since their introduction, it’s almost surprising to see how much the company is developing the design and manufacturing process.
Using SolidWorks, the process of tooling would not have been cost effective any other way. By working with 3D modelling, the design team were able to reduce hazardous manual operations on production by moving as many Shaper and Pin Router operations as possible onto the CNC machines.
From the company’s manufacturing headquarters based in Corona, California, senior manufacturing engineer Glenn Dominick explains that switching to 3D models has a variety of benefits.
The process is safer for those building the guitars, by using more machines for the difficult parts, such as Shaper and Pin Router operations.
“We are also able to locate the guitars more accurately and securely on our CNC machines to produce a more consistent product at a lower cost, and reduce the overall quantity of tooling.”
Having a 3D model to manufacture from also has the benefits of being able to add new models easily and change any configurations quickly.
“SolidWorks made the task much faster and more accurate than if we stayed with the 2D methods,” comments Dominick.
Using the Interference tool within SolidWorks, Dominick and his team were able to verify that all the parts would fit correctly before programming the machines, while using CAMWorks and MasterCAM software for tool path verification.
“The most difficult elements to achieve for us are interfaces (volutes) between the radiused guitar neck back shapes and the flat head caps. “It may look great on the screen, but it has to feel great to the guitarist.”
www.fender.com
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Prints charming
22 October 2010
Process type:
There has been much talk about Z Corp’s new entry-level printers. Here Tanya Weaver talks to the man behind their design and development
Z Corporation has received quite a bit of press recently with the launch of its two affordable entry-level printers - the monochrome ZPrinter 150 (£10,900) and ‘multicolour’ ZPrinter 250 (£17,900).
The Z Printer 150 and 250 were modelled in SolidWorks
With a small physical footprint, allowing them to be easily incorporated in the home, classroom, design studio or small business, the machines have a build envelope of 236 x 185 x 127mm, a build speed of 20mm/hour and resolution of 300x 450dpi. But how did Z Corp manage to design and engineer a product at such a price point that still offered a reasonably full set of features?
Well, according to Joe Titlow, vice president of product management, it is something that Z Corp has been looking at for over ten years. “We have long had the product strategy of wanting to get 3D printing to ultimately be more accessible for every student, designer, architect and engineer out there and, of course, a big part of that is bringing down the cost of the systems themselves,” he says.
Titlow is responsible for product strategy and defining what new products will be worked on next at Z Corp. He works very closely with the research and development department, which consists of about 35 people, who work on 90% of its products with the other 10% coming from consultancies who may help in the areas of industrial design or software development. As Titlow explains, the initial strategy for these new printers was to create a fully featured product but offer it in a smaller, lower cost machine.
“There are low cost systems in the marketplace, but they are not necessarily fully-featured, polished products. Additionally, they are not particularly cost-effective to operate, are often not easy-to-use and most do not offer many of the benefits of the mid-range systems,” explains Titlow.
So, with the goal in mind of creating a lower cost product that still offered many of the features of its mid-range ZPrinter 450, the development team started off the process with a blank sheet of paper (well, in this case, a whiteboard) and began brainstorming ways of how to reach this goal.
From these brainstorming sessions the team essentially came up with three routes it could go down that would allow Z Corp to hit its internal cost target.
Firstly, the machines could be designed from the ground up. Secondly, after looking at its mid-range machines, the team considered how much cost could be taken out whilst still maintaining the required features and functionality. Or, thirdly, it could create a hybrid machine of the first two options. The more it was discussed the more that the second option began to emerge as the more favourable route. It would mean being able to leverage a lot of the assets and design work the company already had, as Titlow explains.
“It was a competition between that approach and basically starting over, building on everything we knew. We debated that pretty seriously at the beginning as to which way to go. But ultimately, the direction we ended up going was trying to pull the cost out of the system we already had,” he says. “We had the feature set that we wanted for the low end product already in existence on our mid-range machines. The real challenge was getting that feature set in at a lower cost to the customer. Doing that you have to tackle new problems.”
Driving down costs
The next stage was a cost analysis looking at the price of every single component and really trying to uncover any hidden costs as well. “We really dug deep to get a full understanding of where all the costs are to deliver the particular product and then we set about brainstorming how to pull those costs out,” says Titlow. So, for instance the team looked at driving down the price of the really expensive components but also seeing where just a few dollars could be saved here and there.
“The idea at that point was to brainstorm, develop a huge list of ideas - some of them are pretty crazy and some were kind of slam dunks that left us thinking ‘why didn’t we just do this the first time’ and everything in between,” he adds.
Problem solving
One of the ideas that emerged from these brainstorming sessions was that because the vacuum blower motor within the internal vacuum system of the ZPrinter 450 is a very expensive component, a lower cost vacuum system could be considered. “We did an analysis and we looked at everything that was available and we settled on a vacuum system that basically was a little bit lower performance but we were comfortable that it would fit all our design requirements,” says Titlow.
However, once Z Corp had built this full system and started testing it they realised that there was a collateral impact that hadn’t been predicted at the start.
This ultimately created a problem that needed to be solved. “In this case it was the emptying of a particular internal hopper system. In certain conditions it wouldn’t empty fully because it didn’t have the vacuum power that the more expensive vacuum did.
What we did then was develop a new duck bill valve, which is basically a little valve that when attached to that part of the system would allow the proper airflow.
This enabled the powder to empty from this particular component,” explains Titlow. “So, we started with the basic idea of reducing cost but ended up with a collateral impact where we needed to be more innovative to solve the problem.”
Even though the development team were borrowing a lot of the features and components from existing products, this was ultimately a totally new machine so it still had to create a whole new CAD model in SolidWorks. Then when it came for prototyping the 3D models there wasn’t a problem as it had a multitude of machines at its disposal in-house due to the nature of Z Corp’s business.
“We are very lucky and fortunate in the fact that we have access to a number of 3D printers internally and, talking of low cost, when we are using them internally they are essentially free so we use them a tremendous amount - any chance we get,” says Titlow.
“Traditionally, we do most of our model building when we are trying to really be innovative and invent something new. We’ll print hundreds and hundreds of models trying to solve new problems. That is where they are great but even in a project like this where it may be a little bit more straightforward in terms of engineering, having a model available is really valuable.”
Fast track
In a project of this nature where the budget is pretty tight, speed is highly valued, so the full development process was just nine months.
“Deciding to not go the route of a huge development team and spend millions of dollars in tooling - we tried to go the quick and low cost method for development and that meant that we wanted to move very quickly,” says Titlow.
Like all projects, although injection moulding and metal forming is contracted out, final assembly is done at Z Corp’s factory in Burlington.
Since the ZPrinter 150 and 250 were launched in July, the feedback has been favourable and justifies the company’s decision to go down the route it chose in the development process.
“We are pretty confident that we have the right strategy here and that a low cost system, even though it is low cost, still needs to be pretty fully featured. You are going to have a customer that really wants an easy-to-use system and so including all of the features around that at the entry level has resonated very well with the people looking at this market,” claims Titlow.
www.zcorp.com
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Lo-Technology Allstars
15 October 2010
Process types: Design and Manufacture
Who says you need advanced product development technology to bring top quality products to market? Tanya Weaver talks to the craftsmen who are
producing unique, custom made products with little more than hand tools
In today’s tech-driven world, designers and manufacturers are scrambling over themselves to get their hands on the latest design tools that they believe will help them design better products (or so the creators of these tools promise them).
But what about those small companies that produce perfectly well designed and constructed products without the use of extensive design software or advanced technology? A far cry from industrial factories that churn out masses of the same products, these so called ‘backyard industries’ create very successful products specifically tailored to the individual customer.
UK professional surfers have tried out Glass Tiger’s wooden surfboards and the reviews are all positive
In a garden shed in deepest Cornwall (Falmouth actually) wiles away just such a craftsman – Mark Roberts – who set up his company Glass Tiger Surfboards two years ago to produce custom made wooden surfboards. Every element in the design process is carefully considered and the result is a unique surfboard that has been built to last. “One of the things that attracted me to shaping was that it was, and still is to a certain extent, a backyard industry because the people who shape, surf, and people who surf, innovate surfboards. It’s the way it should be,” he says.
Having studied 3D design at Newcastle College, Roberts moved to Cornwall ten years ago to pursue a career in boatbuilding. The advantage of being so close to the beach also meant that he could enjoy his hobby of surfing. Having had an interest in surfboard design for many years, he soon began experimenting and making his own boards. In a bid to create a board that was more durable and performed better than the common polyurethane boards, he started exploring different construction techniques.
Roberts initially looked at sandwich construction, which essentially means a core material is sandwiched between two layers of fibreglass, but he felt that although the structure itself was strong the shell could be quite delicate and susceptible to dings.
“I looked at sandwich construction but then went off on my own tangent which led me to where I am now – unglassed exterior surfboards. So there is still a layer of glass on the inside but there isn’t a layer of glass on the outside,” he describes.
Using a combination of woods in the construction meant that the board only needs to be coated with a very durable varnish. “So, you have a better ding resistance because if you damage the top, you can repair it and maintain it by applying varnish,” he adds.
Making his surfboards out of a natural material, such as wood, also appealed to Roberts for a number of reasons - not least of all for its strength and beauty. “I love making boards other people love, and making boards from wood just makes my job easier,” he explains “It’s easy to feel happy when you’re riding something that was grown and whittled rather than processed from chemicals and petro-chemical by-products.”
Local suppliers
Roberts sources his wood - ash and oak predominantly - from local timber merchants in Cornwall and Devon. Although he would also like the veneers he uses to come from locally grown forests, this isn’t currently an option.
Having found the material and the construction method he was happy with, Roberts decided to become a surfboard shaper and so set up Glass Tiger Surfboards. For the past two years his shed has become a hive of activity and so far 33 surfboards have left through its doors.
Shape shifting
Roberts claims to use very little technology, but the process of creating a surfboard does actually kick off on the computer. Once he has consulted with the customer about what they are looking for he uses Shape 3D - a software specifically made for designing surfboards - to create the shape.
“Shape 3D is really nice and simple to use - you can just throw some dimensions into the program and then you can tweak it very easily.
For instance, the curves you create can very simply be edited and adjusted. It’s just basically for building surfboards so it’s a lot easier than trying to use AutoCAD or SolidWorks, which would take you a long time,” he says.
After that Roberts will either shape the EPS foam blank himself by hand or have it computer-shaped by a local company depending on how busy he is. “Shaping with a machine is a little bit more convenient but it does take some of the skill out of it,” he adds. Then it’s back into the shed for the rest of the process.
Hands on
The tools Roberts uses from this stage on are pretty low tech and along with the hand grinders and sanders, there are many pens and pencils lying around, bits of paper and lots of masking tape. First off he blasts the blank with a glass and eco resin. This gives it enough stability for the veneer skins to go on the top of.
“I will put the whole caboodle in a vacuum bag and then that gets sucked down, which gives a really even pressure over the whole lot,” he says. “Once that comes out the rails are ready to go on.”
As the rails generally get the most wear and tear, Roberts pays close attention to making these very strong. “I would say that the hardwood parabolic rails probably give the board about 70% of its actual total strength,” he comments.
Essentially, creating the rails involves gluing pieces of timber onto the perimeter of the surfboard. “Once that is on it’s at a really odd stage because the surfboard is shaped and then you have these big square rails. So, I just shape them down and blend that into the deck and bottom of the board. Now I’m ready to put the nose and tail pieces on,” he adds.
The board is now pretty much constructed and the final touches include attaching the fins and installing a little vent in the top. Made by Gore (the creator of the infamous Gore-Tex material), this little device has a breathable membrane that releases any built up pressure that can occur within the board. “I wouldn’t say it’s standard but it’s installed in quite a few either hollow or very lightweight boards because there is a lot of air trapped inside the board that can potentially expand as you laminate it,” explains Roberts.
Lastly, he coats the board with an oil-based varnish and in keeping with his environmental principles, this is not harmful to the environment as it consists of a blend of tung and linseed oil. The board’s owners are then recommended to reapply a coating of this oil every year to prolong its life.
With 40 to 50 hours dedicated to the construction of each board, this is surely a labour of love. In fact, Roberts refers to what he does as an art form and admits that although mass-produced boards have their place, there are definite advantages to having them custom made. For him, the person-to-person relationship between surfer and shaper is very important.
“The key thing lacking in mass-produced boards is that there is no surfer-shaper relationship. It’s not like the surfer can tell the shaper what build they are, where they like to go on holiday to surf, where they surf in the UK and then have a board built specifically for them. You basically have to rely on the shop assistant in the store for that advice,” says Roberts. “There is definitely an advantage of going to a shaper who can build a board that is really right for you and the type of waves you ride.”
On yer bike
Across the pond in Boston, Massachusetts, a different product is being made according to the same principles. Marty Walsh had always loved riding bicycles so he decided he would have a go at making them and in 2002 set up Geekhouse Bikes to build custom frames for each individual rider. Since then he has built hundreds of bicycle frames by hand and, like Roberts, feels that a carefully handcrafted product provides benefits over those mass-produced bicycles that are churned out of factories at an alarming rate and then sold as cheap as chips.
“I consider myself a craftsman and really try to make each bike better than the last. We spend countless amounts of time trying to perfect every little detail and ensure each frame is the best we can make it,” says Walsh. “I feel like this is lost in large factories where frames are made as fast as possible by machines purely to make more of a profit.
This is not what we’re about; we’re doing this because we love it more than anything else.”
Walsh is no longer a one-man band designing dirt jump frames and having them sent out for manufacture. Having moved to a bigger workspace and by employing a small team of builders, the design as well as the manufacture is now all done in-house.
The company has also refined a powder coating technique that allows it to apply digital graphics to the bike frame and rims. “In 2010 we have about two full time and a few part-timers and all fabrication and powder are done in-house,” confirms Walsh.
![Geekhouse Bikes](http://develop3d.com/images/lightbox_images/Marty-Walsh-Geekhouse-Bikes-LB.jpg"")
Like Roberts, Walsh is also very aware of the impact of what he is doing has on the environment and in keeping with his company’s sustainable and green business model, also sources as many materials as he can locally. “Whether it’s shipping out frames, using recycled bike boxes from local shops, or using powder coat on all of our frames, each small step in the process of what we do is calculated as much as possible,” he says.
“When it comes to local, all of our tubing and machined parts where possible are produced in the US. For instance, the machine shop that does our rear drops and stainless badges is right in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and we have a great network of local web designers, engineers, photographers and film people all within a three mile radius of our workshop.”
The process of creating a custom-made bike starts with a meeting with the customer where measurements are taken and different options discussed. “Each of our bikes is built to order, so even though we have only five models of frames, each individual frame is completely unique in configuration. Whether this is colour, size or any feature like fender mounts, S&S couplers or even something completely one-off,” says Walsh.
Then Geekhouse Bikes uses a specialised CAD programme - BikeCAD Pro. From there, the design team prints off the CAD drawing, a build sheet and check list of options and so begins mitering tubes, welding, brazing and powder coating. “The entire process is pretty long and takes quite a bit of working, and while we use machines to cut tubes and weld, the majority of the work is done by hand,” says Walsh.
Despite the hard work involved, both Walsh and Roberts are extremely passionate about their work and appear to do it simply because they love it. There is, of course, also pleasure from being intimately involved in creating something that the recipient of which is going to get much enjoyment from. “I think it will be really nice when I bump into someone in the water using one of my boards and I hadn’t arranged to meet them,” says Roberts. “That will be a really happy day when that happens. I’m looking forward to it.”
www.glass-tiger.com
www.geekhousebikes.com
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The need for speed
21 September 2010
Process types: Design and Simulate
When it comes to engineering challenges, developing a car capable of travelling at 1,000 miles per hour must be among the most daunting imaginable.
The team charged with the allimportant aerodynamic simulation of BLOODHOUND Supersonic Car (SSC) knew they had the software to meet such demanding conditions, but without a dedicated translation and repair tool they would have stumbled at a far more prosaic hurdle
When Bugatti launched the Veyron – the first 1,000bhp road car, the first that could top 400kmph, and the first new car poster on teenage boys’ walls since the launch of the Lamborghini Countach – Jeremy Clarkson openly doubted that anyone would attempt such a crazily ambitious feat of engineering again.
Sniffing out a world record: the Bloodhound Supersonic car using CFD simulation to help break the sound barrier
With more than a touch of wistfulness he bemoaned the purely commercial focus of today’s auto manufacturers and the lack of creative drive and innovation that goes with such hard-nosed territory.
As long as the people behind new cars are accountants, he reasoned, nothing genuinely new or exciting will ever get built again. He may live to eat those words.
A sense of adventure
Indeed it’s precisely because of the lack of landmark engineering projects in the modern age that the BLOODHOUND project came into being.
Lord Drayson, as part of his role as Minister for Science and Innovation, was charged with addressing the falling number of engineering students in the UK. Reasoning that interest in engineering has historically peaked with high-profile projects such as Concorde and the lunar landings, he was on the lookout for a new scheme that might have a similar effect. A meeting with land speed giant Richard Noble proved to be the spark for just such an engineering adventure.
Noble holds a distinguished place in the history of very fast cars. He was behind the wheel in 1983 when his jet-powered Thrust2 clocked up over 633mph and broke a record that had stood for 13 years. And it was through his leadership that Thrust SSC became the first car to break the sound barrier in 1997 when Andy Green recorded a speed of 763.035 mph, a record that stands to this day.
To beat this would be an amazing achievement in itself, of course, but that wouldn’t have been enough to get Noble back in the saddle (or Green back in the cockpit) so it seemed unlikely it would provide any sort of boost in engineering department applications either.
Raising the bar
Noble decided instead that he would aim not just to beat the land-speed record but to blow it out of the desert by reaching 1,000mph. This, he felt, was the kind of target that could inspire a new generation of young engineers. BLOODHOUND SSC was born.
Taking a car to such speeds is a phenomenal engineering challenge: 1,000 miles per hour is faster than the low-level air-speed record, after all. Hitting this kind of speed is more than just brute force and aerodynamics. A complex assembly of thousands of individual parts must be optimised so that everything is stable at every speed from subsonic, through the crucial transonic phase to supersonic. Any weak links in this particular chain could spell disaster.
The engineers and designers behind BLOODHOUND SSC are familiar with the challenges being faced, many of them having worked on Thrust SSC in the nineties.
A team of designers and engineers in Bristol took overall responsibility for decisions about the shape and construction of the car, while the crucial aerodynamic simulation function fell to the Engineering department at Swansea University.
Virtual testing
Professor Oubay Hassan, awarded the MBE for his work on Thrust SSC, headed up the team charged with the crucial task of simulating the performance of the car and its constituent parts. “For the Thrust project we used a combination of simulation and physical testing using a 1:25 scale model,” he explains. “The results from the testing (not to mention the successful run of the car) served to verify the figures we got from our simulation.
In order to work with the geometry coming out of the design team we’d have to write a new converter or input it all by hand
This time round the extreme nature of the project and the design window we were presented with made physical testing impracticable. Simulation has taken centre stage.”
Simulation, in this case, means FLITE, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) system developed at Swansea for use in the aerospace industry. FLITE, versions of which are in use at leading European aerospace manufacturers, has been developed to simulate even the most extreme fluid flow scenarios and was one of the reasons Noble approached Professor Hassan for help on Thrust SSC.
For all its advanced capabilities, however, FLITE remains very much a specialist technical engineering tool, and does not feature the kind of CAD integration you would expect of a mainstream CAE solution.
“FLITE is a dedicated meshing and solving application, and it’s very good at what it does,” explains Professor Hassan. “But while we’re experts on engineering software we haven’t evolved a CAD interface. In order to work with the geometry coming out of the design team we’d have had to write a new converter or input it all by hand. And given the tight development schedule this would have been too much of a challenge.”
Enter CADfix
The solution came in the form of CADfix, the data translation and repair tool from ITI TranscenData. Using the CADfix API, the Swansea team developed an integration between the FLITE surface mesh generator and CADfix, that would act as a critical link between the design team’s NX CAD data files and the geometrical mapping required for the FLITE algorithms.
In addition to facilitating a direct interface to the complex NX design geometry, the CADfix integration meant that specialist CADfix geometry processing functions, such as the suppression of unwanted small features and the correction of poor surface parameterisations, could be applied to ensure that the optimum geometry was available for FLITE meshing and analysis.
“Geometry import was a serious headache,” adds Professor Hassan. “Before CADfix we were having to rebuild geometry inside our system. This was not only unsatisfactory but also hugely time-consuming. We could easily spend a week preparing geometry for analysis. With CADfix we were ready to go within hours.”
Towards the end of the design phase the software facilitating between 20 and 30 simulations of a critical element of the car’s rear suspension in a particularly tight timeframe.
Without CADfix smoothing the data transfer between design geometry and analysis mesh this degree of fine tuning would have been impossible and the optimum design not reached.
Professor Hassan estimates that without the data translation and repair tool the rebuilding of geometry would have added an additional twelve months to the BLOODHOUND SSC simulation. As he explains, this would have jeopardised the whole project: “The project leaders were adamant that the entire design cycle was completed within a year. Without CADfix this would have been impossible.”
The design phase for BLOODHOUND SSC was completed on time. Confidence is high that the deserts of South Africa will soon be resonating to the unaccustomed sounds of a Eurojet Typhoon engine propelling a man not just faster than ever before but faster than most people would ever have dreamed possible.
The simulation work means that, although this project does indeed represent an amazing engineering adventure, it is not quite a journey into the unknown.
www.bloodhoundssc.com / www.transcendata.com
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Lift off
14 September 2010
Process types: Design, Manufacture and Simulate
The LN-3 Seagull is a brand new push-engined amphibious plane made from composite materials. Using more conventional means of travel, Stephen Holmes took a trip to Sundsvall, Sweden, to meet the designers
The world of sports aircraft has a versatile new star flying in from Sweden; one that can take off from land, set down on water, and perform dizzying acrobatics.
The LN-3 Seagull is a high-winged amphibian small aircraft with two seats in tandem and an engine in a pusher configuration on top of the cabin.
The rear-mounted propeller pushes rather than pulls the plane through the air
The retractable landing gear, located in a wing-shaped pod at the lower part of the fuselage, is completely submerged when the Seagull is floating on water, acting as a stabilising float.
Most impressive though is its versatile standing across the many different regulations for small aircraft and the various classes and licenses. To date it covers six different classes in Europe and the USA, and this is made possible through its clever design and production using composite materials.
A family affair
The design and engineering team is very much a small-scale family affair. The LN-3 Seagull took shape in aerospace engineer Lage Norberg’s mind early in the 1980s. With a passion for fly fishing, he dreamed of a small amphibious plane to take him between the Swedish lakes.
Eventually Lage’s sons, Tomas and Staffan, joined the team in 2004 and the Seagull began to take shape in their hometown of Sundsvall, Sweden.
Having set up the company’s base ‘Flygfabriken’ – Flying Factory – on the outskirts of the city, the team set about working with PTC’s CoCreate software to build an accurate 3D model for making clinical adjustments to the original prototype.
Precision engineering
Working in composites and having to meet strict size and weight dimensions meant that the design had to be precisely modelled to ensure all criteria were met.
“The possibility to calculate volumes and weights of all parts is a great advantage when calculating precise location of centre of gravity, which of course is very important when designing an airplane,” says Staffan Norberg.
Staffan explains that being able to use a CAD system that was able to import previous designs from various other CAD packages was key to them working in CoCreate.
“We really liked the idea of a fully dynamic 3D CAD system so we started out testing the Modelling Personal Edition,” says Staffan. “We have a lot of experience with history-based 3D CAD software and immediately saw many advantages with explicit modelling.
“During development it’s been a tremendous advantage to be able to design and redesign without considering how the part or assembly was built up originally.
“We have also been able to pick up parts from other systems and start working with them as if they were native CoCreate parts.”
It’s been a long time in production, but by working with the software the team is convinced that the design and prototyping process has sped up, with the production of moulds arriving quicker, and two new team members brought in to help with the manual fabrication.
“We find it very dynamic and it’s an easy way to work in a CAD system and it has, for sure, shortened the design time for us,” says Staffan as he gives a tour of the workshop floor.
The flying factory
The plane is currently in parts as a redesign of the wing position and landing gear sees the team designing new landing gear pods, making adjustments to the original CAD model before CNC machining a new mould from the CAD data.
On site the pre-epoxy impregnated carbon fibre weave is cut to size, and two large ovens are able to cure the composites into forming the parts.
In keeping the product as Swedish as possible, local engineering firms help produce tooling and parts in aluminium, with the design team sending them the CAD data to be made into moulds for the intricate carbon fibre support rods.
This may seem like a lengthy process, but once it comes into full production all the parts will have been accurately tested and produced from moulds that correspond directly with the 3D CAD model. This helps produce a finished aircraft both accurately and quickly.
Getting ready for take off
The plan is to sell the LN-3 Seagull as a fully functioning craft, or make it available in kit form. Until then, the short-term goal is to have all the final adjustments made to the prototype so that it can impress potential customers.
With the final adjustments made to the prototype it should easily impress potential customers
With both seats aligned along the major axis the plane has excellent balance, even with only one person on board. The ability to land pretty much where you please makes it ideal for those without a local runway, and because of its weight, speed and manoeuvrability, it is fun to fly. Furthermore it has a unique capability.
“It is the only amphibious plane cleared to do aerobatics in the world that we know of,” says Lage proudly.
The rear-mounted propeller leaves an unobstructed view from the front of the aircraft, much like a glider, pushing rather than pulling the plane through the air into twists and turns.
“The key to success is to endure the long journey of development and to present presumptive customers a product that is reasonably ready to be used by anyone,” says Lage.
“There are many signs telling us that the Seagull potential is enormous and the worldwide market is huge.”
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New gems of jewellery
10 September 2010
Process types: Collaborate, Design and Prototype
Stephen Holmes enters the world of ornate design where innovative modelling techniques are being used produce a new generation of objets d’art
Blowing bubbles
Lynne MacLachlan uses generative design software to mimic the bubble and foam structures in her jewellery and small product design
Inspired by nature, science and specifically soap bubbles, Lynne MacLachlan has taken 3D CAD traditionally used in architecture to produce stunning generative designs.
“Most of my work has been inspired by nature in some way, and more specifically the patterns found in nature,” explains Lynne. “These patterns are efficient yet beautiful solutions to the challenges of existence in a world governed by the laws of science, shaped by physics and chemistry.”
Lynne’s work has looked at different aspects of organic growth and the ways of replicating it through digital design.
Becoming fascinated with the structures of soap bubbles resting on skin, the concept was to “freeze the moment in precious metal”.
“My aim was to mimic bubble and foam structures using generative techniques – software that generates forms in a controlled manner,” says Lynne. “This approach has recently been explored most widely in architecture.
“Generative art and design is a relatively new field and I found this controlled randomness to be an exciting and fertile ground for design development.
“I wanted to apply these ideas to jewellery and small product design, something that has not been widely done yet.”
Using the software Jenn3D, Lynne was able to create a form through the fluid manipulation of mathematical forms.
Once happy with the result it could be transferred into Rhino and used as a guide to build a NURBS model, manipulated to fit the part of the body the piece was to adorn.
From there, renders could be produced in Maxwell Render, before taking the pieces into production using rapid prototyping.
“Solidscape moulds are used to create the actual pieces: each one is individually rapid prototyped and the cast into precious metals,” says Lynne.
“The forms are very complex and require hours of skilled hand finishing and polishing to create the final pieces,” concludes Lynne, proving that not everything is left down to science.
Ancient tradition meets 21st century tech
Updating a traditional art form is nothing new, but modernising the process to produce new dimensions and scales while still retaining an individual touch takes something special.
The diminishing practise of tapestry weaving has been given a conceptual rethink by designer Chloë McCormick, who was looking for new ways in which the traditional weaving technique could be used in her collection ‘Warped Tapestry’.
“I wanted to bring hand woven tapestry together with new technologies and materials to create 3D objects that could be used in different ways and in different scales, for example as jewellery or even furniture!” says Chloë.
“The product was designed through my own drawings of interior spaces, something that really interests me. I took these drawings and played with the shapes I created which were then drawn up in a 3D modelling program.”
Rhino was used to model the 3D warp structures for the weave and these were then built in an EOS P100 laser sintering machine.
“Rapid prototyping helped to develop an understanding for scale and how far I could take this object,” explains Chloë.
Once the frame is built then the piece can be woven onto it. The process relies on being able to produce a 3D prototype with an extremely fine frame to weave through, but one that is also strong enough.
“The product is bespoke, a one off and hand woven tapestry which is something that is rapidly diminishing and brought together by technology in the frame or ‘warp’.
The traditional weaving process remains the same, and depending on the scale, anything can be woven through the warp, whether it’s intricate jewellery, or (production methods allowing) full-scale furniture.
“You are never quite sure how something will turn out once it’s made, so I was forever taking risks and wondering if it would be what I imagined.”
Thanks to some elaborate design and some clever technology it would appear the gamble was well worth it.
chloemccormick.co.uk
It started with a kiss
London-based jewellery designer Nicholas O’Donnell-Hoare uses 3D scanning and photography to produce his innovative nylon creations
This necklace and ring are two parts of a commission to show the possibilities of working with 3D to produce something untouched by hand that represents the body aesthetically.
Produced using 3D photography, 3D printing and designing in 3D CAD, ‘Kissed’ is designed by London-based jewellery designer Nicholas O’Donnell-Hoare.
The concept was to work with 3D scanning and photography to produce something completely different for the prestigious International Jewellery London show.
“The idea was batted around that a collection of jewellery could be made with the use of 3D photography only we didn’t know how,” says Nicholas. “We knew that if we were able to manipulate one of these pictures we could probably warp it into a beautiful necklace, bracelet or ring.
Beginning by playing around with the 3D cameras at dental and facial scanning specialist, Cavendish Imaging, the images were then warped, extruded and sized in Rhino.
After about thirty attempts they had a product that was ready for printing, and the Rhino model was sent to an EOS P100 to produce the piece in full.
“We wanted to have a complete product finished by machine and not by hand so this type of machine was the obvious choice,” explains Nicholas. “Every part of the collection is made in one piece of nylon in one print including the chain. It means there are no joins, seams or fault lines but it does mean you need quite a lot of preparation and understand what the machines can and cannot do.”
“As we knew the product was never going to be cast or have to be made by hand we could use as much detail as we liked, knowing that the sizes, colour, material, finish were going to be just as we wanted.
“It gave the platform for us to make almost anything we dreamed.”
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Measuring up
08 September 2010
Process types: Hardware and Manufacture
Reverse engineering at Klarius now takes place in hours rather than months, and due to the high number of designs that the exhaust systems company works on, the cost per design is significantly lower than outsourcing
Klarius was formed in 2007, a new European company which took over the former operations of ArvinMeritor Light Vehicle Aftermarket emissions group.
Since then the company has invested heavily across its operations and transformed itself into Europe’s leading exhaust / emissions business, by implementing continuous improvement, lean manufacturing and rapid product development.
Klarius has been using a Faro Laser ScanArm since January 2010, consisting of a FaroArm Fusion and Laser Line Probe V2
More recently the Klarius Group has acquired Quinton Hazel, to make it Europe’s largest automotive supplier, with a turnover of >£350m. The company also offers all the QH brands of automotive parts, supplying daily across Europe, from a massive range of parts (c100,000) across >95% of the European car market.
Since January 2010 Klarius has been using a Faro Laser ScanArm – consisting of a FaroArm Fusion and a Laser Line Probe V2 – at its Technical Centre for the inspection and reverse engineering of castings, complex profile flat flanges, surface shapes (pressed exhaust boxes) and whole exhaust assemblies.
Before this the company measured the parts and either avoided complex work as oldfashioned techniques were not suitable (e.g. height gauges etc), or outsourced it.
“We needed in-house capability to reverse engineer complex shapes in order to design our products,” explains Doug Bentley, technical manager at Klarius. “We had tried the idea by outsourcing the work and found the method to be suitable but the time and cost of out-sourcing did not fit into our objective of rapidly developing a high number of designs.
“Additionally we are working on a new method for manufacture of pressed exhaust box shapes with rapid and low cost tooling, and this also benefited from the equipment being in-house, not outsourced due to confidentiality around the project.”
Doug describes the main benefits as being able to quickly and accurately design new products, immediately without the time delay of outsourcing. The measurement allows reverse engineering to take place in hours rather than weeks / months, and due to the high number of designs that are worked on, the cost per design is significantly lower than outsourcing, and payback is less than 12 months.
Klarius is now working on a new OEM exhaust system for off road vehicle application, and has been using 3D CAD for the design. The team then had to make a prototype and fixture which matched the 3D model exactly and the FARO ScanArm allowed them to adjust and build the prototype as it was developed, and to check the shape very quickly and accurately, ensuring their physical part matched the 3D model.
“The FaroArm is helping Klarius to achieve its objective to be Europe’s leading emissions supplier, by providing rapid development of even complex parts, at a pace which consistently outdistances its self from the competition,” concludes Doug.
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Come fly with me
07 September 2010
Process types: Collaborate and Design
British Airways’ new first class cabin is an enviable blend of simplicity and quality. Tanya Weaver caught up with the leading design agencies behind the £100 million project, to find out how they created a little bit of luxury in the sky
Five years in the making and a £100 million investment later, British Airways’ new first class cabin has taken to the skies.
It’s been ten years since the last redesign and far from being big and bold this latest re-launch offers a premium experience based on quality and attention to detail.
Optimising the distance of the passenger from the 15-inch touch screen on the seat in front was key challenge of the project
“The cabin builds on a rich heritage - I think it can best be described as understated British luxury and there are no gimmicks, you won’t find those at BA. It has really surpassed our expectations,” said BA’s chief executive officer, Willie Walsh, at the official launch of the 2010 First cabin, which was held recently at the exclusive Halcyon Gallery in London’s Mayfair.
Peter Cooke, BA’s design manager, realised a number of years back that with Concorde retiring and a new Club World product recently launched for business class travellers, the company had to now raise the bar for its first class passengers.
“It was about producing a new flagship product for BA,” explains Cooke. “However, it was not just about a seat that turns into a flat bed but also about the environment, the service and the soft product and then seaming all those together in a more total experience for the customer.”
Team building
In order to fulfil this task, BA called on two London-based design agencies. The lead agency would be Forpeople who, with its impressive legacy in the luxury travel sector having worked for Aston Martin and Jaguar, would be responsible for the overall look, feel and design of the cabin and suite, as well as all aspects of the service and branding elements. Meanwhile, product design consultancy Tangerine, having worked with BA on previous projects including the design of the patented Club World seat, would be responsible for spatial development and human factors.
Creative pitch phase sketch concepts
Both agencies were given a separate brief of exploring the future of first class although at this time they didn’t know that they would potentially be brought together as a team. “The one sentence brief we had was ‘create a new flagship and reignite the spirit of Concorde’, which to anyone is the perfect brief but probably the most challenging too,” says Richard Stevens, managing creative director at Forpeople.
Meanwhile, Tangerine looked at how the first class cabin should be laid out in order to really optimise the space for each of the fourteen first class passengers. “We were given a brief to explore how could we deliver really significant improvements without ideally losing any seats or, if you had to lose seats, lose the absolute minimum, and could we deliver something better if we did,” recalls Martin Darbyshire, managing director of Tangerine.
Utilising its knowledge and previous experience of seat geometry and layout, the consultancy came up with two concepts. The eventual one chosen by BA kept the fourteen seats in a herringbone layout and, despite variants with regards to the seat positions, there were as many common parts as possible.
“As this was the preferred concept, we then had to work to develop an optimum solution to fit, which meant minimising the amounts of parts that change or ensuring that they can be changed easily if they are distinctive,” explains Darbyshire.
At this stage Tangerine and Forpeople were brought together and according to Cooke, it was a “great joining of minds” as each brought their own strengths and experiences to the project.
“Our remit was to work cooperatively with Forpeople building on their development of the overall customer experience and integrating our knowledge of seat design with formatting the aircraft and the delivery process,” comments Darbyshire. “So, we literally had to work glued together as a team to make it happen.”
The agencies also had to work as a team with the Working Group - a group made of representatives from every sector of BA’s business from cabin crew, purchasing, engineering, fleet, brand, marketing, design management and product development. As this project had to have ‘buy in’ from all of BA, there were weekly meetings held with this Working Group and they were also involved at each stage of the project’s development.
Back to basics
‘‘ The project’s success depended on the consideration of the whole experience, threading those elements together consistently and obsessing over the details of that experience that the team knew would really matter to First customers ’’ Richard Stevens, managing creative director at Forpeople
As the aim for the cabin design was to avoid ostentatious gadgets and gimmicks and rather focus on delivering an experience based on simplicity and quality, the project’s guiding principle became ‘premium simplicity’.
“First class customers are used to the highest standard of product, service and quality in all aspects of their everyday lives. Certainly, in BA’s case, First customers immerse themselves in every day experiences that are understated and refined, never lavish or opulent,” explains Stevens.
“Our aim throughout the First project was to understand BA’s First customers’ lifestyles and then to interweave the very best of product and service design to create an onboard experience that exceeds the expectations of the world’s most discerning travellers. Basically, it’s not only about the seat/suite product anymore, which is where I think most airline designers fail.”
For Cooke, premium simplicity meant a real attention to detail and that became the driver throughout. “Time and time again our customers say that it’s just the little things, just the details that make the difference and that had to be at the forefront of our minds as to how we brought everything together around the whole product to really create the experience,” he comments.
Deck of cards
Once Forpeople and Tangerine had finalised the concept they moved quickly to full size card models in order to evaluate whether all the various elements including footstools, stowage areas and bed positions would fit within the space.
“We build a significant number of card models to progressively and more accurately describe the design,” explains Darbyshire. “Obviously the more prototypes that you have early on in the process, the more robust the design will be in the end. So this programme was designed to build prototypes very early on and we were under a lot of pressure to evaluate the concept and nail down as many of
the hard elements as possible.”
Alongside these card models, a number of full-scale visual appearance models were also built and fitted out in BA’s dedicated cabin development centre. Not only did they give a good insight into how the whole design would come together but it also allowed the Working Group and key stakeholders, including Willie Walsh, to see how the project was progressing. “When the team showed me the mock-up
of this cabin for the first time I can say that I was genuinely impressed and I am a difficult person to impress,” said Walsh at the launch event.
Sitting pretty
Kinematic study of the lay flat seat
Following the concept design work, Forpeople and Tangerine were asked to essentially ‘down tools’ on the design and concentrate on producing a detailed specification document to send to the three principle seat manufacturers who would formally tender for the project.
“This document defined the seat geometry in great detail,” confirms Darbyshire. “It defined everything that we wanted to have - all of the features of the seat in as much detail as we possibly could across all of the different elements.”
One of the key things that the team was able to achieve with the new design was a 60% wider seat, which is now 31 inches across and 6ft 6” long when fully flat. So, all this information as to how the seat and arms go down to form a bed surface together with how it actually connects to the aircraft itself were included in this document.
“We had to make sure that there was perfect integration between what we are trying to achieve visually and what the seat manufacturer could make given the tooling they were able to use and the materials available. From that we built tighter and more robust data that gave the seat manufacturer a package to initially plug their engineering into,” explains Darbyshire.
B/E Aerospace won the tender and its Super First Class division, which is based in Tucson, Arizona, became the chosen supplier.
The team then embarked on a significant amount of work with B/E that involved both agencies producing an enormous amount of hand drawn sketches to communicate each element with the engineering director.
“There were copious amounts of sketching just looking at the details, defining how all of those bits go together and what they become. So literally, for every aspect we have drawn a series of elements and defined what they are, discussed how they are being made, how they are being finished, agreeing the process for that and then we would build final data in Alias to give B/E as a reference to which
they would then build their data and the master data in Unigraphics.”
In fact, this required Darbyshire and Stevens to fly out to Tucson together literally every other week, which would continue later on in the project to review and discuss the pre-production prototypes.
Master touch
One key aspect of the design that proved to be rather challenging was the distance of the passenger from the 15-inch IFE (in-flight entertainment) touch screen on the seat in front. In order to get this just right, BA once again enlisted the help of human factors consultancy Davis Associates, who had worked with them previously on a number of projects including the configuration and comfort of the Club World seat design.
As each seat is different, and the range between the passenger and the screen differs from one to another, a lot of evaluation work had to be carried out in order to discover an acceptable reach and also ensure that the quality of the screen image was good enough.
“Obviously the challenge was to find the best relationship between viewing distance and reachability,” explains Darbyshire. As a result Davis Associates built a very substantial rig and carried out extensive consumer research in order to define the best position to sit the screen at that would work across all the different seat positions.
All this evaluation may seem excessive but, as Darbyshire argues, it’s too big a project to run the risk of not doing it. In fact, as Stevens says, “The project’s success depended on the consideration of the whole experience, threading those elements together consistently and obsessing over the details of that experience that the team knew would really matter to First customers.”
Blind faith
With all this work and consideration going into every detail of the design when asked what their best feature is all three - Darbyshire, Stevens and Cooke - said that without question it is the sidewalls: a double window that incorporates electronic blinds.
“For me, it’s the sidewalls because they were a challenge from the start,” says Cooke. “It’s in an area of the seat where you can’t say that it actually brings in revenue so, not only was it a challenge commercially to get the business to buy into the idea but it was also a challenge from a product development point of view.”
Some of the reasons for this included sourcing the right clear plastic in order to create the desired window effect as well as the fact that the curvature of the plane in Zone A becomes quite severe towards the front so it meant installing a blind round a curve. However, it was all worth it because according to Stevens, the whole idea of the sidewall windows was to frame space and give the passenger a sense of real ownership over their window - something that they certainly achieved.
“I think there is no doubt about it - when you walk into the cabin it’s the sidewalls, that give you the real ‘wow factor’,” says Cooke.
Smoothly does it
While the engineering development was taking place at B/E, including all the extensive dynamic tests and ensuring that all the aircraft rules and regulations were met, Forpeople was liaising with many other suppliers in order to finalise the finer interior details such as the integrated cabin lighting and double-stitched leathery upholstery.
“Forpeople were responsible for creating 3D A surface data for all aspects of the suite and cabin, even down to the modelling of the red accent drinking glass and amenities products onboard. Throughout the course of the project we were releasing and managing data between suppliers in Tucson, Seattle, New York, Miami and Milton Keynes,” explains Stevens.
“As all our Alias modellers are leading automotive A surfacers, we had to fight for the quality of surfacing to be translated (to parametric) in the correct way by the supplier. This was a difficult process (and difficult to justify the effort) but my retort is always that ‘you wouldn’t ask an engineer to surface an Aston Martin’.”
In the end, despite it being a very complex and involved project, everything came together and BA now has a First class cabin it can be proud of.
It is currently in the process of rolling out to all 747 and 777 aircraft. So far, according to Cooke, feedback has all been positive and at the launch event there was certainly praise from Bill Nighy, a British actor and comedian as well as a frequent BA first class passenger, who said, “When I travel, BA is my first choice every time. The new First cabin is fabulous - classic and understated.”
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On lock down
13 August 2010
Process types: Design, Manufacture and Prototype
From Kryptonite bike locks to foot thick bank vault doors, even the latest in security technology is no match for the stethoscope, drill and blowtorch of .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Chain Reaction
With a bicycle stolen almost once every minute in the UK alone, and thieves becoming more ingenious, a lock for your two-wheeler needs to be Schwarzenegger-tough.
Step up the Kryptonite Evolution U-lock: designed to thwart the latest theft methods (generally brute force, cutting tools and leverage), and to fit the strict standards of the European certification criteria.
The Evolution 4 is designed to fit the strict European certification criteria
“The European market is different from the US in that third-party testing and certification is essential to the commercialisation of a bicycle security product,” says category product manager Don Warren.
“We used the performance criteria from multiple EU countries’ testing organisations to create the design standard for this particular lock.
“Designing a lock from this perspective yielded a number of engineering challenges resolved through the specific form-factor of this lock.”
The familiar U-lock shape is now more oval, giving the product more security than in previous designs when testing ‘pull strength’, a measure of how much pressure is required to pull the D-shackle out of the crossbar
Having discussed balancing the security features needed with the issue of product price point targets, concept sketches are drawn up and the modelling begins in SolidWorks.
“It was fairly simple for us to use Solidworks to create a hybrid of several existing designs and accelerate the design timing associated with this new generation product,” says Rob Zuraski, Kryptonite’s director of engineering and product development.
“At various points during the design process we used the feature which enabled a dynamic sweep of cross sections of the design through the assembly. This allowed our designers and manufacturing engineers to quickly identify potential vulnerabilities in the design and resolve them before going to tooling.”
Kryptonite’s internal physical prototyping proves out the design, as well as establishing a benchmark for initial tooling samples, where CAMWorks is used to help prepare the model for manufacture.
The lock even has an element of sustainable design to it, with it intended to be a fully serviceable lock and not a throw-away commodity.
The finished product is a robust lock, tough enough to give your bike a glimmer of hope against the roving hoards of bike thieves that roam the streets of our cities.
Enemy at the gates
Magnet Schultz is an expert when it comes to all things electromagnetic, putting the company in an ideal position when it comes to automated lockdowns on an industrial scale.
Its latest design for a large, flexible, gate locking mechanism is just what you need if you have an industrial unit or government building you want to keep secure.
Magnet Schultz turned to rapid prototyping in order to have a working prototype available to show prospective customers
In typical automated gate assemblies, if one gate drops in height through hinge wear the resulting misalignment means that the security gate is no longer secure. With this new design a misalignment of up to 15mm can be accommodated, meaning there’s less chance of a problem occurring and a reduction in the need for service and support
Product specialist Tim Lloyd explains that the new product was designed to cope with wear and tear, have lasting security, and be able to withstand attack – important if you’ve just invested around £20,000 on a new security gate.
“We came up with three variations on a theme and gave the outline information to our design engineer Robert Sam and got him to do some initial feasibility studies in the CAD system,” explains Tim.
Producing working models in Autodesk Inventor, they narrowed it down to a single design, which was assessed then put through a series of stress and force calculations using the 3D model in Inventor.
“When we’re putting together an initial idea of how much it’s going to hold and whatever the locking devices need to be, any type of stresses or safety factors we can work out through Inventor is a starting point,” says Robert Sam.
This was the first time that Magnet Schultz turned to rapid prototyping in order to have a working prototype available to show prospective customers. Using the nearby bureau 3TRP the parts were built in a Duraform material within the week and actually made up part of the fully working lock.
The 3D model was also transferred into Maxwell Render to provide realistic renders that could be used in the marketing material helping to ‘lock-up’ customers before the parts had even been sent to manufacture.
It’s in the bank
In the movies very few things beat the tension of a bank heist, whether it’s the delicate, fingertip, cracking of the safe’s code, or simply piling up the explosives and letting rip. Keeping out the villains nothing quite screams ‘secure’ as a big, shiny, round bank vault door that weighs over 4,000kg.
Big, shiny, round and weighing in at over 4,000kg
Aside from overall security, the two most important considerations in designing a massive vault door are a tight fit and the ability to get out in case of an accidental lock in.
Vault Structures is one of the few manufacturers building security facilities on this scale and the company’s latest design is the 14-inch thick, 4,082kg, VSI 360 vault door. The styling is a nostalgic nod to the early twentieth century safes; a period when bank robbers clung to the sides of automobiles, and bankers sat behind counters wearing little green visors.
Thankfully for your gold bullion the technology has been completely updated. The vault uses modern metals, multiple bolts and re-lockers all piston driven from the central lock, fitting it tight into the frame.
“We designed this door so it would only have a 3/16 of an inch gap around its circumference,” says design engineer Sara Cheney. “That’s a very tight gap for such a large door, providing maximum security.”
The design was modelled in SolidWorks to ensure dimensions were accurate, with SolidWorks Simulation being used for strength testing before it went into production. By doing so the design team managed to design and test the door roughly 70 percent faster than previously, saving them $150,000 in reduced prototyping costs.
Vault Structures also depends on SolidWorks Workgroup PDM to maintain design version control and manage its vault designs throughout their entire lifecycles.
“If security is job number one, longevity and durability are next in line,” continues Sara. “Our products are built to last hundreds of years. So it’s absolutely critical for us to keep an accurate, detailed history of parts, designs, and modifications.”
However, with such a retro aesthetic it’s hard not to reach for the stethoscope, drill and blowtorch in an attempt to recreate some movie classics.
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The future is bright
09 August 2010
Process type: Design
Tanya Weaver met up with three student designers, fresh out of education and looking to make their stamp on the world of design
Every year in the UK hundreds of product design students graduate and are catapulted into industry. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, the question is – has their university course sufficiently nurtured their talent, instilled them with the required skills and given them sufficient experience for designing in the real world?
Not your average university building: The new Design School building at Northumbria University
One student that strongly agrees is Louise Cochrane who is soon to graduate from her four-year Honours (Hons) Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) Product Design Engineering course at the University of Strathclyde. “I feel that my department - Design Manufacture and Engineering Management (DMEM) - has equipped me well with the knowledge and skills that enable me to work on any point of the design process whether designing initial concepts, optimising manufacturing processes or overseeing everything in a managerial role,” she explains.
Although Cochrane feels that she benefited from having engineering and manufacturing modules on her course there are many product design courses on offer at universities across the UK that have different focuses. For instance, prospective students can either choose a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Design (BDes), a Bachelor of Science (BSc) or, like Cochrane, a BEng and can do it over three or four years as an undergraduate, followed by a masters degree if desired.
Ryan McGinley, who also went to the University of Strathclyde, studied Bsc (Hons) Product Design & Innovation and decided to extend his studies through a 12-month intensive Masters course in Industrial Design at Northumbria University’s School of Design.
He puts his decision down to the School’s established reputation in design education. “I was looking at courses around the UK and then found Northumbria School of Design where the head of design at Apple, Pixar and the CEO of IDEO had all studied. After speaking to a few lecturers and reading the syllabus I knew where I wanted to do a Master in Design,” says McGinley.
McGinley has worked on a wide range of designs over the past year, on his own and with fellow students, on live projects for companies such as Polyphotonix, Massimo Dutti and Proctor & Gamble. All of the projects are born out of real design problems such as the ice hockey helmet he created for players who wear prescription glasses. “The inspiration came from watching two players on the Northumbria University team struggling with wearing glasses due to not being able to wear contact lenses,” he describes. “The problem then became more apparent when watching an opposing team who had three players who had resorted to wearing goggles. So, it was evident that this was a clear design problem.”
His design and development process, which follows a fairly standard route used in most professional design studios, started with ethnographic research in order to understand the key problems as well as research as to what was currently on the market. With this knowledge and also having carried out a focus group with the University ice hockey team, he worked in Photoshop and Illustrator Sketch to quickly mock up his visual ideas.
He decided that his final design would use prescription lenses in the form of glasses that form a visor when slotted into the helmet. He finally carried out 3D surface modelling in SolidWorks and used PhotoView 360 within SolidWorks to explore colour, material and finish.
During his course McGinley also benefited from the extensive resources and facilities available to students in the School of Design, which was rebuilt in 2007 as part of a £136 million development project in order to re-house and expand the existing School. The new facilities range from CAD suites that run software programmes including the standard Adobe suite, AutoCAD, Rhino, SolidWorks, Cinema 4D and Autodesk 3ds Max as well as extensive 3D prototyping workshops and construction facilities.
Many other universities offering product and industrial design courses are just as well equipped. For instance, the University of Strathclyde’s DMEM (Design, Manufacture & Engineering Management) department claims to host the only integrated physical, virtual and reverse engineering prototyping facility in the UK, whilst Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) impressive professional-level facilities and workshops are equipped with the latest industry-standard technology such as a Flow Corporation CNC Water jet, a Dimension rapid prototype printer, two laser cutters and two 3-axis CNC wood routers.
These machines prove very useful to product design students in the prototyping stages of their projects. Students also benefit from a metalworking and timber machining workshop, an electronic workshop, a materials testing laboratory as well as five dedicated computing rooms, where there is access to a wide range of software including Adobe Photoshop CS2, AutoCAD, SolidWorks and Autodesk 3ds Max. “I would say that the workshop facilities available to us and the excellent advice and guidance from the workshop technicians has been one of the highlights of the course, especially in the final year,” explains final year BA Product Design student at NTU, John Etherington. “The technicians are all experienced and have backgrounds in manufacturing which has helped considerably in improving my ability to design for manufacture.”
What really attracted Etherington to NTU’s product design course was the 12-month industrial placement that takes place during the third year. “I chose NTU to study mainly due to its excellent connections and track record in placing students for a year in industry. This proved very useful for myself and a number of other students in securing a job after graduation as well as helping considerably with commercial awareness and design for manufacture throughout my final year,” confirms Etherington.
His placement at Bigblue Product Design, a Chester-based design consultancy which specialises in the retail and development of home cooking appliances, was an invaluable experience and as well as becoming more commercially aware it helped him enhance his presentation skills, gain experience in dealing with clients, suppliers and manufacturers as well as vastly improving his computing capabilities.
Etherington will start his permanent position at Bigblue in September 2010 and according to the consultancy’s managing director, Christopher Parker, he will be the third NTU student that the consultancy has taken on permanently following a work placement. “Taking a placement student gives us a trial run at integrating a new member into the team. If things work out we can always make a full time job for a good individual and will usually use that individual to head up a new area of business opportunity,” he says. “Additionally, we recognise that we have a responsibility to design education. We all got started somehow and we feel it’s important to give something back.”
Etherington’s final year project was inspired by his time at Bigblue and the consultancy’s desire to develop its own branded products - predominantly range and built-in cookers. So, the brief Etherington set himself was to design a prototype for a Bigblue branded built-in gas hob that could be included within this future range. He also wanted the hob to exhibit the consultancy’s values of elegance, simplicity, clarity and quality. “The hob is aimed at the high end user with special emphasis on contemporary aesthetics and showing the values of the company through its design,” explains Etherington. According to Parker, the hob system will undergo an assessment with a view to making it available for batch production at the premium end of the market.
In the initial stages of his project Etherington explains that he carried out a large amount of user research including motion mapping around the kitchen environment. From sketching he quickly moved into SolidWorks to model up his design and then sent these files to the laser cutters for the production of the prototypes. “I used the laser cutters at the University extensively when making scale prototypes of the initial ideas on the final designs,” he says.
With these prototypes he carried out anthropometric and ergonomic testing with potential users and the feedback helped in refining his design further. As well as SolidWorks he also utilised VRAY and Autodesk 3ds Max to produce photorealistic renderings of the 3D models throughout the design development phase of the project. The entire final design was then modelled in SolidWorks before manufacture of the final prototype commenced.
“Rapid prototyping machinery was used in the production of the final prototype to make the parts that would otherwise be injection moulded,” explains Etherington. Although the base of the prototype hob has been produced using slate, the final product will be constructed from glass ceramic. Additionally, all of the hob’s internal components were either constructed by Etherington or have been sourced from suppliers made during his placement year.
Although his course trained him for certain aspects of what work in a real life design studio would be like, of course it couldn’t prepare him completely. One area he felt he lacked skills in was CAD, “I think that tuition in 3D technologies is invaluable. I don’t think that we were taught it enough during the first and second years of university. This was realised during my placement at Bigblue where I found that the majority of the work undertaken was on computers for which I feel that I could have been better prepared,” he explains. “However, my computer skills, especially in the Adobe packages, improved considerably over my placement.”
Parker does not necessarily share Etherington’s views, “CAD skills are important to us but skills in a specific programme are less important than an understanding of the underlying principals and applications. SolidWorks can be picked up but time in an engineering workshop stays with you throughout a lifetime’s work.”
Cochrane’s view also differs from Etherington’s because although there is an opportunity at Strathclyde University to learn CAD during supervised classes, she found that the best way to learn was simply to use the software during her own time. “Being taught the basics in a structured way while at university certainly helps but for the most part I have taught myself,” she says. “I think it is really helpful to take any product that catches your eye, whether from your desk or in a magazine, and to try to use CAD to model it.” In fact, Cochrane did not use CAD much at all in her final year project - a portable flat-pack workstation made entirely from recycled fibreboard that enables nomadic workers to work virtually anywhere on their laptops.
“Due to the nature of my project I actually only used CAD for a short period of time during the product development,” she explains. “The stage at which I did use it was during the detail design and dimension refinement to create the final 2D net of the workstation that would be given to the manufacturers for the cutting and scoring of the workstation.”
No matter which product design course students graduate from, or what university they went to, they will never be completely prepared for design in the real world, but as long as they are eager to learn, are dedicated and show passion then they stand as good a chance as any, as Parker explains, “Students come to us in a semi-formed state, one could comment on inadequacies in any one area of knowledge such as engineering detailing, materials selection, project planning…the list goes on, it is however a willingness to engage in a continuing process of discovery and a developed approach towards creativity that is most useful to us.”
Although Etherington has already secured his place at Bigblue what of McGinley and Cochrane? Well, McGinley is currently looking for industrial design positions, however he is confident that what he has learnt so far - namely his ability to contribute decisively in multidisciplinary teams, find real design problems, and above all understand what clients really need in their business - will set him apart.
Meanwhile, Cochrane is off to Milan in September where she will be furthering her studies by undertaking the Product-Service-System Design course at the Politecnico di Milano. And when asked what makes her stand out from fellow design graduates she says rather enduringly, “Design isn’t just what I study; it is a genuine interest and passion in my everyday life. The main thing that I love about design is that everyone has an opinion on it and it touches the life of every single person. I may not be a doctor or a lawyer, but as a designer I too can change lives.”
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Excellent Adventures
03 August 2010
Process type: Design
Stephen Holmes caught up with phil&teds to find out how the New Zealand product design firm used a blend of CAD and visualisation to create its pushchair for active parents
In a nation known for its extreme sports and active pursuits, one can’t imagine the average New Zealand parent toning down his or her lifestyle for something as routine as raising a child. While few adults are likely to fling themselves off bridges attached to little more than their six-month old child and a bungee rope, many are looking for ways to maintain their vigorous routines while turning to products that can adapt to the family’s growing needs.
With fanfair New Zealand product design firm phil&teds has launched the sub4, a pushchair taken to new heights, transforming an everyday child carrier into a functional jogger. The usual factors of infant comfort and safety were high on the list of priorities, but a lot of attention was also paid to making sure the design fits into an active adult’s lifestyle.
Modo render of the sub4 jogging stroller
“The sub4 was created with the view that sports-minded, athletic, bike-riding parents who love to run would actually like to be able to run with their strollers,” says founder Phil Brace, who continues to lead the design team for the pushchairs and strollers that form a key part of the baby products it produces. “The sub4 needed to look ‘fast’, be able to corner ‘fast’, stop ‘fast’, fold ‘fast’ and small, and most of all be cool, and leverage the fast moving cycle industry. The sub4 is like the mountain bike in the cycle world.”
With 25 years’ experience in product design, Phil has continued to “put one foot in front of the other” in order to live out his design dream of getting new products like the sub4 out into the wider world.
Concept sketch of the seat and spring mounts
SolidWorks model of the seat and mounts
Formed in 1995, phil&teds is based in Newtown, New Zealand where Phil heads a design team of 20. “It’s secretly quite a large development team for little old NZ – I’m a designer, and a leader, so I try and lead by example, compete to have the best ideas, and most of all have fun!”
“I am pretty old school when it comes to creativity and development,” laughs Phil. “My business card says: ‘imagination to reality’.
The sub4 jogging stroller has some interesting design features such as the low- resistance wheels and dual rear disc brakes. It can be controlled with just one hand, manoeuvres easily and is perfect for some serious jogging.
By calculating the ideal biomechanics of someone jogging whilst in control of the pushchair, adjustments could be made so that it could turn corners safely, remain completely stable at high speeds, be stopped safely using only one hand (and the large mountain bike style disc brakes) and still allow full stride lengths.
For the seat the design process already had some basis in that some moulded protective breastplates for female athletes were benchmarked against a seating concept from a kids bike.
“The goal for us is to increase speed, reduce risk, and innovate in our own market – a moulded seat that is waterproof, hypo-allergenic, easy-clean, soft where it needs to be soft, hard where it needs to be hard, offered lots of opportunity for design – but in this case we just had to tool it up to really know.”
This is not to say that computer-aided design doesn’t play a big part in what phil&teds produces.
“It all starts as an idea, gets refined on a sketchpad, then proven in the workshop. After that, we visualise on screen before committing to the likes of the engineering tools for implementation.
“I’m not such a fan of CAD development without first engaging the brain.”
These days phil&teds works primarily with SolidWorks and Modo to build its conceptual models, working with the idea that, deep down, they know what is best from the start.
“I am a firm believer that you know in your heart the right path to take – mostly if you second guess this, all you do is consume time with another idea, and it is seldom a better idea!
“These days virtual imaging is the norm to communicate and excite the team, while physical prototyping is there to prove the idea pre-tooling.”
“For implementation SolidWorks is the tool of choice for the design and engineering team,” continues Phil. “We’re not designing space-shuttles just yet, so SolidWorks is perfect for plastic parts, extrusions, and the mechanics of folding mechanisms.
“Modo provides the pre-design visuals, and later the accurate renders from the SolidWorks data. I still use VMRL exports from SolidWorks via blender to LWO and then to Modo – crazy but easy to control the polys.”
Virtual imaging is the norm to communicate and excite the team, while physical prototyping is there to prove the idea
Phil Brace, founder, phil&teds
Phil is a self-confessed amateur rendering addict, a skill that with ten years of honing has proved a useful asset when it comes to getting products to market.
“My job as a designer is actually a sales role – reality is everything. So as the cost of prototyping increases it’s great to balance this with a good dose of CG to do the job!
“I like to have the tools in-house, I like the team to have the satisfaction, and the personal achievement in getting the product to the market – we are relentless about speed to market, so we need the tools at hand – last week I even converted three old raid servers to Modo for network rendering!
“Modo is precise down to the micron, but has the dual benefit of both hard and soft modelling – to be fair we used to favour Rhino for our ‘ID’ work, but these days Modo formeisthetoolofchoice-Ididmyvery first animation rig for the sub4 in Modo, so even the benefits of SolidWorks with its ‘kinematics’ is dropping off for me as an industrial designer.”
Seeing the sub4 in animation leads to thoughts of it in action – an ideal piece of design for the modern lifestyle where nothing slows you down.
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Black box recorder
24 June 2010
Process type:
New technology has audiophiles clambering for the best hi-fi equipment, but in order keep working to its luxurious peak the Naim HDX has employed some crafty thermal design.
Audiophiles are forever harking back to a time of warm, smooth bass tones and clear top notes, and will usually spend top dollar in pursuing it from today’s modern hi-fi equipment.
The HDX component hard drive: 500Gb of bit-perfect, CD quality sound storage, is designed by Naim, a high-end audio equipment firm that does a fine line in serious audio systems that cost roughly the same as a nice car (incidentally, on the side, Naim also fit out nice Bentleys with audio systems).
Luxury sound quality at it’s coolest
Although clothed in a rather charmless-looking black box, the HDX is trying to help with the mammoth task of motivating thousands of middle-aged men into giving up their giant vinyl and CD collections and transferring their beloved LPs into MP3s, without harming the sound quality.
It’s no looker, but on the inside it is a marvel of design and electronic engineering in a business where the quality of the sound counts.
Sold worldwide, in a variety of climates (I’m guessing mansions in tropical paradises) keeping the hard-drive at a relatively constant temperature was the main challenge for the team of 30 designers at Naim’s headquarters in Salisbury.
“We had to be very conscious of the temperature inside the unit,” says Paul Neville, Naim’s audio mechanical design manager. “Hard drives have a temperature they like to turn at, and it reduces their life expectancy if they run too hot. The bearings wear out, for example.
“The HDX was our first product with a hard drive, and it also has significantly more software than anything else we’ve designed. A complex product means more electronics, and more electronics generate more heat. At the same time, they reduce the amount of room in the unit that allows heat to circulate through.”
As a result, thermal analysis was key to the design.
Naim used SolidWorks Flow Simulation, taking a CAD model of the HDX as a starting point to create a thermal analysis. The model enabled them to predict the flow patterns and maximum temperatures inside the HDX.
Designers modified the CAD models in response to the thermal analysis, then ran another analysis to ensure the modification would work.
Using SolidWorks Flow Simulation Naim saved the time and cost of building ten physical prototypes
It also worked well for giving comparative solutions. “If we changed the material or thickness of a heat sink, we would run another analysis to see what effect that had on key components,” explains Paul. “Otherwise, we would have had to use physical prototypes, and that would have taken a lot of time.”
By testing 10 different scenarios in the CAD model the HDX design needed only two physical prototypes to verify the thermal results. As Paul points out: “If not for the software, we would have needed 10 prototypes.”
Using the results as a guide, Naim settled on a design that includes a 5mm thick aluminum product case that provides a built-in heat sink for the components and a path to remove heat from product. Components were mounted to the case so their heat would radiate out of the product.
Designers moved the primary hard drive close to the cover to shorten the path heat had to travel to get outside, and the internal air flow keeps the fan off unless the temperature rises above 25C.
Here at DEVELOP3D we’ll be ordering one for when we open our new offices in Mauritius.
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Cutting it fine
23 June 2010
Process types: Collaborate, Design and Manufacture
Manufacturing close to 300,000 components each month, time is money for Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products (KAAP). With the help of Delcam PowerMill, the company was able to decrease the machining time of its dies by 40%
Automotive manufacturers are using increasing quantities of aluminium forgings for their suspension systems in order to reduce weight and increase mileage.
In 2005, Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products (KAAP) started production in Kentucky to help meet this demand. It now manufactures around 280,000 components each month. The company’s customers
include some of North America’s major automotive companies.
PowerMill simulations show the surface finish that will be achieved in the final die
KAAP’s greatest programming challenges are closed forging dies. These dies are used to produce parts with geometry ranging from simple to complex shapes, such as a half metre long link that starts
off shaped somewhat like a baseball bat, tapering down over its length to meet a larger diameter end. The end itself has a number of different radii that blend into each other.
“We were able to program these parts with the CNC software that we used in the past even though it was not very intuitive,” recalls Victor Steele, tool shop manager for KAAP. “Roughing operations
were relatively slow because the tools spent much of their time cutting air.” The most efficient way to rough out a forging die is to start with a large tool and use it to cut as much of the cavity as possible.
Then, you switch to the next size smaller tool and again cut as much of the cavity as possible.
Final machined closed forging die
The problem with KAAP’s previous software was that each successive cutter traced the complete path of the part profile even when there was nothing for it to cut, either because the section had already
been finished or because the cutter was too large.
Kobe Steel’s Japanese operations had successfully programmed this type of die with PowerMill and recommended that KAAP try the Delcam software. “One of Kobe Steel’s programmers from Japan
visited us and showed us how to use PowerMill,” said David Taylor, engineer for KAAP. “Despite his limited English he was able to teach us how to use the program without a great deal of difficulty. We liked the way the user interface is laid out.”
Later, KAAP programmers had two days of on-site instruction provided by the local Delcam reseller, Design and Software.
“As we got to know the software in more detail, we were impressed with the large number of powerful machining strategies that it offers to help optimise cycle time and accuracy of machining operations,”
Mr. Taylor added.
“The big difference with PowerMill is that you can generate a stock model of the material left from the previous tool,” explained Mr. Taylor. “The software compares the material that is left on the workpiece with the geometry of the next tool and determines the areas of the part that it is capable of cutting. PowerMill then produces a toolpath that rapidly traverses directly to the areas that can be cut by the tool while skipping areas where there is nothing it can cut.”
“These rest machining capabilities save us a considerable amount of time, reducing cycle time by 40% to 45%,” Mr. Taylor explains.
“It now takes about 24 hours to machine a complete die or about two hours to machine a die repair.”
KAAP has also benefitted from PowerMill’s simulation capabilities. The software provides fully integrated simulation and collision detection, to ensure the CNC program is both safe and efficient, and also to predict axis reversals and surface quality.
“PowerMill has helped us substantially improve the efficiency of our machine shop operations,” Mr Steele concludes. “We have been able to substantially reduce the time required to machine dies and greatly reduced handfinishing times. The software is also much easier to use which saves time in training additional programmers.”
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Cleaning up with RP
16 June 2010
Process types: Collaborate and Design
A specialist manufacturer of plumbing products is using 3D printing to help its clients create exclusive one-of-a-kind high-end bathroom fittings
Avid viewers of the BBC TV show Grand Designs will know that bathrooms matter. The room is a canvas for architects and interior designers to showcase their talents in a way that helps set a property apart from the pack.
More fundamentally though, the bathroom “experience” is a critical factor in the discriminating consumer’s willingness to spend and select one property over another.
Symmons Design Studio was used to create the tap fittings for Boston’s Four Seasons hotel
For these reasons, the humble bathroom fittings – the taps, the showerhead, the doorknob – are far too important to overlook when building or re-modelling hotels and luxury homes. Property owners are increasingly demanding oneof-a-kind fittings to deliver a unique experience.
Symmons Industries, a 70-year-old manufacturer of plumbing products, has long served this market with custom design and manufacturing services. The company broke new ground with the launch of a first-of-its-kind virtual design studio for architects, designers and property owners, called Design Studio Live (live.symmons.com).
Design Studio Live is a Web-based program that allows users to create their own products and receive colour 3D physical concepts of their designs within four days, metal prototypes in approximately 15 days, and delivered product for their property in as little as 16 weeks. With the help of this innovative new tool, architects and designers can create unique ideas that translate into exclusive fittings for their
projects right from their desks. Users can begin by digitally paging through a virtual catalog of ready-made designs, dragging them to a virtual light box, and modifying them with Google SketchUp, Adobe Photoshop, SolidWorks, or any other 3D CAD program.
Symmons design consultants are available for program guidance or design advice. However, users are encouraged to experiment as much as they’d like because the tool is designed to encourage reativity.
Physical attraction
Critical to the Design Studio Live formula is the ability to quickly and affordably churn out 3D physical models at high volumes. With this demand, handcrafting models was out of the question due to the time and labour involved. For Symmons, a 3D printer was the answer.
The company had invested in a 3D printer long before Design Studio Live was conceived, but its design consultants only used it intermittently because they had to wait some time for a part to be built. A single tap fitting took 15 hours to print, says Eric Spear, Symmons’ director of custom services. With Z Corporation’s Spectrum Z510 Symmons found it was able to print 12 models in 3.5 hours.This gave it sufficient throughput to create 3D models on demand.
3D printing has helped Symmons more effectively communicate a range of exclusive designs to its clients
“The design process itself is exciting, but there comes a point when it’s really helpful to see a tangible, physical example of it,” says Spear. “By ZPrinting 3D models, designers can stop looking at their screens and see what the part really looks like in context and feels like in their hands.”
The physical 3D models also strengthen the relationship between an architect and a property owner. “Architects can slide a set of ZPrints across the table – perhaps faucets [taps] of different sizes and shapes – along with a red pencil,” says Spear. “The property owner gets a rare opportunity to handle the models and mark them up. The architect comes back with revised models a couple of days later, and the owner is blown away by the architect’s responsiveness.”
Sitting pretty
3D printing has helped enable Symmons to show off its design capabilities. For example, the Mandarin Oriental, New York wanted a distinctive look and feel for its bathrooms, and its design firm turned to Symmons to help create the details of the design. The bath design called for a shower system that incorporated fittings with a ceiling-mount drench showerhead and a Roman tub filler that was both stylish and simple to operate. Symmons developed custom concepts for its client with an elegantly simple, single control for on/off, hot/cold operation, a feature that helped to overcome the language barrier many international guests experience. ZPrints helped Symmons communicate a range of options to the client, which enabled the team to quickly close on a final solution.
Z Corporation ZPrinter 510
Symmons prints at full tilt five days a week, 20 models a run, according to Spears. In the first four months of use, it produced 4,000 3D prints for a wide range of applications. Most were for client projects, but models also went to tradeshows, “lunch and learn” seminars with designers and architects, and to Symmons’ industrial designers.
The colour capabilities of the ZPrinter are also being exploited and Symmons uses them to accurately represent the popular finish of Onyx. Colour prints also make great promotional handouts – for instance, a brightly coloured model of a tap fitting with an architect’s name on it.
Concluding, Spear says, “It’s a great experience to be the first in market to do this. Our unique ability to host a fullservice virtual design studio with 3D printing capabilities, and do it so painlessly, is a real differentiator and a powerful one that keeps us in top of mind to our clients. Z Corp’s unique speed, colour and affordability make this possible.”
www.symmons.com
www.zcorp.com
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Oh baby!
14 June 2010
Process types: Design and Prototype
From high chairs and car seats to transforming prams, Stephen Holmes checks out the latest products designed to keep babies safe from harm and most importantly out of mischief!
Pram-tastic!
The Mylo begins with a baby’s carrycot, before adapting into a pram then pushcahir as the child develops
Prams have come a long way since the chrome-plated juggernauts pushed around by Mary Poppins and now serve as uber-functional, consumer friendly modern products.
A great example is the Mylo from Mamas & Papas, whose chassis can wheel around a baby’s carrycot in the early days and then transform into a pushchair as the child grows.
This overhaul of the traditional pram design and its re-imaging as a ‘baby transport solution’ was the first product overseen by Amanda Scacchetti, the eldest daughter of company founders David and Luisa.
The design is an interchangeable parenting marvel
Working with design consultancy DCA, the brief was for a pram that puts the baby at centre stage and designing from the seat and carrycot outwards, rather than from the frame in – making the comfort of the baby a priority.
“Working from a brief, the team at DCA ran a scoping exercise to explore new manufacturing methods as well as understanding the needs of consumers and users,” says Amanda.
“Once the concept was approved, the team began to design and ‘CAD’ each component, and our internal design team designed the soft seat and all the fabric accessories.”
The sketches were transformed into SolidWorks models where testing using Cosmos could take place.
“When designing a pushchair every aspect is interlinked,” explains DCA creative director, Nick Mival. “So what might seem the smallest visual change may stop the product folding up.
“Using SolidWorks enabled our engineering team to constantly check the pushchair functionality in a virtual environment as well as through real prototyping.”
The ‘real’ prototyping was at the heart of getting the product to market. “From early ‘pins’n’pipecleaners’ creative workshop tools through many iterations of FDM prints and SLS components, to very advanced prototyping of two hundred components in material correct components. At DCA prototyping is at the heart of what we do, literally the workshop is in the centre of the building!”
The end product is an interchangeable parenting marvel that still adheres to Mamas & Papas’ design ethic.
As Amanda puts it: “Mamas & Papas do not adhere to the belief that aesthetically driven individuals will abdicate their good taste and style values once the hormones are flowing and a baby arrives.”
Precious cargo
Transporting an infant in the family hatchback is the stuff of nightmares for most parents, which is why a secure baby seat is key.
The key brief for designers is to provide a secure shell and restraints in the case of an accident, but the seat must also be comfortable enough for a child to travel in.
The Britax Baby-Safe Plus SHR II has all this in place and more, with special attention paid to impact zones, and the threat posed by a collision to the seat from the side.
A key feature of the Baby-Safe Plus SHR II is a device called ‘D-SIP’ which significantly improves restraint performance on side impact
“The hero feature introduced on the Baby-Safe Plus SHR II is a device called ‘D-SIP’ which improves restraint performance on side impact significantly,” explains Richard Frank, Britax European engineering director, from its design centre in Germany.
“By having that technology in place, the kinematics of the child restraint system and the baby is much better controlled. By having the system being linked to the car’s accelerations and crash phases, delta velocities of the system to the car and intruding door are kept at a minimum.
“At the same time, the D-SIP transfers and distributes forces generated by the applied acceleration and system masses more beneficial to the structure of the Baby Safe shell to avoid load spots and stress areas on product and child.”
Before any designs take shape a clear target-related brief is drawn up based on analysis of existing products, respective behaviour and test results on different side impact load cases.
Catia V5, supported by Rhino, enabled the majority of the modelling, but it was the virtual analysis using Madymo and LS Dyna simulation tools that really progressed the seat’s development.
“All tools and methodology applied are kind of standards in automotive, specifically in fields of restraint systems,” says Richard. “Computer aided engineering was key for analysis and evaluation of key changes and validation of component and product design.
“By having the load cases/environment validated by a number of tests the accuracy of the simulation result versus hardware test has got a very satisfactory level of about 2% - 5% deviation.”
It takes a lot of engineering, calculations and testing to ensure that your baby’s seat is the most protected in the vehicle and your precious cargo is safe and sound.
Cradle to behave design
An infant squealing with delight as food is flung from a highchair is a demon best avoided – but at what age should the little angels be placed in one?
Drawing inspriation from classic furniture design bloom’s fresco highchair is able to safely cradle a baby straight from birth
This was one of the questions facing bloom, a business started by four dads who felt that products designed for their children hadn’t changed in 20 years, and lacked the innovation and progress of other consumer products.
Through research bloom found that an infant should be using a highchair at around six months old when babies’ necks are sufficiently developed to hold their heads up properly. However most parents actually buy the highchair when the child is only three months old. so the dads set out to design a highchair that would safely cradle the baby and be usable straight from birth.
“The design leads have quite a lot of experience in designing products for the world’s top brands,” says Jon Lake, co-founder, bloom, in relation to his company’s fresco chair. “In this case, they move quite quickly from rough pencil thumbnail sketches to CAD modelling, the modern 3D sketching tool.”
Instead of choosing the cheap vinyl and plastic covered tubing common with most baby chairs bloom’s designers looked to establish their own aesthetic drawing on the work of the past decades from design greats such as Ray and Charles Eames, Verner Panton, and Eero Saarinen.
Working with Alias, Pro/Engineer, Solidworks, and Rhino – whatever each designer was most comfortable with – the chair was first modelled, and then a wide variety of rapid prototyping techniques were used to build a working chair to help solve ergonomic issues.
“Children grow very fast so there is a broad range for the typical life of a product,” explains Jon “Getting the very best fit usually requires quite a lot of testing and evaluation.
“After using ergonomic models, we also check with a variety of kids. Fortunately, we have a large pool to select from: our own children are our most popular test subjects!”
The end product helps include babies in the social areas of the home - as a cot from its first days, straight through to a launch pad for flinging yoghurt months later.
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Fast track to China
11 June 2010
Process types: Design, Prototype and Visualise
From its small studio in Norwich, UK, Product Resolutions is hands on in the entire product development process from concept to manufacture. Tanya Weaver discovered how it makes its strong relationships with Chinese manufacturing firms work to its advantage
For a design consultancy with such a vast and varied international client base it’s amazing that Product Resolutions works out of a small studio located in Norwich’s city centre.
With only a handful of computers and not a single piece of prototyping equipment or machine tool in sight the firm undertakes the full design and development of dozens of products each year.
Product Resolutions worked on the recently launched Scalextric Start system
Its business model combines in-house design skills with the technical and manufacturing expertise of Chinese suppliers in order to create commercially successful new products. “Our unique approach as a design consultancy is to consider every aspect of bringing a product to market: covering not only function and aesthetics, but also ease of manufacture and product profitability,” explains Product Resolution’s director, Nick Harvey.
Fellow director, Paul Robbins, lived and worked in Hong Kong and China for seven years prior to setting up Product Resolutions in 2000. It was when he was working at the first independent western design consultancy to be set up in Hong Kong, which was helping UK companies looking to manufacture in China, that he saw the opportunity of doing exactly that, but from the UK.
He felt that he could establish a UK design business that would really set itself apart as a consultancy that had a fresh approach to creating new products. “I saw the opportunity to have all the creativity and innovation that is associated with UK design but present it so that it is ready for manufacture,” he explains. “So, it would take into account the cost constraints in terms of tooling but also the engineering of the product so that it fits with Chinese manufacturing.
Product Resolution’s director, Nick Harvey visiting a supplier factory in China
“Our approach in terms of combining the creativity but with the technical knowledge has always been our USP. Even now many design consultancies say that they can work in China but it’s often nearly always through a joint venture or agency set up, whereas we talk directly to Chinese factories and suppliers every day,” he adds.
Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, the company has designed and developed a wide range of products from consumer electronics and medical devices to toys and cycling accessories for a variety of clients, which also include lone inventors who need assistance in both developing their ideas and sourcing manufacturing.
As Product Resolutions is capable of managing an entire project from the very beginning right to the very end, they tend to fit well with a certain type of business who requires them to work on a project from concept through to a minimum of production level data.
“We have quite an influence on our client’s design process,” says Robbins. “We especially tend to fit well with businesses that haven’t used design before.”
For instance, Product Resolutions has been working with Lumie, a European specialist in light therapy, for seven years and with each project is involved from initial concept stage right through to manufacturing liaison. Hornby is also a long-term client and although it has its own in-house design resource, its team enjoys working with Product Resolutions.
Hornby not only finds the Norwich firm to be very in tune with the commercial realities of mass production but also believes that its designs are innovative and straightforward to manufacture. Projects that Product Resolutions has worked on for Hornby include the Digital Command Control system for trains and the newly launched Scalextric Start system.
From concept to development
Over the years Product Resolutions has refined a product design process that includes all the vital stages required to produce a successful design. Although, in theory, everything should run smoothly, according to Harvey, depending on the client and what they are designing for them, it very often deviates.
All projects begin with a brief, which, depending on the project, is followed by research and then a 2D concept design phase that in most instances involves presenting the client with three concepts to choose from.
The next stage is to move into 3D and produce a CAD model, including the mechanical design, using SolidWorks. Being a small team Product Resolutions feels that being able to do mechanical design in-house is very important. “
A lot of the fine tuning of a design happens at this stage and if there is an alteration to the design because a component gets changed we want to be in control of that,” explains Robbins. “So we go from sketching up concepts to drafting up screw posts and that is part of the enjoyment of the process as well.” From then on in the process China features quite heavily as most of the prototyping, tooling and manufacturing is done using Chinese suppliers and toolmakers.
The Road to China
The recent development of a controller for an electric bicycle for Hungarian company Gepida, through its UK client GPEG, perfectly showcases Product Resolutions’ ability to work efficiently with its Chinese suppliers. However, the start of this project was slightly unusual in that the consultancy received a basic CAD concept model from the client and was tasked with redesigning it so that it could be manufactured efficiently and cost-effectively. This involved not only mechanical design but also defining the PCBs and ensuring that the product would pass the IP56 waterproof rating.
From the design multiple prototypes were then made and the Chinese toolmaker produced the tooling, which involved die-casting and injection moulding. As Gepida had to have twenty prototypes ready for a bike show, the timeline for this project was very tight and Product Resolutions had three months from the start to having tooling made. “On a product like this the design process might be six to eight weeks and then tooling takes five weeks which is pretty good,” comments Robbins.
Although Product Resolutions does use UK prototyping companies including Paragon Rapid Technologies and Laser Prototypes, 90 per cent of its prototypes are made in China.
In the case of the Gepida product it knew that the Chinese supplier could use CNC machines to produce the parts needed from polycarbonate and aluminium as well as doing silk-screen printing. It could also deliver it in just five working days for a very good cost. “But it’s not just about the cost,” says Harvey, “the quality is really excellent especially as there was a lot of waterproofing issues to consider in the bicycle controller product. The prototypes are so good that you can’t tell them apart from the real thing.”
The tooling for the GPEG project was also made in China, which included die cast moulds, composite parts for the brackets, injection moulded parts and even to the point of helping to source cable lead manufacturers.
Although many UK companies find it difficult to work with Chinese manufacturing partners, according to Harvey, for them it’s a bit of a black art. It’s not so much about Robbins being able to speak Cantonese, something he learnt whilst living there, but it’s also about respecting what the toolmakers and factories do and understanding what they are good at and how they like to work.
“I wouldn’t deal with a non-English speaking factory because that would be too difficult but the suppliers we use we have known for a long time and it’s to do with the way you speak to them and how you give them information,” says Robbins.
Concept sketches of the Lumie Starter, a light emitting alarm product: Product Resolutions typically presents the client with three concepts to choose from
Communication is mostly done through Skype calls and email with Product Resolutions emailing CAD data, initially in the form of a SolidWorks eDrawing, together with clear and concise instructions. Harvey has found that it works best when all the information is given at once – a bullet point format works particularly well – and that when new information and instructions are emailed you request that previous emails are deleted as this lessens confusion.
“The key is understanding the way that they work and understanding where their skills lie and understanding where our skills lie,” says Robbins. “It’s almost like handing a project to a mechanical engineer in a way or handing over to the marketing department. In this case, they are the manufacturing department and they are really good at doing that as long as you give them the right information in the right format and follow a clear process.”
The personal touch
Although project management can be done remotely, in order to build a personal relationship with the toolmaker and factory it’s important to actually go out to China and meet them face-to-face. “I try to go over twice a year. It is definitely beneficial because it reinforces relationships with factories. I even go on the production line and talk to the people assembling the products,” says Robbins. “They like you to visit them because they are very proud of their factories and they want to show off what they have got.”
SolidWorks eDrawings are often used to communicate information to China
For Robbins another way of earning respect and ensuring a long and happy working relationship with the factory is to manage expectations very early on. For instance, he will inform the factory that a client is going to do a pilot run of 500, after that they may do a first order of 1,000 and thereafter it could gradually creep up.
With this knowledge the factory will then set their pricing accordingly. Whereas, if you hammered the factory down on price promising an order of 50,000 in the first year but then only ordering 2,000 then everyone is unhappy because the factory has had to squeeze their unit price in order to achieve this.
“Managing expectations of the factory and being really clear about where they are going to make their money is very important. Because if they don’t make money they won’t be there in a year so it’s in our interest to make sure that they are,” comments Robbins.
Strictly confidential
There is always a fear of products being copied and although confidentiality agreements are in place with all suppliers, according to Robbins it really comes down to choosing the right kind of companies to work with.
For instance, the prototyping company that Product Resolutions uses is a pure prototyping company meaning that it doesn’t offer a design service or undertakes manufacturing. “It’s the same with toolmakers,” he says. “Most of the time we use a pure toolmaker rather than a toolmaker that has an assembly factory or an electronics factory. So, our toolmaker will inject the parts and then give them to our assembly partners who only do contract manufacturing. That is one of the ways that you can protect your intellectual property because they simply don’t have the route to market to copy your product.”
Photorealistic Rendering of the Lumie Starter
Being able to work so efficiently with its Chinese suppliers has also enabled Product Resolutions to have additional income. “Most of our business is fee-based but we have set it up so that we have a mix of different income streams.
It makes the financial side much smoother because in consultancy if you are not working you are not making any money. I hate that, so we get in a situation that if we are not working we still have income coming in from other sources and this works quite well,” he adds.
Prototype of the Lumie Starter
For instance, the company earns commission for introducing a new customer to its Chinese toolmaker. “The factory is happy to pay us commission because they get new business and we are also there in the background to help if there are any problems with communication,” says Robbins.
The road ahead
Product Resolutions is now starting to do more risk and reward type projects where it will either work for reduced fees, or no fee, in return for royalties or part ownership of intellectual property. For instance, this arrangement is in place on a medical product it is currently working on that Robbins has a feeling might do very well.
It’s this unique combination of UK creativity, Chinese technical ability and manufacturing efficiency that is the real hook for Product Resolutions’ clients and keeps them coming back for more. Some future products to look out for include new 2012 Olympics licensed products, a range of audio and video products for up and coming UK brand Veho, a new child safety device and the latest in the range of Lumie Bodyclocks.
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Armour up!
07 June 2010
Process types: Design and Prototype
Stephen Holmes caught up with Legacy Effects, the team responsible for bringing Iron Man’s legendary suit to the big screen
We step behind the scenes of Hollywood to find out how to build a suit fit for a superhero
With a gleaming gold and red suit of armour, pulsating with weaponry and a glowing orb set in its chest, Iron Man has returned.
The blockbuster movie of the summer is big, bright and brash; everything one would expect from the Hollywood machine pumping all it has into an action driven special effects spectacular.
Behind the world of glitz and glamour, red carpets and beautiful people is a hard working industry dealing with design issues most will never have to encounter, and that’s before we get to a superhero’s wardrobe.
Special effects are a massive part of this and none come much bigger than Legacy Effects, the progressive name for the legendary Stan Winston Studios. The projects that the company has worked on read like a list of all time great special effects films, including Terminator, Jurassic Park, and more recently Avatar.
Legacy built the suits for the original Iron Man film and the company has now followed this up with a Mark IV suit for the sequel. While Robert Downey Jr. certainly looks the part in his armoured exoskeleton, there is no Hollywood trickery when these suits are used on set.
“It was very challenging as when they film these Iron Man movies they go all the way – it’s a live action movie,” says Jason Lopes, systems engineer at Legacy Effects, fresh from finishing up another Marvel superhero movie, Thor. “They’re actually using our parts, hitting our parts, beating each other up with our products, so there’s a constant call to make more.”
Robert Downey Jr, as billionaire industrialist and master engineer, Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man
The unsung heroes
The entire process of designing and manufacturing these parts is technology driven: concept artists dive straight into 3D, CAD files are shared between the team for adjustments and editing, and rapid prototyping is used to build models from scaled down maquettes, to full size parts.
A key figure in the design team is Simon Webber, a concept artist, who via the wonders of modern technology, can be based in the UK while his compatriots work in California. Legacy works closely with the film’s director on what characters and real effects will be needed and then along with the other concept artists Weber is provided with background and sketches.
“We get notes based on the script and then we’re at a concept stage where we try out lots of varying ideas and see what lands,” says Simon. “We turn that stuff over to a director and see if anything hits the mark.
“We’re doing that three-dimensionally from the beginning, we’re not doing lots of concept art that then needs to be turned into a model or an asset later on, it’s straight into the 3D world. The changes that you make, you’re making to what will become the final asset.
“Because we’ve got experience at sculpting in the real world with clay we just go straight in with ZBrush and design it in there. It’s a quicker end result.”
Simon has over ten years of experience in practical special effects make-up, and he only moved over to digital design two years ago, but has never looked back. Now working with a Wacom tablet, using ZBrush 3.5 and Photoshop running on a Windows-driven Mac Pro, Simon is amazed at how quick and fluid the entire process is.
“It was sculpting that I was used to,” he says of the digital tools. “But I was able to illustrate from it, paint from it and you’ve then got an asset that you can do so many things with.”
The designs are sized to human proportions, and the actor who is going to wear the costume or parts is scanned in 3D so the model can be scaled to their exact proportions before any of it is built.
“The speed that you can churn out concepts and ideas, and the flexibility of being able to hand an asset over to someone and they can make changes; it’s such an editable, organic process,” continues Simon.
“You can do a design one day, then the next day you can have a bunch of parts sitting on a desk that represent that model and another day later you’ve got a full maquette in front of you, painted up that looks like your design, and a director can see it from all angles, see how he’s going to light and shoot it.”
The need for speed
The development process has been accelerated with the help of rapid prototyping techniques. First used in the production of Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World, 3D printing has since come into its own in the world of special effects.
For Iron Man 2 the team looked to Objet for its rapid production capabilities, taking on a range of printers including the Eden 260v and 500v to make sure the action-packed movie was never short of parts that were subjected to some extreme conditions on set.
Legacy Effects re-invented the way Robert Downey Jr’s chrome plated gauntlets were assembled to maximise movement
“We were responsible for the whole suits, so I did mainly the gauntlets, pieces of the boots, different pieces of the helmet and the face mask,” says Jason from Legacy’s headquarters in San Fernando, California.
“With Iron Man, the concept art was brought to us and had to be tweaked from there, and to show how to make it. A lot of these concepts, especially for the superhero genre, a physical person could not fit into a suit as such, so we’ve got the artists here and they know how to really bring the vision into reality.”
The route from concept to finished part is not always smooth and Jason had issues with the with original production gloves for Robert Downey Jr. “They just did not come out to our satisfaction the first time around and we wanted to address that,” he says.
“Once we brought the Objet in-house with its detail and accuracy we were able to redevelop our ‘gauntlets’ (what we call our gloves – the Iron Man gauntlets) and basically introduce some pretty kick-ass movement in the gloves because it’s a live-action film. So Downey Jr. had to be able to be physically able to do stuff without having the arms sacrificed.
“We re-invented the way that we assembled these gauntlets and designed them, and we were going for full gloves, which took about eighteen hours for left and right hands, to fully chrome plated, and in some instances mechanically put together in a day and used.”
With the film set located little over 20 minutes away from Legacy Effects’ design studio, and the sheer volume of action scenes in the film, you get the impression that the team was on constant call.
The list of parts goes on - pieces for Whiplash, the film’s villain played by Mickey Rourke, were printed directly for his armbands and weapons.
Back to the future
With Legacy Effects Jason has continued to progress the use of technology that began with Stan Winston’s own vision, the place where he began his career. “I actually interviewed with [Stan Winston] which was pretty intense – that was at a time when we had a different structure with the digital department. With his vision we started to create a digital department that went hand-in-hand with the traditional practical effects.
Whiplash, the villain in Iron Man II played by Mickey Rourke, didn’t actually make his own armour for the film
“He basically wanted the department to be unlike any other department in his studio.
“We’ve pushed the envelope with the processes, but Stan’s core foundations are still behind it. We’re very meticulous to our craft and we’re doing more hands-on work.
“We have a traditional design department, and by traditional I mean we use every package out there. We have people using Maya, people using SoftImage - ZBrush is a huge part of what we do now to edit detail and the different processes that we use here now. We use Rhino, we use Modo – basically whatever an artist is comfortable with, we use.
“We even have some little techniques in house, stuff that we’ve developed over the years.
“It takes a really special artist to understand how to design something on a computer screen and bring it to real practical life.
“We take input here from all the people that work here, and even outside clients, but the job falls with me constantly looking for tools and technology that don’t take away from the art, that’s the big problem, that’s something we really stand by.
“There’s a lot of different technology out there but the minute it takes away from the art, or makes our deadlines shorter because of how complicated it is we consider it a fail, because we always want to stay true to our original vision.”
The big blue
By far the biggest project the team has undertaken was the work done for James Cameron’s epic movie Avatar.
“Avatar was on such a big scale that it was still not cost effective enough to fully print large pieces on Objet technology, but where we could we would – pieces that involve detail and stuff like that,” explains Jason.
Legacy Effects uses Objet’s Eden 3D printers - here shown printing out a Na’vi from Avatar, which James Cameron used to visualise the film’s blue skinned stars
“What’s really cool about our workflow is that we did all the Na’vis for Avatar – all the blue people if you will – and we got to digitally sculpt organic characters and then print out the small 1/8th scale models for Cameron to actually look at.”
It wasn’t all small scale, with Legacy building a giant Amp Suit, the armed mechanical walkers in the movie.
“As far as the Amp suit goes we were really proud of growing that full suit in the huge pieces – it’s ridiculously big.”
When asked for his favourite project so far, Avatar leads them all. “Avatar – by all means Avatar! The scale of things was quite demanding at times, just working with James Cameron is enough to rally you, but the sheer volume of the work that was coming through, and what was expected, and seeing the whole team just building this stuff out was pretty phenomenal.”
With a team of eight to eleven people in the digital design department, combined with upwards of 100 staff working on the shop floor, Legacy has a gargantuan amount of work. Last year alone it worked on 245 television commercials and numerous feature films.
“The commercials are so hardcore compared to the films that we have to up our game because of what we’re expected to achieve in such a little amount of time,”
says Jason.
Leaving Jason to get back to his incredibly busy job he nonchalantly mentions that next up is work on two separate projects “with Spielberg and Favreau”. The glamour of Hollywood can’t be all too bad surely?
Dryly, Jason sardonically replies, “At five’o’clock you just want done with it, you know?”
It’s just another job, but in another world.
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The sound of summer
03 June 2010
Process types: Design and Manufacture
With a design built around its monocrystalline solar panel, the sound of this summer could be coming from the first in a new era of self powered consumer products
The sun is beginning to show its head and with our typical response to a glimmer of sunlight us Brits are flocking outdoors regardless of the temperature.
Adding a bit of music to the situation can help while away the hours as you soak up the rays, and having a device that’s going to take as much enjoyment from the sunshine as you are can’t be a bad thing.
Designed to be taken to the beach, by the pool, or in the park, the Solar Sound 2 is the latest in the evolution of self-powered consumer products
Here at DEVELOP3D we’ve looked at solar power before, albeit on a more industrial scale, but now solar energy is becoming more viable and reliable on a consumer level.
The Devotec Solar Sounds 2 is a small portable speaker linked to your MP3 device via Bluetooth, ideal for those sunny days in the park or by the beach, but with a design dictated by the inbuilt monocrystalline solar panel that means it will play on happily all day.
“The concept was born from practicality in terms of placing the functional parts which make up the speaker, and the best layout was actually that which offered the best acoustic qualities,” explains Devotec technical director Oliver Mitchell.
“The Solar Sound tends to disagree with most people’s stereotype of portable battery powered products which run out of juice so easily. It hints at a future where battery life is not a problem.”
Using Pro/Engineer for the majority of part and assembly modelling, the product went straight from concept to feature-based model without touching paper.
With the core of the product being a single piece housing the design team relied heavily on computer aided manufacturing to aid with injection mould flow analysis.
“The one-piece moulded ABS housing was the most difficult thing to achieve and required relatively complex injection mould design with careful consideration of plastic flow in the mould,” says Oliver.
The portable speakers use Bluetooth technology to receive the music, but rely on the solar cells to provide the power
“The other elements were not difficult to achieve as they are structurally supported by the housing which is incredibly strong and stiff.”
Taking the acoustic properties of such a small portable device seriously Oliver’s team also used Matlab for simulating acoustic responses in designing the cabinet and drive units.
“Every cubic centimetre of space is used, making the Solar Sound extremely compact in size for the level of sound it can reproduce.
“While most portable speakers sacrifice the most important aspect as known by acousticians, the cabinets, and then attempt to rebuild sound response by over-engineering everything else, we use large and stiff opposing speaker cabinets.
“These can provide room-filling sound and there is no constraint on how to place to the speaker; it sounds great from every angle!”
Ideally when sprawled out in the sunshine this summer.
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Electronics art
21 May 2010
Process types: Collaborate, Design and Prototype
Each prototype at Bang & Olufsen starts with a blank canvas with no PCB, no user interface, and no case. Altium Designer helps unite the worlds of MCAD and ECAD
At the centre of every new product design by Danish consumer electronics icon Bang & Olufsen is the company’s ‘ideas factory’, a kind of skunk works where the normal rules and constraints that govern most electronics designers’ lives can be ignored.
Bang & Olufsen’s touch screen Serenata mobile phone, developed in collaboration with Samsung
Looming deadlines, design specifications and management pressures are either absent or reduced in favour of allowing Bang & Olufsen designers to explore new ideas, and new ways to translate those ideas into finished products.
According to Bent Christensen, Senior Engineer of Innovation and Prototyping at Bang & Olufsen, “The ‘ideas factory’ is where we first conceive future products and where we turn those ideas into prototypes.
These prototypes could be for a television, a remote control, or a mobile phone. We design the interfaces, the electronics and the mechanicals destined for new products and then test, analyse and see how the prototypes look, feel, work.”
The trouble with paradise
There are particular challenges each designer faces working in the Bang & Olufsen ‘ideas factory’. For Christensen, it is dealing with all the options and eventual changes in each prototype. Each new prototype is a blank canvas: there’s no PCB, no intelligence, no user interface, no external case.
We design the interfaces, the electronics and the mechanicals destined for new products and then test, analyse and see how the prototypes look, feel, work
“We normally start with one idea, and then change to another because there was something we hadn’t thought of. Then we keep making changes until we get it right.
There are so many things that we need to consider when developing our prototypes,” said Christensen, “and having the freedom to change over and over again is very important.”
Christensen deals with a high level of complexity in his designs. As electronics technology evolves, device packages shrink and designs get faster. Design tools need to rise to the challenge, and the designer’s skills need to change continually. This, and the need to manage design complexity, can distract the designer from exploring and creating designs that deliver a unique customer experience.
And an ‘ideas factory’ should not be about the low level slog of managing design processes. It should be about developing innovative designs using inspiration and vision.
Reaching new levels
Anyone familiar with Bang & Olufsen products will know that each product is designed to dictate new fashions in multimedia equipment. This is a classic case of electronics and mechanical design processes having to work in harmony. In an ‘ideas factory’ requiring creative freedom and a rapid turnover of design prototypes, this might be a recipe for design and management disasters.
Christensen deals with unique mechanical casings, and linking these with the electronics used to be a real challenge. The Bang & Olufsen ‘ideas factory’ uses Altium’s unified design solution, Altium Designer, and its real time 3D PCB visualisation and STEP file import capability allows high-accuracy, 3D STEP files to be imported from the MCAD domain into the ECAD space.
Clearance checking in Altium Designer
The once separate processes come together, allowing the complete product to be modelled and visualised within Altium Designer, in 3D, and in real time. Using this feature, Christensen can perform interactive clearance checks between the mechanical and electronic assemblies to test how a PCB fits into its enclosure.
And if there are packing violations, changes to the board can be easily applied in the 3D PCB editor, then the board assembly sent back to the MCAD space as 3D STEP files. This can be done at any time throughout the entire design process, promoting ECAD-MCAD design cooperation without disrupting the workflow.
This 3D import-export feature is particularly beneficial to Christensen. He can reduce ECAD-MCAD design iterations to a single clearance checking procedure. “It’s a quick way to design. It helps us to make sure that it fits into the design. It’s just a good way to do it.”
Design without constraints
Using Altium Designer, Christensen can also link to external company databases and draw footprints directly onto the schematic. Altium Designer’s unified libraries are of particular benefit here, and allow the ‘ideas factory’ to maintain custom libraries that are assembled project by project. Christensen and his colleagues can explore and develop ideas without being constrained by existing library
data. Independent libraries, easily managed and updated, give the team the exact component models and data they need.
“Integrated libraries make it easy to make your own unique components. You can simply draw the footprint and place it on the schematic as you like it, so that it fits precisely. You can have your own libraries, with your own components, with your own kind of styling. This is important to us. Our products are unique, so our electronics need to be also,” says Christensen.
This whole process, where components need to be changed and redesigned, and designs re-evaluated and trade-offs made, is an easy process using Altium Designer, because its unified architecture and design environment make it easy for designers to take a holistic approach to design. This means that all the design domains – schematic, board and FPGA – share the same, single data model. Changes made to the design, whether it be early or late in the development process, are automatically reflected in each of these domains with a single key stroke.
3D visualisation in Altium Designer
It allows Christensen to approach a new design as a single focused task, rather than a series of interconnected processes. He considers the design as a whole, experimenting and exploring ideas until he finds the best solution. With this approach, changes to materials and designs are not encumbered by the usual re-formatting or revision problems that used to impede development.
“One example is the touch screen for the Serenata mobile.
There were so many changes with this design. We needed to explore new ideas. For example, we needed to consider power consumption and battery power. After several prototypes and trial and error, we finally completed the design and made the touch screen out of glass,” comments Christensen.
The unified design environment and single pool of design data provide the context for smooth schematic-PCB synchronisation and fast, automatic pin and part swapping. Working between what are traditionally separate processes, these actions are unified at the platform level within Altium Designer’s single application design environment. These and other unified design features have allowed the ‘ideas factory’ engineers to get on with the task of exploring and developing ideas. Many of the previously tedious and errorprone processes have been automated.
“Altium Designer lets us create prototypes rapidly and without fuss. For example, prototypes that once took a month to complete are now finished in half that time. Design throughput has doubled. The holistic approach and Altium Designer’s unified architecture make this possible. And with constant updates to the software, rapid prototyping just gets easier. The introduction of unified database libraries means we can place up-to-date, preapproved components straight onto the schematic. And the 3D visualization engine means we can fit our boards into their cases and reduce MCAD ECAD revisions to a single clearance checking procedure.
“It’s features like these that allow us to complete designs quicker and with more confidence.”
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Gym equipment
18 May 2010
Process types: Design, Prototype and Visualise
New equipment means that anyone can get fit anywhere, anytime, finds Stephen Holmes
The great outdoors
If the truth be told, most people hate going to the gym. Whether it’s the effort of going, the cost, or simply the dislike of preening gym-monkeys absorbed by their own reflections it’s far too easy to sit on the sofa, order pizza and tune in for another epsiode of Eastenders.
However, there is another way to get the British public off their backsides and it exists outside the confines of the traditional gym environment.
40 adiZone outdoor gym venues have sprung up around the UK
The Great Outdoor Gym Company is already at work around the UK, and its gyms have been sprouting up in all manner of areas to offer free, safe exercise equipment to all.
Ladies on a ski machine and treadmill at Kirklees Green Legacy Gym
Designing the equipment is a tricky challenge. Not only does the obvious lack of electricity need to be tackled, but vandal proofing and safety also need to be addressed.
“The first design objectives were to meet health and safety standards for children so that everyone can use it together outdoors without supervision. Creating a friendly, safe and fun environment whilst keeping fit with the whole family,” says creative director Georgie Tarrant.
The company’s desire to make the equipment accessible to all (from grannies to grandchildren) means that all the equipment had to meet European safety standards, while the company’s own guidelines meant that it should all be accessible for people with disabilities.
Using clever resistance methods, you are never lifting more than your own body weight when using the weight machines, while electricity is bypassed by using rollers for treadmills, making sure nobody can hurt themselves.
Equipment offered includes Lat Pull Down, Tai Chi, Fitness bike and Leg press training
“We write a design brief for ourselves based on market research and gather visuals, creating mood boards,” says Georgie. “Our engineers do pencil sketches before CAD drawings are modelled.”
The design team works in SolidWorks, utilising Cosmos to help with structural testing. The 3D models assist the team in getting to the prototype stage from which more physical testing is done.
The CAD models are given another lease of life when they are rendered in 3ds Max for planning and marketing material.
The finished gyms are excellent for bringing down the barriers to normal workouts and getting everyone involved in a healthy lifestyle, giving exercising a fresh new appeal to many.
Power to the people
While flicking through celeb-tastic magazines during your weekly manicure you’ve probably wondered just how do celebrities stay so toned?
Good vibrations: with its vibrating base the PowerPlate causes up to six G of gravitational force, making exercise positions harder to hold
Away from the world of dodgy diets, ex-military personal trainers, and the odd nip and tuck, we think we’ve found out how.
With a list of celebrity and sports endorsements, the Power Plate has a fan club with more famous faces than the average movie premiere, and with good reason.
The original concept was developed in the 1970s by Soviet scientists as a means of helping prevent cosmonauts’ muscles and bones wasting in space.
Following a successful redesign, most importantly to the way the vibrations move up and down, and several commercial versions later, the Power Plate is a staple of many exercise regimes.
Traditional exercises such as squats and push-ups are done on the vibrating base, with the movement causing up to six ‘G’ of gravitational force, making the exercise positions harder to hold. It’s claimed that using the Power Plate for ten minutes is equivalent to 60 minutes of conventional exercise.
“The first design was done on the back of a beer mat,” says the incredibly enthusiastic Power Plate founder Guus van der Meer. “Although I’m not technical at all.”
The design of the latest models is a mixture of work done in-house and by design bureaux with Jelte Tempelaars, senior vice president of product development at Power Plate, overseeing a lot of the design.
“Right now the shape of our product has become almost iconic; people recognise our product on the shape of the device, but at the same time we want to be innovative and add things to the design,” explains Jelte.
The team works with Pro/Engineer for much of the functional aspects of the unit, although SolidWorks is also used, primarily for the aesthetics, and especially for producing animations.
“Everything stands and falls with the functionality of the unit. Things need to look good, but at the same time it needs to be very functional,” adds Jelte. “We have to find the right balance.”
A natural dimension
Luxury is a term thrown around quite casually - a few precious metals and several extra zeros on the price tag seems to work - but sometimes it’s just all-round better design.
The TechnoGym Kinesis is one such product. The Italian firm is responsible for producing ‘everyday’ gym equipment that fills our local health centres, but with the Kinesis it has created a more personal and natural way to get in shape.
The pulley system enablesthe user to perform over 200 different exercises
“Kinesis Personal is the first piece of designer gym furniture for the home and environments dedicated to people’s psychophysical wellbeing,” states TechnoGym’s Enrico Manaresi.
“It marks a return to the origins of human movement because it rediscovers fundamental motor abilities: resistance, balance, strength and flexibility.”
Using the three pairs of handgrips and a pivoting pulley system the user can perform over 200 different exercise movements in all dimensions without having to make any adjustments.
Specific muscles (chest, back, abs, glutes and quadriceps) are engaged using the standard individual movements, whereas combined movements work several muscles at the same time.
“The physiological movement trajectory is defined by our Pro/Engineer analysis of movement, which is the same software we use during the entire design process,” explains Enrico.
“We used computer aided simulation to test the product before starting the physical tests, we check that the product fulfils the functional requirement, biomechanics, ergonomics, end user dimensions.”
Interestingly TechnoGym is one of the few companies producing scale 3D rendered models of its products available for download by architects to place into new gymnasium plans.
The product is all about delivering psychophysical wellbeing through natural dimensions of fitness, a great plan for getting in shape for the summer, although with prices starting at just over £6,000, you might need a while to save up. It is luxury after all.
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Head first
10 May 2010
Process types: Design, Manufacture and Prototype
A revolutionary new motorcycle helmet is being touted as the most significant development in helmet design since full-face protection was introduced in 1967. Tanya Weaver reports on the Lazer SuperSkin which mimics the human scalp to combat rotational head injuries
The SuperSkin technology has so far been incorporated into two Lazer helmets
Although conventional motorcycle helmets shield the head against a severe blow, they don’t protect from the biggest cause of motorcycle fatality - rotational head injury.
Whenever the head is struck it rotates to a greater or lesser extent and these rotational stresses can cause tearing of blood vessels and nerves in the brain.
However, a new innovative helmet design is said to be able to reduce this intercerebral shearing by 67.5 per cent and the mechanical effects of rotational acceleration by more than 50 per cent. In other words, on impact the outer skin-like lubricated helmet membrane can stretch and slide over the outer hard shell to prevent the dangerous rotational forces being transmitted to the head and brain.
This may sound very sophisticated but the Lazer SuperSkin helmet is in fact just mimicking what naturally occurs in our bodies - although the thick bone of the skull provides much of the direct protection against a severe blow, the skin on our scalps acts as protection against rotation whenever the head receives an impact by sliding over the surface of the skull to absorb rotational injury.
So, with nature having given him the inspiration, Dr Ken Phillips wanted to demonstrate that the same effect could be designed into a helmet.
He set up his own company in 1999 in order to research his invention - Phillips Head Protection System (PHPS) - and filed for a patent. However, moving it from an idea into a marketable and fully tested product design would require a great deal of research and development.
First principles
Eight years ago Dr Phillips turned to Berkshire-based Industrial Design Consultancy (IDC). “Dr Phillips approached us after he carried out some very initial tests at the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) with some very crude prototypes, which were enough to prove that the basic principle showed an advantage. Drop tests demonstrated that the rotation was a lot lower than a standard helmet,” recalls Stephen Knowles, of his first project at the company and now IDC’s managing director.
Pro/Engineer was used to design the helmet due to its ability to create complex surface geometry
Having examined this fairly complex mechanical problem IDC realised that it would have to create a design that consisted of three elements – a stretchy outer membrane, a layer of lubricant underneath and then a hard shell.
“When the helmet impacts the surface at an oblique angle the outside tends to grip the surface causing the outside of the helmet to rapidly decelerate whilst the centre of the head continues and this causes rotation. What we were looking to achieve was to prevent the outside of the helmet shell being slowed down by the impact,” explains Knowles.
“Putting the stretchy outer skin layer over the shell with a lubricant between the surfaces, allows the main helmet structure to slide relative to the outer skin and relative to the impact surface. This prevents the outside of the helmet from decelerating too sharply and reduces the rotational shock to the helmet and head.”
Material science
As this revolutionary product design would require a careful combination of materials, IDC started out by writing a programme liaising with TRL in order to systematically identify materials that could meet each element of the design. Initially materials were tested for resistance and strength based around flat sheets. Brian Gough, IDC’s project leader for the development explains, “We knew at the very early stage that we wanted to get an understanding of the materials. We could then quickly rule out some of the less likely ones enabling us to create a short list.”
The team at IDC also looked at many different kinds of lubricants, elastomers and adhesives, which would be the method of securing the membrane around the outside to the hard helmet shell. “Ultimately this membrane has to be secure all the way round the periphery - it shouldn’t rip or damage in everyday wear but then in an impact situation it must be able to move and slide,” adds Gough.
In these tests they also measured the coefficient of friction, which is the ratio between the force that is pushing two surfaces together and the force that it then takes to slide that sideways. On impact in a standard helmet, the direct forces between the shell and the outside are very high and so too is the sideways force that wants to rotate the head. The aim with this design was to bring this rotation element down. “If you can reduce the friction or ‘grippiness’ between the road surface and the outer part of the helmet then it will skid off it rather than gripping and spinning,” explains Gough.
As well as the materials testing, IDC also carried out user research into competing helmet products. “Motorcycle helmets come in a range of sizes and different manufacturers and models have varying geometry. IDC’s designers got feedback from users to find which helmets were generally considered more comfortable, and also analysed a range of helmets for liner thickness and impact performance,” says Gough.
Design development
Armed with this knowledge IDC moved into CAD. Rhino was used initially to create a few early concepts for general testing and development of the technology. The team then moved into Pro/Engineer and due to the balance between appearance, fit, comfort and impact absorption it meant a lot of time was spent on fine adjustment to the geometry. “Pro/E was used for its ability to create complex surface geometry that can then be analysed, manipulated and built upon to deliver the required result,” explains Gough.
A full assembly model was built including the basic data of the wearer’s head, the comfort lining, the impact absorbing liner, the main helmet shell and outer membrane skin. The benefit of Pro/E, according to Gough, was that it allowed the geometry of all these parts to be created and linked from the original model. Once the geometry was checked and approved, Delcam PowerMill was then used to machine a master pattern of the outer shape of the helmet shell. “This machined pattern was then used to check and approve the geometry and used as the master form for making the moulds for the shell and membrane,” adds Gough.
In-house prototyping
Central to the research and development process was rapid prototyping and IDC has the advantage of having IDCModels, an extensive rapid prototyping and model making facility in-house. It includes two CNC machining centres, a 3D Systems Viper stereolithography machine, two large chamber vacuum casting machines, a vacuum forming machine, a full woodworking shop, a water extracted spray booth, conventional lathes and a milling machine. This diverse range of equipment is manned by a team of five highly skilled model makers, pattern makers and tool makers.
Delcam PowerMill was used to machine a master pattern of the outer shape of the helmet shell
Three elements of the helmet were prototyped and apart from the helmet shell, which is made from a composite of Kevlar and carbon fibre and manufactured at an aerospace factory, the rest of the prototypes were produced in-house.
Although the impact absorbing liners would eventually be moulded from expanded polystyrene (EPS), in the early prototype stages, due to all the tests that would be carried out (and to cut down on the expense of making a mould) IDC chose to machine these from Styrofoam. This is essentially an EPS building foam with the same impact absorbing properties as moulded expanded polystyrene. Once the Styrofoam had been proved to be suitable, precision CNC machining was used to sculpt the multiple impact absorbing liners from a polystyrene block.
According to Vincent O’Horo, head of IDCModels and rapid prototyping specialist, machining expanded polystyrene foam is not very common and having a three-axis machining centre in-house certainly had its advantages. “The large format bed (1.2m x 2.4m) meant up to 12 liners could be machined in a single overnight run,” he comments. “Delcam was also useful in arranging this multiple machining and optimised the cutters and speeds to facilitate rapid production without compromising accuracy.” Delcam was additionally used to make a forming tool for a prototype visor.
Vacuum casting was used to make the stretchy outer membrane. A mould for the membrane was CNC-machined in resin from the Pro/E CAD data ensuring that the inside surface of the membrane skin was an exact match for the outer surface of the helmet shell.
Two part polyurethane elastomer materials were then poured into the mould cavity under a vacuum and oven cured in the mould. Every prototype made meant that IDC was making new versions of the membrane on different materials. “Various stiffness and hardness resins were trialled to find the optimum combination to give the best safety performance,” explains O’Horo.
The test process
With a full helmet now prototyped IDC embarked on the many various rounds of testing. In order to find the right combination of materials, Gough estimates that well over 100 different prototypes were made all based around the same basic geometry.
Many of these tests were carried out at TRL and another advantage of having their own in-house prototyping facility was that the technical staff at IDCModels together with IDC’s engineers could communicate with TRL on testing the helmets and this resulted in the exact dimensional and impact requirements being met. “Also the limited availability of test slots often meant new liners were needed at very short notice. Having the facility in-house allowed us to react to the demand,” adds Gough.
The Phillips head protection system - click to see it in testing
At TRL much of the testing focussed on measuring the rotational acceleration impacted on the head by an oblique impact against a road surface. “To simulate this, the helmets tested were fitted onto a test head form and dropped onto an incline 15 degrees from the vertical and having an abrasive surface to replicate the road. The test head form was instrumented with accelerometers to measure linear and rotational accelerations (effectively the level of shock) transmitted to the head. In addition, many of the tests were recorded with high speed video in order to observe the behaviour,” says Gough.
The other tests that the prototype needed to go through in order to make it a commercially viable product included age testing. Here it was discovered that over time some of the materials used for the membrane tended to absorb the lubricant. This meant that the lubricant would disappear into the material and so change its material properties. “It also meant that the lubricant was no longer there when you needed it to make the friction between the two surfaces,” explains Knowles.
In the painting tests it was discovered that either the paint wouldn’t adhere to the membrane material properly or it would change its chemical properties. As standard paints couldn’t be used IDC found a paint manufacturer that had a very robust elastic type of paint. “Obviously at every stage when you are moving things forward and trying new materials you need to redo the tests and ensure that
by introducing this new element you haven’t taken away the benefit of the system that was originally identified,” says Gough.
Having carried out tests at TRL, prototypes were also submitted to a government study on helmet safety as well as other European test houses to ensure that it conformed to the EC standards. “We also submitted it for further testing, which goes beyond these standard helmet tests as these don’t test very rigorously for the rotational shocks as the awareness of the danger of rotational shocks has only come about more recently,” explains Gough.
“So, we did some other testing with a recognised test house to measure the rotational acceleration and basically it verified that there was dramatic improvement in rotational acceleration.”
On track to production
Despite the project’s many technical challenges, setbacks and breaks in the development process as Dr Phillips sought potential licensees, there was a strong motivation by all involved to see this life-saving invention realised in a real product.
For Knowles, Thomas Edison’s famous quote rings true: ‘Invention is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration’.
“Everyone involved at IDC could see how the thing could work but it meant actually proving it and solving all the practical and commercial issues such as making it cost effective, making it so that it wouldn’t be an addition to the helmet, making it unattractive to consumers or making it not too heavy and unwieldy to carry. So, fine tuning all of these extra considerations against this very demanding technical requirement to withstand these very high loads, to break at just the right amount, and have these low frictions - that was the challenge and that needed a lot of time and focus,” explains Knowles.
The model was now ready for prototype manufacturer however, according to Knowles, before it was approved cross sections of the geometry were measured and compared to reference data in Pro/E. “Ultimately we got to the stage where we had a complete blueprint for how you make a helmet according to this invention. We had all the test results to prove that it works, all the manufacturing data and material specifications - basically everything you need to take it forward,” says Knowles.
In the meantime Dr Phillips had found a Belgian manufacturer Lazer to licence his technology to and who would have exclusive use of it on its motorcycle helmets. It then took a further two years for Lazer to get the Superskin helmets to market and in their production research IDC and Dr Phillips assisted in helping them understand the technology and adapt it to their in-house processes and helmet designs.
Lazer also carried out further tests at an independent laboratory based at the Louis Pasteur University of Strasbourg in association with the CNRS, the French National Scientific Research Centre.
Launched at the end of last year, the SuperSkin technology has so far been incorporated into two Lazer helmets - open face Rider and full-face Solano variants.
The helmets will hit UK shelves this summer with prices ranging from £150 to £200. However, the project doesn’t end there as IDC is currently working with Dr Phillips on developing other applications for the technology and water sports, American football and equestrian versions are currently under investigation.
“We have been doing some initial studies on applying the technology to different types of head protection,” says Knowles. “There is quite a lot of interest too from various industry bodies and authorities.”
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Medical marvels
26 April 2010
Process types: Design and Prototype
Stephen Holmes, DEVELOP3D’s very own Doogie Howser, gets his freshly sanitized hands on the latest in medical technology
Injector gadget
Fear of needles and injections can be a prickly subject for many, however medical product design specialist Team Consulting has the answer.
Team has developed a design for a needleless injection system for use where mass vaccination is required. Not only does this remove the fear factor, but it also prevents contraction and spread of infectious diseases in animals or humans.
Team’s needless injection system
The design uses an ingenious method to deliver its load through the skin. “A mini combustion engine ignites butane in a compartment, which creates a very small, discrete and silent ‘explosion’,” explains Head of industrial design, Paul Greenhalgh. “The expansion of this gas forces carefully controlled amounts of medicine into a jet with sufficient pressure to pass through a patient’s skin.
Development of the product began with traditional sketching, but soon became more technical. Mathematical modelling in MathCAD was used to predict combustion performance and computational fluid dynamics to model the fluid dynamics for the ‘shot’.
Team uses SolidWorks as its principal engineering CAD tool, in conjunction with a Wacom Cintiq digital sketch pad and Adobe Illustrator for the industrial design.
The SolidWorks spline feature enabled curves to be traced and modified to create the geometry, while surface analysis was used to eliminate errors before a screenshot from SolidWorks was taken back into Illustrator to experiment with features, such as controls and displays.
The whole SolidWorks package was utilised: PDMWorks Workgroup product data management software enabled concurrent multidisciplinary working without the introduction of errors while SolidWorks PhotoWorks created photorealistic renderings.
It didn’t stop there. Functional components were machined directly from SolidWorks models and drawings. “SolidWorks multibody functionality was used to break the device into separate components which were sent to model making partners for the generation of rapid-prototyped, highly finished handling models for user trials,” adds Greenhalgh.
Working within a reliable workflow helps speed up Team’s design process - achieving good results in a rapid time frame needs experienced designers and a design solution that can be ‘life saving’.
http://www.team-consulting.com
Hear me now!
Most hearing aids work by amplifying sound through the ear canal and middle ear, but a new permanent solution uses bone instead of air to conduct sound.
Cochlear’s Baha is attached directly to the bone, a sound processor amplifies sounds, transferring this directly to the inner ear
Currently around 55,000 people worldwide are using Cochlear’s Baha, an implantable bone conduction hearing solution. Attached directly to the bone, a sound processor amplifies sound, transferring this directly to the inner ear.
Cochlear claims that its solution provides a significantly better quality of hearing than most conventional, air conduction methods. A bone conduction sound processor distinguishes sounds so that sounds such as birds’ chirps and ocean waves can be magnified at the appropriate level.
It takes only one hour to place the implant behind the ear with the use of a local anaesthetic, and as the actual sound processor is connected to the implant, it can be removed with a simple press of a button, allowing the user to bathe, shower or swim.
The implant is placed behind the ear with use of local anaesthetic
The benefits of 3D CAD in the design of such a product are clear when you take into account its scale.
“We work with parts in hundreds and thousandths of a millimetre,” says Daniel Rådberg, senior design engineer and CAD manager, Cochlear. “It was a challenge to view these parts with the previous software programs we used, but in 3D it works perfectly.”
“Unlike those who produce and assemble our equipment, we do not work under a microscope to see the details,” he says. “However, we do have the ability to digitally magnify what we are working on. For us, the challenge is in managing small tolerances.”
The design team uses Autodesk Inventor amongst a range of specialised software from other industries. Daniel explains: “By working with both mobile telephony and dental implants, we understand how technology from very different worlds can work in the context of hearing aids.”
Cochlear’s motto is “Hear now and always”, which is appropriate for a technology that, due to its advances in design, is steadily growing in acceptance amongst the hard of hearing.
http://www.cochlear.com
Back to basics
Degeneration of the intervertebral disc, often called ‘degenerative disc disease’ (DDD) is a normal part of ageing, but for many it can cause severe and constant pain.
Acting as shock absorbers to prevent bone rubbing on bone, each disc has a tough outer, and soft water-based inner. The older one gets, the less water they store, and the more susceptible one becomes to injury.
Designed as a long term total disc replacement, the Compliant Artificial disc - Lumbar (CAdisc-L) produced by Ranier Technology benefits from controlled manufacturing technology to provide a durable elastomeric disc replacement. Having no fixed centre of rotation and with a degree of axial compliance the implant mimics the natural disc.
The device is comprised of polyurethane polycarbonate polymer with regions of differing modulus. A central relatively soft nucleus is encased by a region of progressively stiffer material, with the parts in contact to the vertebrae protected by hard end plates.
The CAdisc-L is designed using CT scan data from a library of past patients, with the geometry developed into a CAD model that allows further developments such as fixation points and surface features to be added.
The CAdisc-L is designed using CT scan data from a library of past patients, with the geometry developed into a CAD model that allows further developments
“Throughout the process, finite element modelling was used to optimise the design; to reduce internal stresses and to evaluate the flexibility of the proposed elastomeric core and material combinations,” says Ranier technical director Robert Snell, adding that the same COMSOL Mulitphysics analysis software was also used for CFD analysis to develop the mould filling and to optimise the material distribution.
The design team at the medical specialist firm primarily uses Pro/Engineer to help with the device and mould design, as well as the various connected instrumentation.
“One of the biggest design challenges was to ensure that the instrument design and device design remained in parallel,” explains Robert. “Keeping tight control on design versioning to ensure that the impact of any changes was rolled out through all design areas.”
The end result is only small, but it will come as a big relief to some of the millions of lower-back pain sufferers around the world.
http://www.ranier.co.uk
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Even better than the real thing?
07 April 2010
Process type:
Virtual reality has taken huge strides in recent years with immersive environments delivering imagery that is sharper than anything ever before seen and 3D without the need for glasses. HoloVis is leading the charge, writes Leif Lind Simonsen
Remember the startling scene from the 1980s classic film, Back to the Future II when Michael J. Fox is attacked by a virtual shark that jumps out of a billboard and into the street?
Luckily there is no need to fear sharks in our towns quite yet, but according to HoloVis International, the UK visualisation specialist, it is only a question of months before the first prototypes for a live billboard will be ready to make their mark in the cityscape.
“Large-scale Autostereo 3D is just around the corner. By mid 2010, we expect to have the first large-scale screens and multi-screen solutions that will create 3D without the use of glasses,” says Stuart Hetherington, managing director at HoloVis. Together with his team and key technology partners, Hetherington is working intensely to realise the dream of “true 3D for all” – and the goal is now within reach.
Autostereo 3D is the technology that makes it possible to experience 3D without glasses – on both TV/computer screens and with projectors.
While immersive and interactive 3D solutions, based on the use of special glasses, is also a key technology from HoloVis and has widespread use in industries from automotive design and manufacturing to cinemas and amusement parks, Autostereo 3D brings the same impressive experience to the wider audience, including public spaces such as airports. This opens up a world of possibilities to utilise the technology, and Hetherington expects strong demand.
“We believe sales of this new technology will be excellent because it opens much broader areas for the utilisation of 3D, such as advertising, POS and live events,” he says. “Our close collaboration with Autodesk also allows us to make use of their broad range of design tools to reach many different industries that have significant and often untapped potential to visualise, simulate and analyse 3D design solutions in our mainstream 3D virtual reality environments.”
Automotive sector shows the way
Hetherington’s pioneering technological work has always been closely associated with the automotive industry. He helped innovate a virtual alternative to physical crash tests back in the mid 1990s for MIRA (The Motor Industry Research Association based in the UK.) It was this work that originally introduced him to “the cave automatic virtual environment”, or CAVE, which General Motors was one of the first to use. CAVE solutions combine the most sophisticated design software, computing systems and 3D display technology to build an immersive 3D virtual reality environment in which designers and engineers can conceive, experience, collaborate and modify their creations in real-time.
Digital mockup of a Land Rover using a CAVE
A CAVE is a small room in which several walls and sometimes the floor and ceiling are large rear-projection screens; using interactive 3D glasses and motion tracking systems, those in “the cave” can view, interact and navigate around prototypes almost as if they were the real thing.
Inspired by his experience in the UK and US automotive industries, Hetherington founded HoloVis International in the UK in 2001 along with his former MIRA manager, Joe Jurado, as his technical director and expert in projection design solutions and his brother Paul, an expert in super computer systems and software. Then as now, the company was driven by its passion to explore the potential of visualisation technologies and continually to push the envelope on virtual reality. The automotive industry is still in front when it comes to adapting next-generation CAVE solutions from HoloVis, but new markets and new applications continue to adopt the technology as it develops. This is especially true for HoloVis’s other key area of business “Specialist Display Solutions”.
“We work in two main business areas,” explains Hetherington. “One is virtual reality and visualisation technology, the other is specialist display solutions where we create bespoke multi-channel display solutions capable of displaying real-time imagery way beyond the current HD standard. We have recently delivered several of our specialist JupiterWall multi-screen display solutions to the World Duty Free stores in Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport and are now rolling these out to many other airports in close partnership with WDF/Autogrill. Our next milestone will be to bring these multi-screen solutions to life by bringing true immersive 3D effects to audiences in public spaces, without the need for glasses.”
Broad penetration
Within the business area of virtual reality and visualisation, HoloVis completed a project for Cardiff University early last year that entailed constructing a screen to simulate an MRI scanner.
The Welsh university uses the system to teach students how to use these scanners, but as they are extremely costly, the university decided to replace the physical scanner with a virtual simulation for effective teaching purposes. The result was that they chose one of the ultra-high resolution (4K) ApolloWall systems from HoloVis that visualises the MRI scanner in a 1:1 format and utilises the same physical control unit as the rear-world scanning systems. The most advanced solution of its kind in Europe, the ApolloWall now plays an active role in teaching and research at Cardiff University.
In addition to universities, new HoloVis customers include airport terminals, cinemas, architectural and manufacturing firms. Among other things, business development at HoloVis is driven by the firm’s close cooperation with Autodesk, whose CAD tools are used in many industries.
“For example, if an architectural firm gives us a 3D model of a building created in Autodesk Revit we can facilitate a virtual walk through of the building in our ApolloWall or CAVE demo systems; this makes it possible for stakeholders to experience the building long before final designs are approved or construction has even begun. This experience obviously beats looking at even the most expensive papier maché models of the same building and not only saves huge costs for physical modelling but vast amounts of time and labour.”
Efficiency gains
That HoloVis solutions are here to stay is made even clearer by the company’s performance in the current financial crisis: demand for our advanced visualisation systems has risen, not fallen. HoloVis delivered a €3m CAVE project to Jaguar Land Rover in 2008 that is equipped with eight of Sony’s latest 4K projectors.
The new CAVE delivers imagery that is sharper than anything ever before seen and is a true photorealistic immersive environment. Combined with design tools such as Autodesk Showcase, the CAVE gives Jaguar Land Rover designers and engineers an immersive workshop that obviates the need for many physical prototypes and improves collaboration between engineering and design teams. The results? Within a year, Jaguar Land Rover has achieved efficiencies worth millions – solely due to the CAVE solution and the integration with key software.
Hetherington is also upbeat about the future. “Today we are creating the solutions that we dreamt about 10-12 years ago,” he says. “It’s fantastic to see how the technology is gaining recognition and its use is spreading rapidly. In the past we used to be told by our peers that this technology was a ‘solution looking for a problem’ - the technology, capability and savings these problem-beating solutions now deliver to all our clients speaks for itself - there’s no doubt that we will see many more achievements as we continue to develop this key technology.”
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Laser guidance
02 April 2010
Process types: Manufacture and Prototype
Stephen Holmes travels to Belfast to find a prototyping bureau determined to change the preconception that business needs to be done locally
Crossing the Irish Sea in search of a rapid prototyping and manufacturing bureau might seem a tad out of the way, but does such a service need to be on your doorstep?
The majority of the team have been with the company since its formation, and as such have a great deal of experience when it comes to the complexities of the finishing process
In an age where we’re quite happy to buy our music and books online (and our brides via dodgy ads in the back of a newspaper) when it comes to making prototypes it would seem that many businesses are missing out by not looking that little bit further afield for their services.
With a guaranteed next morning delivery to the UK, a wide range of specialist materials, and some of the most experienced heads in the business, Laser Prototypes makes a great case for UK companies to outsource their prototyping needs to the Emerald Isle.
“A lot of people view that stretch of water between Belfast and the mainland UK as a restriction,” states Laser Prototypes sales director Campbell Evans. “We’ve had to work with that concept from the start, so we’ve had to make sure we offer that level of customer service that is second to none to make sure that people realise that ‘working with a company in Belfast we can get the delivery, we can get the price, we can get the quality and service’.”
I am informed that quotes are currently turned around in “an average of one point-two hours”. The point-two raises a smile, but it goes to show how much the company believes in its own development.
From the many (confidential) projects on show in its workshop Laser Prototypes seems ideally positioned for a number of industries, none more so than the Irish medical giants and their subsequent offshoot companies. A few of these have resisted the recession and taken advantage of the medical certified SLA (Stereolithography) materials that Laser Prototypes offer.
“One thing that makes us stand out, and one thing that we progress regularly is the amount of materials that we’re running through the SLA,” says Campbell in his affable Belfast brogue. “With the interchangeable vat on the Viper machine it allows us to change resins on a regular basis, and we’re running seven totally functional SLA materials.
Using a prototyped part a silicon mould for vacuum casting is prepared
“One of those materials is the Watershed XC11222 which is the medically approved SLA material that has the USP grade six approval, and more recently the ISO approval, which is more relevant to UK business.”
With a number of customers using it for medical trials already, the material produces waterproof parts that look like clear, engineered plastic.
Starting out life in the early nineties offering parts built by one of the first SLA machines, Laser Prototypes is well aware that it needs to continually invest in technology to remain competitive and respond to market demands.
“You need the latest prototyping technologies,” says Evans. “You can’t buy a machine and just sit back on its laurels, you need to bring in the latest machines.
“When our customers required finer tolerances we brought in the Viper machine. When our customers required bigger and more accurate SLA models we brought in the new machines.”
The company now run the aforementioned 3D Systems Viper, a further SLA 3500 machine, as well as a an EOS P390 laser sintering machine.
Beyond prototyping
Despite being focused primarily on rapid prototyping the company offers a range of services from hand-finished models to low volume production runs.
“We’ve gradually brought on all the processes – stereolithography, selective laser sintering, vacuum casting, RIM, CNC, full painting and finishing – all done in house,” explains Evans.
Silicon mould inside Laser Prototypes’ vacuum casting machine
This suits the medical firms that are turning to Laser Prototypes to help produce not only the test parts, but the actual working machines, some of which can feature parts up to 1.5m in length.
“We work with several companies who require low volume production on the RIM [reaction injection moulding] side of things. We do that quite a bit on the medical field, where, for example, if you’re making a very big machine into which you’re putting extremely expensive electronic kit, you’re maybe going to only produce five each year to put into hospitals because they’re a million pounds’ worth of machinery,” says Evans.
“You’re not going to want to get tens of thousands of mouldings produced in China from a very expensive tool, and it’s ideal from us: With our reaction injection moulding we can produce the parts, paint them up and those will go into [the production model].”
For its UK customers Laser Prototypes might not be based just around the corner, and it’s a lengthy journey to pop in to check on a part in progress, but with consistency of results so deeply ingrained and an impressive next morning delivery service, this offshore company offers an impressive alternative to your local. Sometimes it can pay to look that little bit further away from home.
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Those magnificent men in their flying machines
01 April 2010
Process type:
A Cambridgeshire product designer is well on the path to realising his dream of bringing back to life one of the original British monoplanes. Frances Corbet and Greg Corke recount this inspirational story
These days we all take air travel for granted and give very little thought to the brave pioneers who sowed the seeds of modern aviation.
One hundred years ago, hot on the heels of the Wright Brothers and Louis Blériot, it was British engineers that were scrambling to be the first to ‘take to the skies’ and fly a circular mile in an all-British monoplane. The challenge was set by the Daily Mail to help kick start the British aviation industry, which lagged behind the US and Europe, and the newspaper put a prize of £1,000 up for grabs.
Replica monoplane, modelled in SolidWorks, and rendered with KeyShot from Luxion (image courtesy of DEVELOP3D’s Al Dean)
This was big money, but at a time when air flight was an avant-garde, if somewhat dangerous practice, the prestige of achieving such a feat was also a huge incentive.
One pioneering pair willing to risk their lives to scoop the award was Alfred Grose and Neville Feary who in 1909 set to work on building their own monoplane in a barn in the small village of Oakington near Cambridge.
Faced with stiff competition and huge engineering challenges their two man craft sadly never get off the ground and all their achievements were soon forgotten, a part of the village’s history. This was until local resident Nick Harrison, managing director of product design consultancy Round Peg, came across some information about the Oakington Monoplane, a discovery that would eventually lead to him to an ambitious project to recreate the legendary aircraft in his spare time.
The original Oakington monoplane - click through to see Nick Harrison with his replica Grose-Feary
“It was in 1998 when I discovered a copy of a hand written document, which gave details of the monoplane and the men that built it. I then found that someone in the village had a photo of it. From there I was hooked,” says an enthusiastic Harrison.
With little information available about the plane, Harrison’s first step was to try to build up a bigger picture of the two men involved. Grose and Feary had a good blend of aviation and engineering experience with Grose having first built his reputation in the motor trade, whilst Feary was an aeronautical instructor. To build the British monoplane the duo sourced components from all over England.
The 20 horse power (HP) four-cylinder air cooled engine was made by The Advance Motor Manufacturing Co. of Northampton, the mahogany propeller by Handley Page of London and the undercarriage constructed by Mr H V Quinsee of East Road, Cambridge.
In an article in the Cambridge Chronicle of 17th September 1909 a local journalist reports on how he came upon a large barn where he found the two “flying men engaged on a cigar-shaped machine.” In the interview Grose came across as a man confident in his design, but despite several attempts, the plane never managed to get off the ground. Generating enough power, while keeping the overall design light was a huge challenge. Although a Mark II of the monoplane was built, it was eventually dismantled in 1910 and Grose and Feary both left Oakington.
A flight of fancy?
Harrison’s interest in the legendary Oakington Plane started out as a research project, but as the years went by he became more and more embroiled in the history of this forgotten ‘flying machine’.
Every piece of information he uncovered gave him something new to research and in 2004 he set up a website to document all the information he had gathered so far.
His part time hobby soon became a real passion and he started to wonder whether he could actually build a replica of the monoplane. “It wasn’t long before I decided that if enough information could be found, the monoplane could be modelled in 3D,” he explains. “As time went by there became less and less reason why a full scale replica could not be built.”
With two more having joined his project – retired engineer and Oakington resident, Edgar Stearn, and practising engineer Phil Bailey – the trio finally went public with their plans and soon support came flooding in.
“After an article in our local newspaper in 2008, in which we made our intentions to build the replica clear, we were contacted by Terry Holloway of Marshall Aerospace who agreed to support the project,” says Harrison. “Since then we have had more than 15 companies and individuals that have offered help of goods or services in order that the project can become a reality.”
A wing and a prayer
Although Harrison and his team were attempting to resurrect a piece of history, they weren’t going to revert to using hand tools like the original designers. Instead they decided to utilise modern design tools and manufacturing techniques. “CAD was the natural choice as the quickest way to get to a finished replica,” explains Harrison. “The project depends on having spare time so, as with everything in the project, we need to be as efficient as possible.”
Photographs were taken into SolidWorks and, together with known dimensions, were used to build up a 3D model of the monoplane
With a handful of old photographs and some dimensions they started off by creating the wings. “The information used to reverse engineer the monoplane has been wing span, length, wing area and the three original photos I had,” he says. “In addition we have copied period practice and referred to drawings of a Blériot [Frenchman Louis Blériot was credited as being the first person to construct a working monoplane] for things such as the aerofoil section.”
During this process Harrison found it particularly useful to be able to bring a photograph into a SolidWorks sketch. “We started with a 1:1 outline drawing of a Blériot rib. We had that drawing scanned so we could bring it into a SolidWorks sketch,” he explains. “We then scaled it to suit the Grose-Feary chord rather than that of the Blériot. It was then just a case of tracing over with good geometry to produce a rib model.”
From there they sent the finished drawing to a CNC routing company, who within days had machined a full set of ribs from plywood. “The wings illustrate our approach,” says Harrison. “The ribs have been CNC routed and therefore can be produced in a fraction of the time that would have been taken to produce them by hand. We have also made a gluing press for the ribs, again CNC routed to the exact profile of the ribs.”
The wings and fuselage were finished in time for them to go on display at Marshall’s centenary celebrations in September 2009 - a happy coincidence considering that Grose and Feary were building their original plane in the same year that Marshalls started.
Get the motor running
The second stage of the project was to build a replica of the Advance V4 aero engine. In 1909 finding an engine capable of powering a plane was a major challenge for Grose and Feary.
“Engines in those days were fairly temperamental. You had to get the thing running in the first place and it would take some time to get it up to operating temperatures so that it could have full power,” says Harrison. “But then, because they had lightened it and removed a lot of the cooling fins, if you weren’t actually flying and doing 30 mph through the air, the thing would overheat. So you had about two minutes of opportunity to run this engine and try and get this pioneering engine to fly - and all at a time when you really didn’t understand aviation or anything related to it.”
The monoplane’s engine was made by the Advance Motor Manufacturing Co of Northampton, a company that not only produced its own motorcycles, tri-cars and fore-cars but also manufactured its own air and water-cooled engines. From the Cambridge Chronicle article, Harrison discovered that the company produced a 20HP Air Cooled V Four (2,290cc) aero engine. However, from photographs he could tell that the engine was in fact two V twin 9HP engines bolted together to give an output of 20HP.
The original engine from the monoplane was two Advance V twin 9HP engines bolted together to give an output of 20HP, as they were unable to source one, the team reverse engineered an original 1900s Advance motorcycle engine
After a fruitless search Harrison accepted that he could not get hold of any examples of this original engine. Unlike the wings, this time he felt that he would not be able to create a suitable replica solely from the photos and technical specifications he had uncovered. His next step was to find a motorbike engine that Advance had produced at around this time and reverse-engineer that in order to understand how the company made its engines, but this was easier said than done.
Through the vintage motorcycle club Harrison found there was one Advance motorcycle in existence, but the owner had already sold it to the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham. He then got a lead on another engine, but the owner was terminally ill so things went cold for a while. 12 months after he died Harrison picked up the courage to get in touch with his widow, but found that the engine had been sold and the new owner had moved to Australia. Finally, after two years of tracking it down Harrison got his engine.
The 3HP engine that Harrison acquired was of different bore and stroke to the aero engine, but all Advance engines of this time were of the same basic design, featuring automatic inlet valves and a one-piece cylinder head and barrel.
A number of different techniques were then used to reverse engineer the 3HP motorcycle engine. Firstly, the barrel was 3D scanned and then measurements taken off it. “The finished barrel model only used the scanned point cloud data as a guide, albeit a very useful guide,” explains Harrison, adding that any measurements taken off would probably deviate from design intent due to manufacturing inaccuracies.
The team also used a flat bed scanner to scan the profile of the cam. The image was then brought into a SolidWorks sketch, scaled to suit the measurement taken and then true geometry sketched over the top. “By reverse engineering the 3HP engine, I now understand the design style of Advance engines and can use that knowledge to reverse engineer and create the Aero Engine,” he says. “In addition, given that the 3HP engine is the only one of its type, reverse engineering it was an insurance policy as no amount of money could replace it if I don’t have drawings.”
Tune in, turn on
Harrison has some theories as to why the original Oakington monoplane engine couldn’t produce enough power for flight and believes they will be able to improve on it when they actually come to designing the replica engine.
One major advantage is that their engine will be machined to far better tolerances than could have been achieved in 1909. It will also use aluminium pistons over cast iron, which will save weight, and the ignition as well as the carburettor will be a modern design. However, as the team has managed to get hold of an original Brown and Barlow carburettor from 1909, they will see whether the engine can run on that first before opting for a modern alternative.
“We have decided that we will build the engine in the first place with automatic inlet valves [the same] as the original,” says Harrison. “If we find we need more power then we will convert the engine to mechanical inlet valves. It seems a better option to do something that would have been possible in 1909, rather than just bolt in a more powerful modern engine.” Then, as with the wings and fuselage, they will produce all of their own patterns for the castings using CNC mills and routers. “This will save not only time but a great deal of cost as well,” he adds.
Having overcome many barriers, Harrison finally has a supply chain in place to make the engine. “I went through 20 different foundries who told me you cannot cast thin cast iron fins down to 2mm. Well, it looks like there’s one there,” says Harrison smiling, as he points to a picture of the original engine. “They were doing it 100 years ago. It’s not that they couldn’t, it’s just that they didn’t want to, that was my attitude. Eventually we found a company that would do this for us.
“But we’re obviously going to take a short cut, we’re not going to get a pattern maker to make one of these by hand. We’ll be CNCing the patterns straight from the 3D data.”
Come fly with me
With the wings and fuselage complete, the team will then move onto the tailplane, cockpit and the undercarriage, which according to Harrison is not far from being finished. The final challenge will be the design and build of the replica engine.
However, due to aviation authority restrictions Harrison may never to able to see the Oakington monoplane fly. “In the UK, there are no experimental classes for aircraft so you either have something that is fully airworthy or not,” he explains. “You don’t have something that you might be able to hop in the confines of an airfield – unless we can twist some arms.”
To produce an aircraft with all the required structural analysis and materials fully certified would have increased the costs ten fold and as a hobby that was too prohibitive for the team. “We are looking at other countries and once we get the thing done can we take it somewhere else, says Harrison. “America is one place where they do have an experimental class. It might sound expensive to take this thing to America, but actually it’s a lot cheaper than building an airworthy aircraft in the UK. Put it in a container and have a week’s holiday!”
Harrison is determined not to let legislation get in the way of his dream and is hoping that the Oakington Plane will finally make its maiden flight more than a century after it was first conceived. With the dangers involved in taking a plane of this type high into the skies he would be happy just to be able to taxi and maybe ‘hop’ across the fields.
It is the least the new Oakington team can hope for considering all the time and passion that has been ploughed into this project. “Whether we succeed in getting the monoplane airborne or not, we will have produced a replica of a previously unknown and probably the first aeroplane to be built in Cambridgeshire,” says Harrison. “With that in mind I hope that we will have placed it in its rightful place in the history books.”
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MAXXing out bike design
24 March 2010
Process type: Design
Tall or short, it doesn’t matter; MAXX Bikes is changing the way people buy their bicycles
MAXX Bicycles customers no longer have to select from among the bikes on hand at the local bike shop. When cyclists choose a bike they work with a dealer who helps them select the size and components that are right for them and their budget.
Individual bike solutions are built through adjustments to a frame in MAXX’s data library
From there expert technicians assemble the bike and send it to the dealer in about a week. If the dimensions of a premade frame don’t fit a rider, MAXX can make a custom frame in about four weeks.
Based in Rosenheim, Germany, MAXX’s four frame designers use AutoCAD LT software for all their drafting and detailing needs.
As ideal as the MAXX approach sounds, it is not without challenges for the company. Uwe Matthies, general manager and head of research and development, explains, “We have to respond to orders for custom frames very quickly. Otherwise, the individual bike solution we offer might be less appealing than an off-the-shelf compromise.
“To keep our custom frames competitive, our processes and tools must support both productivity and communication.”
The solution
Using CAD the designers have custom frames down to a science. “Even at very busy times of the year, we have no problem meeting and exceeding customer expectations.
“We can configure a premade frame with individualised components in a little more than a week, and customers are often surprised to learn that it doesn’t take much longer to get a bike that includes a frame made just for them.”
All the bikes components can be customised to the rider’s size
It begins when measurements for the frame arrive from a dealer, then a designer opens an existing frame design that closely matches the request before modifying the model in AutoCAD to meet the customer’s measurements.
“AutoCAD LT allows us to draft and detail each custom frame quickly no matter how unusual the customer’s measurements,” says Matthies. “For example, we just designed a frame for a man who is 2.15 meters tall.
“I don’t think any premade frame available would be comfortable for him.”
Communicating the details
When the frame design is complete, the designer publishes it as a PDF for the customer and dealer to review and approve. After approval the DWG file is forwarded to the frame manufacturing resource.
The custom bikes are designed to make life on the trail faster and more comfortable
Following the design details exactly, a skilled craftsman cuts and welds each piece by hand. When complete, the maker sends the frame to the MAXX facility in Germany where the frame is painted and varnished and the components specified by the customer assembled.
From order to final delivery, the entire process takes only about four weeks.
“We can create a drawing of a completely new frame in about two hours,” explains Matthies. “The process is so simple that even new employees can become productive quickly. New employees who know a bit about drafting and bikes can learn our process in only a day.”
Whatever the dimensions of the rider they are sure to be quickly on two-wheels as a result of some speedy design.
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Factory engineering
11 March 2010
Process types: Simulate and Visualise
Taking a break from the usual shiny products in DEVELOP3D Stephen Holmes gets a kick out of conveyor belts, and a buzz out of bottle fillers as he reports direct from the factory floor
High roller
The flakes in corn flakes, the toffee in chocolate bars and the oats in porridge have all probably been flattened, rolled or otherwise processed by equipment from A.T. Ferrell.
Just add milk: Ferrell-Ross flaking mills are used to make thin, flat flakes out of pieces of seed. These machines help put breakfast on the table of millions of American families every day
The Indiana-based parent company has been serving the agricultural, food and industrial markets since 1869, manufacturing rollers, flakers, and cracking mills responsible for producing some of the world’s biggest brand breakfast cereals.
A.T. Ferrell design engineer and CAD manager, Allen Gager, is currently working on a new high capacity cracking mill to be used for cracking the shelled grains.
The team works with Autodesk Inventor, using its parametric modelling and finite element analysis capabilities to design machines that can work under high-pressure conditions while meeting all the necessary tolerance requirements.
According to Allen, with livestock prices falling and grain costs rising, the performance of the machine is critical to the end user. “Our products are engineered to be reliable and perform year after year,” he says, adding that by using a 3D CAD model the design team knows how a mill will perform before it is built.
Designers at A.T.Ferrell create 3D models using Autodesk Inventor
“Using Inventor software to create a 3D digital prototype means we no longer have to cut metal to prove the feasibility of a design,” continues Allen, stating that by modelling the product they save greatly in getting the product to manufacture.
“It would be safe to say the design cycle of these projects is cut in half as a result of working in 3D.”
Additionally Allen and his team use Autodesk Vault Workgroup as a means to keep track of the design process and to improve the ability to reuse designs and components.
Overall this speeds up the development of new products and ensures that breakfast is on the table.
Best of lock
Fortress Interlocks designs and manufactures safety access systems from its new factory base in Wolverhampton.
Fortress Interlocks proves out its assembly lines by creating fly throughs in Pro/Engineer
Far from everyday locks, these are for industrial situations such as switchgear, nuclear power stations and automotive plants - all of which are hand built in a prebuilt factory building along an assembly line, the layout for which was proven in 3D.
“We did the layout in the traditional way, with bits of paper, then that was transferred into 3D CAD where we could do a fly through video so we could get an appreciation of what the place would look like,” says operations director Simon Bailey.
Using Pro/Engineer, the same system used to build the product models, the team sets about transforming the 2D sketches into a 3D model. This was rendered in the same program, and a flythrough video was produced.
It was key to make the workplace organised and comfortable for the staff to move into. “When you’re moving factory, it’s the getting the shop floor people involved in the process [that’s important],” says Simon.
“You have to have some way to show them what they’re going to get, in a way that they can understand.” The flythrough proved key in helping decide on the workflow layout of the shop floor and the series of benches that form the assembly line.
The new factory is now up and running, and with all workflows previewed in a 3D model the company was locked in and ready to begin production with the minimum of disruption.
From the ground up
Hyde Group is a key post-production component supplier for the aerospace industry, using 3D CAD models not just to build parts but also the entire factory process.
Supplying Airbus, BAES, and Rolls-Royce, the firm builds composite materials for ‘future wing design and development’, with techniques developed to create single-piece wings up to 20 metres in length.
The skills and capability to design and manufacture in composite materials are vital in the aerospace industry, so a bespoke engineering solution is needed to meet the challenges the material poses and the growing demand.
The production line at Hyde Group is capable of producing 40 sets of wings per month
“Traditional build systems used for aluminium wings are unworkable for carbon fibre wings so a modular approach, using robot technology and ‘off-the-shelf’ automotive-style flowline solutions, is being perfected for this application,” explains Hyde Group technical director Richard Waring.
The company works with Dassault Systèmes’ Delmia software in order to design a factory floor in 3D that can fully simulate a process of robotic systems and human input capable of producing 40 sets of wings per month.
“Pulsed manufacturing methods are optimised using Delmia V5 R19 and Delmia Automation with component handling and mechanical operations fully modelled and simulated in kinematic 3D. By taking a modular approach, using robotic systems, manufacturing flowlines are developed.
“Operational sequencing and full simulation of robotic activity allows us to programme the robots and indeed design the whole flowline at the outset of product design,” says Richard.
Production programming, as part of a full design process, means that costs and waste are minimised, and helps ensure that the as yet to be built factory need not take up any more space than needed.
This all-encompassing approach means that 3D CAD models are literally used from the initial product part designs, right down to the factory floor they are to be built on.
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Collapsing star
10 March 2010
Process types: Design and Manufacture
Folding bike specialist, Brompton takes a hands-on approach when manufacturing its legendary two-wheelers. Frances Corbett took a trip to old London town to find out how the star of British manufacturing does it.
It’s becoming a rarity to find a company that both designs and manufactures in the UK and rarer still for it to have a West London postcode.
But, from a 2,000m2 site located in walking distance of Chiswick high street, folding bike specialist, Brompton now produces over 26,000 bicycles a year.
A whole world of colour, the Brompton bicycles are an attractive choice for commuters
From brazers, assemblers, office workers, designers and engineers, over 100 staff from all over the London area come to the site everyday to play their part in building a bicycle from scratch, and most arrive on the machines they build. And with over three quarters of a bicycle’s 1,200 components being unique to Brompton, the company also has to design and build the machines, tools and fixtures needed to manufacture these unique parts, including over 500 purpose-made press tools, moulds, braze jigs and assembly fixtures.
The brainchild of Andrew Ritchie, Brompton has had a tumultuous past but 30 years on from the first prototypes, over 175,000 Bromptons have now been sold worldwide and the company remains true to its philosophy of providing people with a personal transport solution that allows them to rethink how they get around.
Although there are other folding bicycles on the market, there are none quite like the Brompton - a full-sized, robust yet agile steel frame that can be easily and quickly converted into a compact, portable package. In fact, with a little practice, the Brompton can be folded in 10 to 20 seconds. Then, weighing just 9kg to 12.5kgs (depending on the model and configuration), it can be easily picked up and carried onto a train or into work to be placed under a desk or in a cupboard until the journey home.
Click above to expand on how the Brompton bicycle contracts
Up until the year 2000 Ritchie was not only Brompton’s managing director but also its chief designer. The company’s second designer was employed shortly after Sturmey Archer, the Nottingham-based hub gear manufacturer, was forced into bankruptcy in September 2000. This had a profound effect on Brompton as it relied on Sturmey Archer’s three and five speed hub gears, which were fitted to every Brompton model. Fortunately, a new hub gear manufacturer was found - SRAM in Germany - but in order to buy time to reengineer the bicycles around it, Ritchie went over to Nottingham to secure as many Sturmey hubs as he could.
“I had been at Sturmey Archer for 13 and a half years in total when I was laid off,” says Steve Rickels, who at that time was Sturmey Archer’s design manager. “I met Andrew Ritchie in the car park when he came to pick up the last of the gear hubs and he asked whether I wanted a job.” Rickels of course said yes and ten years later he is still Brompton’s design manager and heads up a design department that now consists of four designers.
The digital dawn
When Rickels first started, his primary task was to convert all the drawings into CAD. “Initially all the drawings for the original bicycle were all done on tracing paper,” he says. “I redrew a lot of these in AutoCAD and Mechanical Desktop because that is what I knew and had used in the past.” However, a year and a half ago with more designers on board, which ultimately meant more software licenses, and the fact that Autodesk was no longer supporting Mechanical Desktop, Rickels had to find new CAD software.
“We had to abandon Mechanical Desktop because it was an obsolete programme,” he explains. “We had basically set ourselves a choice of either SolidWorks or Inventor. In the end, after a lot of debating, we decided that the best thing to do would be to go with SolidWorks because we felt that more of our suppliers were using it.”
SolidWorks is now used at Brompton for designing new components, redrawing the bicycle and converting all the old Mechanical Desktop files over to SolidWorks, and also designing specialist tooling and equipment for the factory.
Small steps
The principle of the folding bicycle Ritchie conceived over 30 years ago is more or less the same today however, the design has evolved year on year through a continuous process of small incremental steps. An example of such a step was the creation of the rear frame clip a few years back.
Previously, without this feature the rear wheel would just fall down whenever the unfolded bike was picked up. Although many Brompton users liked this as it enabled them to park their bicycle instantly, others found it disconcerting. They would prefer that the rear frame was attached in some way as it would make them feel more comfortable whilst riding it and also for it to remain in one piece when picked up.
As a rule, the company refuses to design obsolescence into its bikes, so this meant that any new improvement had to be capable of being retrofitted to older Bromptons. “Lots of people had been asking us for a rear frame clip and we knew that as soon as we did this there would be a lot of pent up demand for people to retrofit it to their old bike. So it was key that this feature had to be retrofittable,” says Rickels.
A Brompton rear frame modeled in SolidWorks; meanwhile founder Andrew Ritchie (left of click-through image) passes on his years of experience to his shop floor staff
Rickels worked on creating a rear frame clip that would give the choice of either latch mode or non-latch mode, depending on the user’s preference. The solution he came up with was to design a recess into the rear suspension block. When the block was turned so that the recess was on the bottom, the clip would automatically engage. For non-latch mode, the user simply turns the block through a quarter turn so that the recess is in a different place and so no longer engages.
“The beauty with this design is that the Brompton owner can have both the original design as well as the new design all in one part,” says Rickels, explaining that in order to create an elegant solution he used CAD (at this time they were still using Mechanical Desktop). “Obviously this was easier to do in CAD than it was to do on a drawing board,” he comments. “Once we had decided on a CAD model we were able to get an ABS plastic rapid prototype made by sending the CAD files to our plastic moulders. Although the prototype was not a perfect finish, it’s functional and we can get a much better feel for how it would look.”
The rear frame clip is now available on all new Bromptons and any owners who wish to fit it to their old models can purchase a retrofit kit. “This is a good example of a small incremental step to some extent. It’s an improvement to the design and it didn’t add any weight in the end, or just a couple of grams overall,” says Rickels.
Giant leaps
The evolutionary design process that Brompton employs is occasionally boosted by some fundamental improvements. Over the past few years one of these changes has been the reengineering of the hinge on the mainframe into a malleable casting. This also allowed the wheelbase to be extended by a few centimetres and as such, increase the stability of the ride. However, such a major change to the bicycle also meant retooling and redesigning the brazing jigs as they are not generic. “You just change one thing and it’s a domino effect all the way down - you have to sort everything out,” comments Rickels.
Brompton’s jigs are crucial because without them the brazers can’t perform the high quality craftsmanship that the company is renowned for. As opposed to the more common practice of welding, brazing is a highly-skilled and labour intensive process. Using a gas flame, a filler metal (in this case a brass compound) is heated to melting temperature and distributed between two or more close-fitting steel parts to join them without deformation. Due to the folding nature of the bicycles, many of its joins are highly technical and consequently, it can take up to two years for a brazer to be competent in all aspects of Brompton frame building.
In order to showcase its brazing craftsmanship, six years ago Brompton decided to go to a bike show to exhibit a model that was just a steel frame painted in a transparent lacquer so visitors could see the neat brazing on the joins. Although, it wasn’t its intention, Brompton started taking orders for this bicycle at the show and today it is one of their more popular models, despite the fact that people have to pay a premium for the attention that has to be paid to the frame during production.
Tooled up
Much of the tooling, including the brazing jigs, are unique to Brompton so they are all designed in-house. “We have changed the jigs over the years to improve them as we have learnt. Sometimes combining more than one brazing operation on one jig,” says Rickels. He and one of the other designers are currently working full time on tool design and have recently designed a brazing fixture in SolidWorks for a new auto braze machine.
In 2009, Ritchie was awarded, presented annually to recognise a lifetime contribution to design
“To some extent the jigs are where a great deal of the expertise is because anybody could go buy a Brompton bicycle, measure it and try and produce a copy. But without the tooling for the brazing and everything else they are going to find it difficult to make an accurate bike just by doing it by hand,” says Rickels. Additionally, it would be difficult to imitate because with all the different components in a folding bike, they have to work to very tight tolerances (most of the time 0.1mm) in order to ensure the highly accurate frame alignment.
As Brompton has currently more demand than it can build, the company is looking to reorganise the factory in order to optimise the space and increase production. At the moment all the brazers are located on one side of the factory building the frames. Once these frames return from being painted by an outside company, they are then put on trolleys with all the other components needed to build ten bikes and wheeled over to the bike builders on the other side of the factory.
Each bike builder can build between 15 to 20 bikes a day, which equals roughly 120 bikes in total. However, in order to reach their goal of producing 35,000 bikes this coming year the manufacturing team is planning to move from batch towards cellular production. This form of lean manufacturing means that the factory floor will be arranged into semi-autonomous and multi-skilled teams, or work cells. So, instead of having all the brazers in one place, they will be in different cells that make the entire front frame, rear frame, handle bar supports and so on. The idea is that the jobs are split up a lot more and bikes will be constantly moving through.
Despite the modernisation of its manufacturing process, Brompton will continue to take pride in every bike it makes, and although one of its folding bicycles will set you back around £700, you can be sure that you are investing in a rare piece of true British hand-built craftsmanship.
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Weapons grade fakery
09 March 2010
Process types: Design and Prototype
Ever wondered where the defence industry goes to buy ‘day clothes’ for its weapons? Stephen Holmes cuts through the red tape to find a model maker in the East Midlands with military connections
At the world’s largest defence and security exhibition, DSEi, held at the London Excel centre, two giant halls display everything from tanks and armoured personnel carriers to helicopters and howitzers.
These are the biggest and baddest of all boys’ toys, but not everything is as it first appears. Nestled in-between the weapons on display are some imposters. And despite their fierce looks, the only harm these replicas could cause would be if you dropped them on your foot.
A manufacturer wanted to demonstrate a newly developed remote weapon station and needed a suitable canon to fit the gun mount. The M261 was identified as the weapon of choice, but it became obvious that they could not procure a real weapon because of the timescale and costs. John Lawson located a working canon at the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency and took multiple measurements, sketches and photographs, before producing a CAD model that was used to manufacture the physical model using the photographs and sketches as reference material.
‘Weaponry fakes’ are becoming big business. Under the Section Five Firearms Act, displaying the real thing in public means cutting through reels and reels of red tape and this leaves costs prohibitively high. Armed security is a must, as is the production and de-activation of the actual weapon, and when all the required form filling is taken into account, this adds up to tens of thousands of pounds. As a result, many weapons manufacturers are turning to John Lawson Ltd to produce dummy models, which cost a fraction of the price and take up considerably less time.
Military connections
A former armaments technician in the Royal Air Force, John left the military in 1984, setting up his own firm to make model cars and motorcycles, which eventually moved into model armaments and defence.
“It’s a bit of a niche market that I’ve got prior knowledge of and a fundamental understanding of the equipment,” says John in a Scottish accent that belies his Midlands location. “The chances of them finding someone in the world that’s a trained armourer and understands the equipment intimately, and is also a model maker, is nil! That makes customers comfortable. They like that I understand what they’re talking about and the various subtleties of their designs.”
Attention to detail
For many of the pieces that John Lawson produces maintaining the security of technical details is paramount.
Typically, on receiving the full CAD model, it is translated into SolidWorks, usually from defence industry staples like NX or Pro/E. The models are broken down into different sections to be built at different workshops, with the model maker having little idea what the finished part will be used in.
“Sometimes with some of the larger models because of technical regulations we have to simplify technical details so that you’re not giving away any technical aspects of the machinery,” says John.
“We’ve got to look at the ‘thing’ and decide, if someone wanted to copy this, what measurements would they want to take?” So we will deliberately confuse a measurement, or put it a different way, or block up an aperture or create a new one. So that it still resembles the full sized equipment but nobody could use it to learn or copy from it.”
“The M621 in particular was what’s known as a ‘space envelope’, so there were no internals to it at all,” says John referring to a 20mm cannon used on light vehicles. “All we’d literally done is bolted on the outside a mechanism whereby you could attach the feed belts to it to make it look real. This was added onto a turret, which was then put on top of a tank, and suddenly the whole thing looks the part.”
Scaling things back
The Eurydice began initially as a Rhino model, but using Qinetiq’s ParaMarine software was transformed into a Parasolid model that could then be imported straight into SolidWorks, the starting point of most physical models at John Lawson
John Lawson’s model making is not exclusively reserved for fearsome, life-size pieces, and it is often the case for scaled pieces to be made for dioramas, presentations, or gifts.
Every industry is different and each has its own challenges, explains John as he proceeds to give an example of the model ships and submarines he produces for firms such as Qinetiq. “Ships are an odd one, in that a lot of the ship design guys use Rhino for creating the surfacing because it’s a surfacing program.”
He goes onto explain that this sometimes leads to file conversion problems, but in the case of Qinetiq the model is transformed into Parasolid using Qinetiq’s naval architecture design and analysis software, ParaMarine. Then it can then be easily transferred to SolidWorks and broken into the required sections to be built.
Model development
Rapid prototyping plays an important part in the model development, to the extent that the firm is looking to expand its use of Fused Deposition Modelling, a process that can be used to create moulds for fibreglass ship hulls, and detailed parts for scale models.
All of the models have to be built for sustained travel - be it to a trade show, a director’s office, or to a meeting of engineers all across the world. “They’ve got to be tough,” says John. “They’ve got to be able to stand-up to the rigours of airline and ship travel, so we use a variety of materials.”
Design discussion
Recently the company has been producing engineering models of rigs for global mining companies. As tools for discussion they provide valuable information as they are built from the same 3D CAD data as the real thing, and can often throw up information that can help the design of the full scale product, such as clash detections or weight imbalances. Plus, they provide an excellent icebreaker.
“If you plonk that in the middle of the boardroom table before you start your discussions there’s a little bit of ‘the little boy’ in all of us. Even the most stern chief executive is going to be fascinated by a little detailed model,” jokes John.
Taking in the complexity of the models in John Lawson’s workshop it’s clear that these aren’t toys. But from the look of awe on the faces of onlookers it would seem that the ‘little boy’ in all of us still find big guns exciting, even if what we’re looking at isn’t as lethal as first thought.
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Glorious bastards
12 February 2010
Process type: Design
Comvert, the alternative fashion company that makes clothing for skateboarders and snowboarders under the ‘Bastard’ brand took on an ambitious project to turn its Milan headquarters into an indoor skate bowl. By Brett Duesing
Not your typical company executive: Claudio Bernardini, CEO and founder of Comvert, shows off his skateboard skills
When the alternative fashion company Comvert looked into a new space for its Milan headquarters, it came upon a vacant cinema from the 1940s.
The movie theatre had enough square footage for design offices, warehousing, and its flagship retail store, but also had volume – 6,600 cubic metres of vaulted space above the old audience seating. This gave room for a more unusual office amenity.
“The idea of building a indoor skate bowl has been around ever since we started Bastard 15 years ago,” says Claudio Bernardini, founder and CEO of the company. Bastard is Comvert’s internationally recognised brand of clothing and accessories for skaters and snowboarders. “The cinema site gave us a real chance to make it happen.”
Milan architects Studiometrico executed a massive, multi-level renovation to the cinema, but Comvert kept the Bastard Bowl as an internal project. “The moment we found the space, we began planning our own design. We wanted the whole project to follow a DIY ethic,” says Bernardini, who was surprised at the extent of the community effort; armies of skaters from around the region showed up to volunteer at every phase of construction.
Perhaps most unique about Comvert’s attic-level skate park was the advanced 3D modelling techniques and digital manufacturing methods – the same ones Comvert used to make snowboard gear. “We wanted cutting-edge structure in terms of the technologies used to design and build it.”
Bastards doing architecture
Comvert designers had advised several local municipalities on what goes into a rad skate park, so the Comvert team knew exactly they wanted for the shape and features of the course. They conceived of a double-kidney shaped bowl 1.85m deep with two top hips and a lower love seat. Skate bowls originated as empty swimming pools made of concrete, but since the Bastard Bowl would occupy the upper vault of the theatre, Comvert had to take a lighter-weight approach with wood frame construction.
Bernardini had experience building a wood track, making parts by hand or with a jigsaw. This time, however, the team wanted to sidestep traditional building process all together.
“As forward-thinking digital designers, we chose to use Rhinoceros instead,” he says. The team had designed the majority of their snowboard and related hardware in the 3D NURBS modeller, so they were familiar with the capabilities of the software to model parts with complex surfaces that they could easily export to high-precision digital manufacturing.
“We can break the Rhino model down into individual components and send the geometric data for each unique part to CNC cutting machines,” says Bernardini. By the end, CNC workstations had sawed every member and panel of the design, with every piece precisely matching the curves in the 3D model.
Vertical challenges
Once the Rhino model of the Bastard Bowl was completed, Bernardini showed it to Marco Clozza of the local engineering firm Atelier LC. He asked Clozza to calculate the structural requirements, devise a railing system and support from the floor, and then manage the assembly on site.
View of the bowl from the Comvert design department offices
“Claudio gave me a surface that was ideal for skaters but for builders, not so much,” jokes Clozza.
At first, the site itself presented Clozza with a number of challenges. The wooden bowl would rise 25 feet above the lower level, where Comvert had now placed aisles of warehouse shelving. The auditorium-style seating of the old theatre meant a ground floor was not level, but inclined, terraced at points into multiple levels after renovation.
“The design became more complex since we lacked a continuous plane to support the wood frames. Initially, I had no idea how to attach the structure to the warehouse level,” explains Clozza. “But after taking a look at the latest in wooden bowls, we came up with the idea to introduce steel elements, which would not only enhance the look, but it would make it easier to connect to the shelving level. And it solved the issue of protective parapets along the edge.”
Because scaffolding would block employees’ access to active shipping and receiving, he borrowed a solution from another Milanese pastime, rock climbing. Clozza would swing from a harness across cinema space during assembly. Marco used similar contraption of carabineers and climbing rope, nicknamed the Bastard Crane, to lift the CNCed parts to their proper place.
Phat flattening
After a skeletal frame took shape above the warehouse, attention turned to the skating surface. Using an early release of a new Rhinoceros plug-in called Advanced Flattening, Bernardini and Clozza could translate surfaces curved in two directions into flat cookie-cutter patterns for an automatic router.
The lightweight wood design allowed Comvert’s engineer, Marco Clozza, to suspend the bowl above its store, having used Rhino to model the shape
“The biggest problem was the double radius of curvature of the panels,” says Clozza. “According to the material and thickness, there was a maximum degree of bending we could do to fit it securely to the base structure without breaking.”
At first, Clozza used the Rhino plug-in to panelise the surface as interlocking polygons, like a football. After Clozza’s trial installation on to the frame, they found a three–to-four-millimetre gap between the bent plywood– too big of a crack for smooth skating. The team then went back to the drawing board and chose a simpler geometry for the panels. “We found that panels with straighter lines gave the maximum dimension to curve the plywood in two directions,” says Clozza.
“After several tests, we came up with the final solution that made the spaces less than one millimetre between the panels,” adds Bernardini. “This was the key feature for obtaining a perfect flowing effect.”
Curves for the community
After its unveiling last year, the Bastard Bowl has attracted legions of skate fanatics around the region to Bastard’s flagship store. The track now regularly hosts demonstrations from visiting professional skaters, as well as after-hours skate parties for Comvert staff and customers.
The surface skin of the Bastard Bowl consists of three layers of 6mm plywood panels, with the seams of each layer staggered for maximum resistance - much to the reassurance of Daniel Cardone as he unleashes a frontside flip during the Bowl’s grand opening
For Clozza, the project was his first experience with digital manufacturing. “Absolutely it’s the future of construction,” he says. Work on the Bastard Bowl has inspired him to put digital curves in other wood projects, which can be seen on his blog (http://www.atelier-lc.com), along with the full photographic story of building the ultimate Italian skate track.
The Comvert team discovered that digital manufacturing of product design can easily be applied to large-scale architectural structures. “Modifications and adjustments during the work were very few, so assembly went quickly,” says Bernardini.
“This project proved to be an experimenting ground for materials and assembly techniques, even for the most experienced on our team. Individual experiences and contributions gave birth to a collective work that belongs to all of us.”
About Comvert
Founded in Milan in 1994 by four skateboarders, Comvert conceives, produces, and distributes gear and clothing for skateboarders and snowboarders under the brand Bastard. Comvert also distributes the brand Electric in Italy.
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Building the future
10 February 2010
Process type: Prototype
From medical products to figurines of Doctor Who villains, Industrial Plastic Fabrications (IPF) prides itself on the level of detail it puts into its prototypes. Stephen Holmes emerged from behind the sofa to meet the Cyberman head on
(L to R) Torchwood’s Captain John Hart sculpted using SensAble’s FreeForm; a raw Perfactory print of Captain John, and a final decorated prototype
A visit to Industrial Plastic Fabrications (IPF) is, quite literally, an experience in all that is bright and modern in the world of rapid prototyping. It’s with a defeated smile that head of prototyping, Gary Miller, explains (for possibly the thousandth time) why he is dressed in a polo-shirt ‘hot pink’ in colour.
The entire company underwent a makeover of ‘Gok Wan’ proportions last year, wheeling in a marketing team to transform an already successful business into a conjoined enterprise with a modern, striking identity. Split into sections, the RP department was branded with an eye-burning magenta that 1980s Barbie would be proud of. Yet it’s less ‘doll house’ and more ‘Action Man’ when it comes down to the typical projects it takes on. Equipped with the first Objet Connex 500 in the country, an Objet Eden 350v, and a high detail EnvisionTec Perfactory, the business is well positioned for a variety of clients including high detail figurine production.
Science fiction
How to make a Cyberman
Stepping into the RP bureau space in the top level of IPF’s headquarters in Nazeing, Essex, you find a gallery of spacemen, aliens and famous faces in miniature form. Easily the company’s most eye-catching work, the litany of action figures licensed from major sci-fi series’ such as Doctor Who and Torchwood stack the shelves in various limbs and parts. A line of ‘severed’ heads display just how detailed the Perfactory machine can be as David Tennant, John Barrowman, and a determined looking Cyberman stare into the middle distance.
Action figures form a key part of IPF’s RP division, with the team also contributing to other small but detailed models, whether it be a miniature Lewis Hamilton or a range of fishing lures.
The mini multi-lense Perfactory machine is ideal for the detail of the small parts. As Gary explains, “What it enables us to do is change the resolution of the part we can produce on it. A lot of people use it in the jewellery trade, but we tend to use it in the figurine market.”
The bright new marketing and a fun line of projects aren’t the only modern aspects to the company. The technology that Gary works with needs to be bang up to date to keep up with the constant demands on throughput. 18 months ago IPF purchased a Connex 500 machine and while at the time it was considered a bit of a gamble, it is now looking as though it has paid off.
“We’ve increased resin consumption by 40 per cent on the previous year and it’s going from strength to strength,” says Gary. “I think that’s down to us being so unique.” Turnover speed is a resounding factor for the business, with Gary putting in many unsociable hours to make sure a job can be pushed through to meet the client’s demands, while having the trust in the machinery to maintain the high levels of detail and quality.
The large build volume of the Objet Connex500 and its ability to print in more than two materials simultaneously is invaluable for IPF
“It’s the service I guess, but also the fact that we’ve got quite a large capacity – the Connex has a large build envelope and we have that backed up with the Eden 350V,” says Gary of the two large Objet machines that stand chest-high in the workshop.
Since taking on Objet’s Connex 500, IPF has maintained strong links with the Israeli company in order to get the best from its machines and to maximise the benefit to its customers by knowing what will work best.
Medical attention
The versatility of the machine means that IPF is not limited to science fiction, but also science fact by taking on a number of medical projects, while being able to use the different ranges of resin to make extremely life-like prototypes of consumer products.
“All the time we’re prototyping things that are as close to the final product as can be with prototyping. Rigid, flexible, a combination of them both, over-moulding; so the client can see, before pressing on with expensive tooling, what the product is going to look and feel like.”
It’s an attractive proposition for designers to be able to get their hands on a physical model to test from an early stage in such a quick turnaround time, which in terms of ideas is almost as bright as Gary’s pink polo shirt.
Toy story
Figurative sculpting is a speciality of IPF having worked on a wide range of collectable figures and children’s toys.
A large proportion of these have been designed by Windsor-based Designworks, which has a thirty strong design team specialising in freeform and digital sculpting.
Having a bureau service like IPF available gives Designworks a greater level of flexibility. “IPF fit into a lot of the different areas. We can use their RP process for master models for prototypes, equally as part of the development of a product,” explains Ed Barnett-Ward, Designworks director of sculpting. “The Objet and Perfactory printers are pretty much the best on the market.
“They suffer from a very high price tag and maintenance. It’s better for us not to buy them and to use a bureau as it takes out the stress and the strain of that part of the process.”
The highly detailed output from the Perfactory machine means the most can be made of scanned data, which is used to create the 15mm heads of a five inch action figure. Getting sculpts approved can be hard as the actors being produced in plastic have rights to their likeness. “But now scanning takes that out of the equation – if you’ve digitally scanned something it’s a true reflection,” says Ed. “It makes everything a lot more reactive in terms of what we do. When I started nearly 20 years ago, everything with a license was worked on a year in advance, but now we can work on things quicker and be more reactive.”
At the time of going to press Designworks was preparing to have new models ready for the London Toy Fair, some of which IPF was producing on a ‘same-day’ basis to meet the rush. “It’s living and breathing proof that we can do a same-day turnaround: printed at night and some of the parts printed the next morning, and them all sent over that afternoon as it was that urgent,” says Gary as the latest fleet of figurines were prepared for action.
Such is the speed of the entire process, Designworks can start with nothing, and have a full range of new action figures on shelves in three months. With the latest Doctor Who television series approaching fast, they won’t need a Tardis to have things ready on time.
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Listen Up
09 February 2010
Process types: Collaborate and Design
WeSC is a street-fashion brand for intellectual slackers, so says its company tagline. But there is nothing slack about its collaboration with industrial designers, Norra Norr, which resulted in some of the most stylish headphones money can buy. By Frances Corbet
There is a shift taking place in consumer electronics. Products that were once bought primarily for their functional capabilities are now being chosen to express the buyer’s identity and personal style. From mobile phones and laptops to digital cameras and audio equipment, these products have become essential fashion accessories for many consumers. So, it makes perfect sense for a fashion label to step out from its traditional realm of clothing and embrace the world of industrial design with its own brand electronic products.
The word on the Street
Street Fashion brand WeSC (WeAretheSuperlativeConspiracy) was founded in Stockholm in 1999 and the label is now deeply rooted in skateboarding and snowboarding culture. Although it has dabbled in own label headphones in the past, which mostly involved customising colours and patterns for standard off the shelf models, WeSC’s collaboration with Stockholm-based industrial design agency Norra Norr resulted in the company’s first exclusive range of headphones - Pick-Up and Maraca.
Norra Norr drew inspiration from vintage music devices and old-school DJs
Where fashion meets Industrial design
When Marcus Rudbäck, Andreas Enqvist and Erik Petersen set up Norra Norr in 2007, they specifically wanted to use their joint expertise to push the boundaries of industrial design and make it more “in tune with the pulse of our generation.” For them this meant straddling the disciplines of industrial design and fashion. So, the trio went about creating a list of fashion brands they wanted to work with in the future, with WeSC being one of them.
“We really liked their punk attitude of ‘we do what we want to do’. We gave them a call and by pure luck they were looking for designers who could help them with the design for some new headphones. They met a couple of other companies but decided to go with us as their partner,” says Norra Norr’s co-founder and creative director, Marcus Rudbäck.
Sketch of a WeSC Pick Up
Timeless design
The brief from WeSC was to firstly stay true to the playful and fun energy of the brand and secondly to create fashion as opposed to technical products. The fashion company also specified that the range should be timeless, in that it would still be relevant over several seasons with the only updates being a change of colour to fit in with its seasonal clothing collection. Specifically, WeSC was after two models (one over-ear and the other on-ear) that could both be folded down, sold within a price range of €50 to €100, be easy for WeSC to produce, and, importantly, be compatible with existing solutions such as speakers and cables. “There was no need to reinvent the wheel in this project; it was all about the attitude,” comments Rudbäck.
SLA prototype model of a WeSC Pick Up
Norra Norr was confident that it could deliver on this brief and although it had never specifically designed headphones before, the team was able draw on its experience of designing other fashion accessories, such as classic watches and wearable sporting equipment, for clients such as POC and Yniq.
“We have a long experience working with sporting equipment like goggles and helmets so we could use the knowledge we’ve gained about ergonomics and designing something that looks good with the user’s face. It is very important that the product makes the person wearing it look good,” says Rudbäck.
Back to the ‘old skool’
Norra Norr also drew inspiration from music itself, including vintage music devices and old-school Reggae and Hip Hop DJs who wore big headphones. “We looked at classic products like amplifiers, turntables and stuff from the 1960s and 1970s to get the right look and feel. ‘Sample and mix it,’ so to say,” says Rudbäck. “Our goal was to make these headphones totally different to anything currently on the market and then to diversify.”
Design guides
The design process kicked off with a huge brainstorming session between Norra Norr and WeSC. “WeSC has a very creative and fun attitude about their brand and about fashion in general and we tried to tap into that energy and fly with it,” says Rudbäck. “Our strategy was to be less analytic and more personal in the development of the product.
During this session, the designers identified some key phrases that would help guide the sketching concept phase:
• ‘Skate funkis’, which, according to Rudbäck, translates as Scandinavian functionality but with the attitude of skateboarding culture.
• ‘We have fun’, which is very much a slogan for WeSC and in this project means that all concepts will have a funny twist, even if only in a small detail.
• ‘Fashion electronics’ meaning that the end result should be more of a fashion product and lifestyle device as opposed to a technical gadget.
Clear communication
For Rudbäck, the key in any design and development process is communication and in this case Norra Norr presented its ideas to WeSC using concepts the team had produced using VRay. “Since we focus on strategic design, it is important to have clear communication with many different levels and departments of our client’s organisation, many of whom have little or no experience with product design and development,” explains Rudbäck.
We looked at classic products like amps, turntables and stuff from the 1960s and 1970s to get the right look and feel. ‘Sample and mix it,’ so to say
From the VRay renderings, WeSC selected the two concepts that it wanted to take into development. Thereafter, WeSC pretty much gave Norra Norr free reign in the process, but of course was involved in all strategic and design decisions.
As well as using VRay for visualisation, Norra Norr also work with a variety of other tools during the design process. “We use pen, paper, glue, foam, fabric, wood, rubber, metal, all the kinds of workshop tools you might imagine, Google Images, Lego, Rhino as a 3D tool and SLA for 3D printing,” explains Rudbäck. “We also mix all these tools together depending on what suits the project or process.”
Head room
In designing the two headphones, Norra Norr took great care in how they would fit and look on the user and in order to get the right sense of proportion and scale they created many mock-ups and prototypes.
“Ergonomics are really key and we made several prototypes to make sure the two models fit as many types of heads as possible,” confirms Rudbäck. “The trick is to make sure the product looks good without detracting from the ergonomics and functionality. No one will thank you if you design something that is aesthetically pleasing but isn’t a quality product.” SLA is currently outsourced to a rapid prototyping service bureau in Sweden, however Rudbäck says that when the technology is simple enough, they will look to getting a machine in-house.
Norra Norr is a strong believer in ‘going with your gut’ and for the company, the design process is about constantly analysing what the design team is doing and why, but always maintaining a connection to intuition. “What’s more important than anything else is to make something relevant. In some projects, the design is not the most relevant part of the project, but then you need to find the detail, the innovation, the story that gives the product personality,” Rudbäck explains.
In this project, working in such a niche segment, gave them the opportunity to create products that engage the user emotionally. “’We have fun’ is the WeSC way - something we also believe in. We think this philosophy shines through in the final products, which are playful but still functional with a bit of Scandinavian design sensibility thrown in for good measure,” says Rudbäck. For instance, Pick-Up resembles the arm of a turntable with hinges and joints aligned to the axis of rotation. Working with basic cylindrical forms, Norra Norr wanted to create the look and feel of mechanical precision while still maintaining a sense of playfulness. This small and agile headphone follows the wearer’s jaw line and is small enough to fit in a jacket pocket when collapsed.
The design team also relies on a range of traditional workshop tools
According to Rudbäck, Norra Norr always tries to be involved from the start to the finish of every project and this always means cooperation between themselves and everyone from the sales team to the engineers to the manufacturers.
“Communication with the engineering and production teams is very much based on CAD files being sent back and forth. This lets us control the final design to the hundredth of a millimetre and also allows us to adapt the design to address issues that come up on the engineering and production side,” says Rudbäck. “All of this is crucial to making a good end product. We like to say that no one will thank you for a good-looking design sketch if the final products in the stores are crap.” As a result, Norra Norr sends CAD files developed in-house in Rhino to the engineering partner and also make prototypes and preproduction samples to confirm the design before tooling and mass production.
However, this part of the development process in the WeSC project proved to be particularly challenging as Norra Norr had to work with a new engineering partner in China that had little experience of product development. “It took a while for them to understand what exactly we were looking for in terms of details, finishes, ergonomics etc. But during the process it became better and better,” comments Rudbäck. He strongly believes that communication is paramount as often the design team is located in a different part of the world to the manufacturer. Communication might also involve sending CAD files along with detailed presentations and reference materials. “Get to know each other, visit as often as you can and always make the vision you have clear to every one on the team,” adds Rudbäck.
For him, it is very important to be true to the design all the way through the process. Despite the challenges, this project was no exception and the final products that emerged at the end of the design and development process are very similar to the initial concept sketches that Norra Norr presented to WeSC at the start. “We always stick with the project to the end. That’s the only way to maintain the quality of design,” says Rudbäck.
Sound waves
The Maraca and Pick-Up were launched towards the end of last year and although the project involved some frustration and many late nights, the end result is something both companies are very proud of. “It has been both inspiring and challenging to help strengthen WeSC as a street fashion brand and at the same time narrow the gap between fashion and electronics,” says Rudbäck.
The WeSC community has also given the headphones the thumbs up via feedback at the stores and on forums and blogs. “It is the best compliment you can get as a designer to see or hear that people appreciate all the hard labour behind the products,” he adds. “Every product we develop is like a child, you see it grow up and finally you see it live on its own.”
www.wesc.com / www.norranorr.com
Music to your ears
Since the launch of Maraca and Pick-Up Norra Norr have been involved in another Scandinavian headphones brand, Urbanears. With the goal once again of moving headphones away from electronics and into the fashion and lifestyle segment, Norra Norr focused on function, quality, details and materials to create a cohesive family of products that would appeal to a variety of users.
All three models in the range - Medis, Tanto and Plattan - are made of coloured steel with aluminium detailing and handmade drivers. They are treated with a rubber coating that gives the headphone a matte look and a smooth feel. The headbands and cables are textile rather than plastic, making the products look and feel more like a garment and less like a mechanical product.
The Urbanears headphones will retail between €40 and €60 and all models will be available in 14 colours. Additionally, each one will come with a microphone and remote compatible with most Nokia music phones, iPhone, Blackberry and HTC, among others. Tanto and Plattan were launched in December whilst Medis will be available in stores from March 2010.
www.urbanears.com
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Winter Sports
08 February 2010
Process types: Design and Prototype
With London experiencing its biggest snowfall in decades, Stephen Holmes cancelled the weekend in Val d’Isère to test out the latest Winter sports technology in his local park
Taking the piste
Methods of getting down a snow-covered mountain are typically confined to skiing, snowboarding, sledging, and unfortunate avalanche mishaps, although now more than ever you might wish to travel by bike.
Originally designed in 1949 by Engelbert Brenter, a ski manufacturer from Oberndorf, Austria, the Snowbike is a piece of equipment that performs like skis, but in a more stable position. The end product is capable of travelling at over 100mph, off piste, and over powder, piste, ice, and ‘freestyle’ moguls.
First developed from a traditional bike frame, the modern incarnation has little in common to its wheel-based inspiration. “All the components are unique. We cannot use any bicycle parts as the Snowbike has a completely different temperature range to serve and stress situation,” says Brenter Original Snowbike CEO, Bernd Brenter.
In addition, the bike must be low in weight to make for high-speed riding performance and comfort, while a complex suspension system has to take in the frame geometry and handle the response of the skis.
Every new model starts with simple hand drawings to give the overall proportions and this is followed by taking the design into 3D with models created in AutoCAD and Pro/E.
The Brenter Original Snowbike is capable of travelling at over 100mph, off piste, and over powder, piste, ice, and ‘freestyle’ moguls
The Pro/E models are tested to simulate stress and for plastic moulding. However, Brenter’s design team still relies on physical testing for the different snow conditions that are hard to simulate.
“Prototypes are built that go through many on slope and off-piste test procedures,” explains Bernd, adding that his team even sets up special test machines in its workshop. “Before we sell a product we have thousands of miles on the bike to test all possibilities of the sport.”
This is important when configuring the complex active suspension system. Unlike a typical bike, snow sports need to ‘unweight’ and release the edge of the ski to make controlled and skidded turns. The active suspension-system developed by Brenter stores the energy and gives a controlled rebound to the rider, giving them hundreds of short gravity-free moments during one run.
From an adapted bike frame to a high-tech machine with F1 grade materials, much has changed for the humble snowbike, but the thrills of plummeting down a snow-covered alpine peak certainly remain the same.
www.snowbike.com
Super sled
Travelling in the snow is tricky and often dangerous for us sensitive Brits, which is why riding something with 177hp on the white stuff sounds crazy.
The Arctic Cat Z1Turbo is the world’s fastest production snowmobile. Clocked doing 137mph on asphalt, when the vehicle is transferred onto a more uneven surface such as snow and ice, it requires some seriously clever suspension and means of traction.
Based in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, US, Arctic Cat has been producing snowmobiles for over 40 years. Its latest development involves taking a normal four-stroke engine and turbo-charging it to give it an additional 55hp and enough power for a seriously powerful ride.
With a top speed of 137mph, the Arctic Cat Z1Turbo is the world’s fastest production snowmobile
“It is a very good trail sled with excellent trail manners, but with no turbo lag so when it is time, a simple squeeze of the throttle and you have a rocketship on the snow,” says Doug Wolter, director of snowmobile product engineering.
Alias was used to help develop the surface models, taking conceptual sketches into 3D following focus group studies. The engineering design was done using Unigraphics to help develop the chassis and suspension, with NEi Nastran performing finite element analysis on parts to ensure structural stability over the rough ride on snow at high speeds.
“Many rapid prototyping parts are used throughout the design cycle,” continues Doug. “Some are used for models for such things as fit up, others for actual prototypes, and still others used as masters for proto tooling and then injection moulded from the proto tooling”
From these prototypes several pre-production models are produced to tweak out any further adjustments before the snowmobile is put into production. DEVELOP3D already has a fleet on order for next winter. There’ll be no ‘snow days’ for our office staff in 2010.
www.arctic-cat.com
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Wrist action
26 November 2009
Process types: Design, Manufacture and Prototype
Doing his best impression of a ‘Flash Harry’ with an array of watches clipped inside his raincoat, Stephen Holmes gets his hands on some of the most elegant timepieces money can buy
Moving with the times
The town of Glashütte in Eastern Germany is widely regarded as the birthplace of German watchmaking, home to the country’s premiere horologists.
As seen with Nomos Glashütte (below) tradition plays an important part in what is designed and built by A Lange & Söhne. With a history stretching back to 1845, the company is renowned for its timepieces the world over.
The Lange Zeitwerke combines the principles of a mechanical wristwatch with an eloquent jumping numeral display
A constant-force escapement between the barrel wheel and the balance acts as a pacemaker for the jumping advancement of the hours and minutes
“In fine watchmaking, progress is always a result of curiosity,” states Lutz Grossmann, head of the movement design department. “At Lange, the development of a new calibre usually starts with a watchmaker’s question: “How can the principles of a mechanical watch and a modern time indication format persuasively be combined?”
“The answer is the first mechanical wristwatch with a truly eloquent jumping numeral display. With the Lange Zeitwerk we wanted to define a new direction in mechanical watchmaking by creating a watch that lets its owner experience a new sense of time.”
The patented movement drives the mechanical jumping numeral display
A significant amount of energy is required to simultaneously advance all three numeral discs once every hour, and is delivered by a newly developed barrel with an extra-strong mainspring. This features a constant-force escapement between the barrel wheel and the balance acts as a pacemaker for the jumping advancement of the hours and minutes. “In its compactness, the mechanism is quite likely unprecedented,” exclaims Lutz.
The first prototype is built as a 3D CAD model in Solid Edge. “Each piece is designed by entering all the relevant measurements – often after having drawn the piece on a sheet of paper and having done various calculations. For some parts of the movement we have also created prototypes during this development process to test its function,” explains Lutz, adding that to a minor extent his team uses Finite Element Modelling (FEM), for example, for the improvement of springs, comparing them to the built prototypes to correct springs if necessary.
“Today’s systems don’t allow absolute calculations because of the tininess of our watch components,” reveals Lutz, adding: “but we are curious about the further developments.”
It is likely that in the future this traditional industry will build on its use of design technology, as it continues to move with the times.
It’s all in the wrist
This Nomos Glashütte Tangomat watch may be the epitome of simple, elegant design, but there’s a lot going on beneath the surface to make it run smoothly.
The Tangomat is based on a classic model from German timepiece manufacturer, Nomos Glashütte
The Tangomat is based on a classic model from the German timepiece manufacturer, based in Glashütte, Saxony. Developed over two years as a result of customer requests, it contains a movement that winds itself automatically whenever its wearer moves their arm.
Its design team takes great pride in the aesthetical beauty of its work but also spends a great deal of time developing its own parts and movements to achieve the highest level of accuracy and function.
Initial drafts are made according to basic calculations and a 2D-front view that encompasses all the additional features that the wristwatch will include.
“Now, designers and constructors can work side by side,” explains watchmaker Mirko Heyne. “The construction is set up in 3D. Taking into consideration what methods of manufacturing are at hand, and what methods have a reasonable price. We then design the individual parts. Already during the developmental process, we divide the movement into assemblies to allow for an efficient mounting.
“For construction purposes, we use Solid Edge. This software is employed to create all data for the movements and all drafts. The 2D first drafts, 3D constructions, and 2D sketches of the individual parts are all implemented with the help of this software,” continues Mirko.
A glass back exposes the complex movement that winds itself automatically whenever its wearer moves their arm
When testing parts, theoretical values are calculated in advance through the design process but have to be verified by practical experience. “What we simulate, however, is the assembly process in order to allow for an efficient work process later on,” states Mirko, adding that this helps with the difficult task of predicting a date for the product’s series-production readiness.
Building all its own components requires high quality craftsmanship. This even relates to prototypes for which Nomos uses high precision nano-fabrication x-ray LIGA-technology to build models with properties similar to the final material.
Helpfully, to appreciate all this technology, the Tangomat has a glass back for the wearer to view the Glashütte art of watchmaking in all its glory.
It’s disco time
When it comes to watchmaking, there is no more famous a land than Switzerland, a postcard picture of wooden huts in the snowy mountains with craftsmen delicately working away on wheels and cogs.
While traditional skills are still very much at the heart of the industry, new designs are benefitting from 3D CAD to save time and realise working prototypes before a single physical part is built or assembled.
Paul Picot is a highly regarded watchmaker from the the town of Le Noirmont. Chef de projet, Pascal Franck Kunz, works to produce limited collections of designs, built from precious metals. The latest project is the Technograph Discotime a stainless steel watch that features coloured disks instead of a second hand and a chronograph minute counter, to bring life to the dial.
The Technograph Discotime stainless steel wristwatch features coloured disks to bring life to the dial
“Our designer started to work on the disks idea with sketches on paper. Then we had to model it in 3D to see if it would be realistic,” say Pascal.
“The movement had to be tested to see how it would react to the use of disks, compared to normal hands. The force and power ratios are very different!”
After the 3D development process a physical prototype was built as there are still often slight differences between simulation and practice, however virtual prototyping is a cost and time efficient way of testing concepts.
“The achievement of our projects is the result of the combination of our people, know-how, expertise and creativity and all the technology,” concludes Pascal, acknowledging that software such as SolidWorks is allowing his team to test new concepts and materials such as slate and carbon for future luxury timepieces.
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Pump up the volume
26 November 2009
Process types: Collaborate and Design
The Zon hearing aid is the result of a close collaboration between Starkey Laboratories and Stuart Karten Design. Through a blend of cutting edge technology and innovative industrial design,its developers hope to banish the stigma of an often-maligned product. By Frances Corbet
Most of us are familiar with traditional hearing aids - unattractive beige, shrimp-like objects that fit behind the ear. They certainly aren’t much to look at and it’s no wonder that those experiencing hearing loss have a reluctance to wear something that so obviously shouts disability. Despite the extraordinary advances in hearing aid technology, the actual design of the device itself has not moved on.
Starkey Laboratories, a global supplier of hearing aids, wanted to change that with the launch of the Zon. This sculptural 1.3-inch device, which fits discreetly behind the user’s ear, is almost jewel-like in appearance.
Electronic components are organised around an injection-moulded spine, which is inserted into the outer injection moulded nylon shell through an opening at the bottom
“Zon fills a real need in the market. Hearing aids have been a maligned product for years - they are costly, yet many of them pose technical challenges and there are few that visually communicate the value of the investment hearing aids require. Zon solves these problems on many levels,” explains Stuart Karten, founder of Stuart Karten Design (SKD), a Los Angeles-based industrial design consultancy that was involved in the design and development of Zon.
Starkey approached SKD to design the Zon due to the consultancy’s experience in ear worn consumer products, including the award winning BT-500 bluetooth headset for Jabra and the Voyager Pro headset for Plantronics. The brief was to package the core hearing aid technology and give it a form factor that would be ‘sexy in the hand and invisible behind the ear’. “Starkey came to SKD with a digital signal processing technology that was very advanced. It eliminates the feedback typical of most hearing aids, but the design had a long way to go,” explains Karten. “SKD’s goal was to express the value of this technology - the incredible value of restored hearing - on the outside of the product.”
Innovation through research
With the brief in hand the first thing the consultancy did was carry out extensive research. As part of this research the team immersed itself the hearing aid industry by not only studying competitor products but by attending trade shows, talking with hearing professionals and even studying Starkey’s own production and manufacturing capabilities. “Our designers even went so far as to build a hearing aid on the assembly line,” says Karten.
People will live in denial for an average of eight years before seeking treatment for hearing loss. If we could reduce that wait time the project would be a success’’ Stuart Karten, founder of Stuart Karten Design (SKD)
Of course, consumer research was extremely important and SKD spent a great deal of time with users by both talking to them about their hearing aids and observing them using them. “We conducted ethnographies and contextual inquiries in users’ homes, observing a day in the life of the hearing aid from cleaning and battery changing to adjustment and storage,” says Karten. “It was very important that our design team, most members of which are in their 20s and 30s, gained first hand empathy for the target customer, aged 65 to 80. This research is where some of our most poignant insights arose.”
For instance, they observed a seventy-year-old man trying to change the battery of his hearing aid whilst sitting at his dining room table. He confessed that if the battery dropped during this time, he would have no idea where it went because he wouldn’t be able to hear where it landed. So, the designers discovered that the tasks difficult for many users whose dexterity has been compromised by age, such as changing batteries or adjusting volume, were those areas ripe for innovation.
Form generation
Having conducted the research, the designers realised that their overall aim was to minimise the stigma associated with hearing aids. “We learned that people will live in denial for an average of eight years before seeking treatment for hearing loss. If we could reduce that wait time and make hearing aids a more acceptable treatment option the project would be a success,” comments Karten. Additionally, they wanted to ensure that the hearing aid they developed was new and different to what was currently on the market. Following brainstorming sessions they came up with the descriptors of “visually crisp and organic”, which would become the drivers for the hearing aid design.
The Zon is available in six understated colours. The use of high-gloss metallic paint is designed to mimic the natural translucency and colour variation of hair and skin tones
Following the brainstorming sessions and having established the design direction, they began sketching their ideas and came up with ten initial concepts to present to the client, which were rendered using Bunkspeed’s HyperShot, a photorealistic rendering software. According to Karten, although they could have presented sketches or rough prototypes, HyperShot provides a high level of realism that helps the client envision the final product. During the presentation the chosen concept quickly emerged when weighed against the various objectives and criteria. “Its dynamic form was beautiful and provided the best wearing comfort with ample airflow and no ‘hot spots’,” he explains.
The chosen concept also incorporated solutions to many of the user challenges and needs identified in the research. For instance, the control button used to switch between digital modes and adjust volume is a single oversized push button along the hearing aid’s spine, where it is easily accessible in the worn position. Additionally, the battery door swings open from the side, allowing users to lay it on a table for additional support during the battery changing process.
Engineering collaboration
During the design process, SKD’s designers and engineers worked in close collaboration with the engineers at Starkey. The particular challenge of packaging all the components in the small space available was resolved by constantly sending Pro/Engineer CAD files back and forth between the two companies. The components that had to fit in included a pair of microphones, a battery and a hybrid chip. “The design was essentially modelled around these components, which determined the hearing aid’s size and orientation to a great extent,” explains Dennis Schroeder, SKD’s senior designer who was in charge of rendering and modelling Zon and collaborating with Starkey’s engineers to ensure the performance of the device matched the high level of design. Throughout all of this, careful attention was paid to ergonomics to ensure that the device would be comfortable and absent of hot spots.
Listen carefully
Spot the hearing aid: The Zon is incredibly discreet when worn
Design for manufacture
Early Zon concept model produced inside Pro/Engineer
The process demonstrated how the shell could be manufactured from a single piece instead of two plastic pieces screwed together. “Electronic components are organised around an injection-moulded spine, which is inserted into the outer injection moulded nylon shell through an opening at the bottom of the piece. The microphone port cover and battery door are then attached to procure the spine in place. This process allows Zon to be assembled without parting lines, lending a clean, unified appearance,” explains Schroeder.
Colour me beautiful
In order to answer the brief of being ‘invisible behind the ear’, colour selection and materials played an important role in the design. “SKD studied hair and skin tones, talking with make-up specialists and Beverly Hills hair colourists. We learned that natural hair and skin is made up of varying shades,” says Karten. As a result, SKD developed a palette of six understated colours that complement both hair and skin tone.
“To make our recommended colour palette even more realistic, we encouraged Starkey to use high-gloss metallic paint to mimic the natural translucency and colour variation of hair and skin tones, helping the hearing aids to blend behind the ear better,” continues Karten. This was achieved by using a new paint strategy on nylon resin, which is a very strong and chemical resistant material. “We connected Starkey with Phillips Plastics who helped make this a reality,” says Schroeder.
Refined design
Having carried out further research and testing with the prototypes in order to validate the product design, the model was then refined in Pro/E. The designers found the high level surface modelling and skeleton model functionality of Pro/E particularly beneficial.
“Pro/E allows you to attach multiple parts to a master model or skeleton and these parts travel together. For example, when you resize one part, Pro/E automatically adjusts the connected parts to the same scale so that you don’t have to manually re-size them. This was very helpful on Zon because the model had six different parts,” explains Schroeder.
As Starkey has its own manufacturing and assembly facilities, the CAD data was then sent directly to the company to produce and assemble the parts.The Zon hearing aid was launched in mid 2008 and certainly meets Karten’s aim for a design that is both crisp and organic, a fusion between the human and the mechanical.
The project also brought much enjoyment to the consultancy. “We’re happy to have a client as open and collaborative as Starkey has been. We worked directly with the company CEO who sees the value that design can add and allowed SKD to be involved at a deep level, from foundational and user research to the complete product experience-packaging and retail displays,” says Karten.
HyperShot enabled SKD to give its designs a high level of realism and help the client envision the final product
Since the launch, Zon has not only been praised by users and hearing aid professionals but has also caught the eye of the design community, one such being New York’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum that presented the consultancy with an award in the People’s Design Award category at its annual National Design Awards gala.
This category allows the public to nominate and vote for their favourite design. As Cooper-Hewitt’s director Paul Warwick Thompson said at the awards, the success of Zon demonstrates that good design can indeed have a transformative impact on our everyday lives. Although SKD have received many design awards in the past, this was a special award for Karten. “To take a product that no one wants and banish that stigma is an accomplishment I’m very proud of,” he says.
However, the collaboration with Starkey doesn’t end there and SKD’s next product for the company is due out at the beginning of 2010. It uses the same design language as Zon but in a larger, more powerful hearing aid. “This new product builds upon our initial user research, introducing a new user interface that further simplifies the process of adjusting controls. SKD has done additional research programs for Starkey on hearing aid accessories, docking stations and remote controls. More products are currently in development,” reveals Karten.
www.kartendesign.com / www.starkey.com
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Visual perfection
09 November 2009
Process type: Design
During the development of the award winning Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, GM Europe used manufacturing variation simulation and visualisation software to help it achieve high perceived quality whilst cutting development time and costs
In October, 2008, the 59 senior motoring journalists from 23 European countries who make up the jury for the annual European Car of the Year (COTY) awards chose seven finalists from a total of 37 contenders for the latest awards.
After the points allotted by the jury during the final round of judging had been counted, the Car of the Year 2009 award went to the brand new Opel/Vauxhall Insignia from GM Europe. The Insignia gathered a total of 321 points, beating the new Ford Fiesta into second place by the narrowest of margins and the Volkswagen Golf VI into third place.
An important contributing factor to winning this award was the high perceived quality of the Insignia. Perceived quality is a key component of brand identity. It describes the first impression a customer gets regarding the look-and-feel of a product, without regard to its functionality.
In the later design & validation phase of the development process attention was geared towards the calculated gap and flush dimensions
Key to GM Europe’s success with the Insignia was the use it made of advanced manufacturing variation simulation and visualisation software during the car’s development. Known as aesthetica and developed in the UK by Icona Solutions, the software was used from the early concept design stages of the project, enabling the various design, engineering and manufacturing disciplines involved in the project to understand the manufacturing constraints and to agree on gap and flush conditions and manufacturing tolerances as early as possible in the overall design and development process. This made it possible to achieve the highest possible perceived quality in the final vehicle without negatively impacting its development and manufacturing costs.
Dimensional management
Ten years ago, as part of its focus on quality, innovation and affordability, GM Europe created the dimensional management department at its International Technical Development Centre in Rüsselsheim, Germany.
The International Technical Development Centre is at the heart of engineering for GM Europe. Within it, the dimensional management department, led by Edgar Lossnitzer, who has defined the new perceived quality processes, is responsible for the management of tolerances over the entire vehicle development cycle.
“Dimensional quality is already defined at Opel at the start of a project in a tracking schedule known as the dimensional technical specification, or DTS,” says Lossnitzer. “Dimensional quality is tracked during the entire development cycle, all the way to production. In the DTS, all gaps and offsets visible to the customer along with their nominal values and allowable deviations are specified,” he explains.
“Nevertheless,” he adds, “one of the problems we faced was that too many gaps were falsely interpreted through the tolerance simulation. This often led to controversial discussions in the DTS setting meetings, as well as in follow-up meetings, until a physical model could be produced for review. This costly and time-intensive process resulted in agreements and decisions being made late in the process, with the result that there were often additional costs involved in implementing the required design changes.”
With a view to overcoming this problem, Lossnitzer and his team set out to fully investigate how, or if, 3D visualisation software could help in the dimensional management process for the Insignia programme. This brought them into contact with Icona Solutions, developer of the manufacturing variation simulation and visualisation software solution, aesthetica, and Icona’s business partner in Germany, Casolute.
Icona Solutions’ aesthetica software is unique in that it applies tolerances and component deformations directly to the product’s 3D CAD geometry. These 3D models can then be visualised, in real time, using different light sources, colours and materials. This is unlike traditional visualisation software, which can only visualise a virtual product in its perfect, as-designed nominal condition. With aesthetica, a realistic representation of the vehicle as it would appear at various points within the range of assigned tolerances can be produced at a very early stage of the vehicle development. This enables perceived quality reviews to be carried out, in which fit and finish problems can be spatially represented in real time and solved immediately.
Perceived quality studies
When Opel made the decision to implement aesthetica it was at the very early stage of the development of the Insignia. Superior design, vehicle dynamics, safety and comfort, as well as superior aerodynamics and appearance (gap and flush) were all expected from this vehicle.
With the introduction of aesthetica, design review meetings began to be routinely carried out in a virtual reality (VR) room in order to show the meeting participants the three dimensional model without it being necessary for any physical models to be built.
Aesthetica can be used in every phase of the development process to accurately and visually present the influence of tolerances on perceived quality. The parameters used for the simulations are based on the design and manufacturing data, including the material, fastening scheme and the tolerances. Complex deformation effects such as arching, bending and distorting are represented, thereby allowing the root cause of problem areas to be identified. These parameters can be changed freely to enable all possible solutions to be tested in order to achieve the highest possible quality in the final product.
The first use of aesthetica on the Insignia project began at the early concept stage. As soon as the first styling data was released, the first aesthetica models for the interior and exterior were generated. From this point the digital model would be continuously updated to accommodate styling changes and/or the development progress. This process continued through the design & validation phase up to the final confirmation and improvement phase.
Considerable resources have been saved by eliminating the need for physical validation models
Early engineering used the digital models in order to visualise the effects of the different tolerances and if necessary, to kick off changes at a time when the cost of change was minimal. aesthetica made it possible for the calculated variations and their effects to be visualised in 3D. Alternatives could be brought directly into the aesthetica model and the effects of technical implementations could be shown immediately in the 3D representation.
For the interior the concentration was placed, above all, on the area visible to the driver and passenger in order to allocate the priorities for the tolerances in this area. This allowed areas that are difficult to see or aren’t seen at all to be used to compensate for build tolerances. Overall, additional attention was given to “forgiving design” in which design elements and their optimisations were evaluated in 3D in the VR room before being implemented in physical products.
In the concept phase of the new vehicle development process it was crucial to include key stake holders in meetings in order to present the new product, as well as all tolerances and the effects of those tolerances. As a result, very early in the development process the target specifications could be defined based on realistic images. Decisions were able to be released for product development simultaneously, thereby avoiding future surprises, because agreements were more quickly obtained.
In order for discussions in the VR rooms to be completed as efficiently as possible, a type script was generated beforehand. With this, the area of the vehicle, perspective, material combination and light sources for the visualisation were defined and stored in aesthetica. As a result, every condition could be quickly reconstructed. The new points and desired notes from the meeting could also be directly entered and stored in the same manner. This allowed new ideas to be discussed immediately and either pursued, or rejected, partially eliminating the need for physical models and resulting in cost and above all, time savings.
Depending on the phase of vehicle development, different goals were pursued in these meetings. Here the 3D visualisation capabilities of aesthetica were indispensable because, in the absence of a physical vehicle, no conclusions could have been reached otherwise.
This was especially so in areas of the vehicle in which many components interface with each other, for example on the boot lid and the front end of the vehicle, as well as the area where the dashboard and door trim meet. In the development of the Insignia Sports Tourer, this area was investigated with aesthetica and its “Gap- / Flush- Fitting tools”. Using this, different possibilities for gap and flush could be judged until an image representing an optimal combination could be found.
In the later design & validation phase of the development process attention was always geared towards the calculated gap and flush dimensions. The results of these calculations were based on the assembly processes, component geometry, component tolerances and assembly tolerances. For visualisation, separate interior and exterior models were required because the development phases started at different times.
Design elements and their optimisations were evaluated in 3D using VR on a powerwall
As a rule, only partial models were generated in the interior area. These models included the front door trim, instrument panel and the centre console. In order to observe these areas from the viewpoint of the driver and/or passenger, information from the RAMSIS human models was also used in these models. Additionally, within the aesthetica model, rotation points were set in the position of the eyes in order to evaluate the view in all directions.
With this, sensitive areas could be identified and the required focus could be applied to the resulting images. Moreover, this avoided a situation where certain areas were defined as problematic as a result of being evaluated from unrealistic views.
In the exterior area, the tolerance calculations that were categorised as critical were visualised on the Powerwall in the VR room using the “Gap- / Flush- Fitting Tools” of aesthetica and presented to the decision makers. This provided a great advantage because the meeting participants easily could see how large the adjusted gap dimensions were.
As the models became more advanced further attention could be applied to elements such as visible structural items like screws, rivets or ribs within the gap, clip connections of components within the visible area, visible sub-materials such as sealing foam or glue, and elements visible through transparent components such as headlamps. This all helped to improve the overall visual appearance, or perceived quality, of the final vehicle.
Real benefits
“As a business that has actively integrated dimensional engineering into the vehicle development process for more than ten years, Opel was looking for a tool to support decision making,” says Lossnitzer.
Icona Solutions’ aesthetica software was developed as a visualisation tool that enables vehicles – and other products - to be developed in a cost efficient and effective way. Although Lossnitzer acknowledges that some people were initially critical of the high investment needed for the software and 3D visualisation on a Powerwall, he points out that once it became clear how easily concrete decisions could be made, they were convinced of the value.
Summing up the benefits, Lossnitzer states, ”Since introducing aesthetica into Opel there have been no more long-winded and time-consuming discussions regarding a few tenths of a millimetre. Communication to management of necessary changes has improved, decisions are made faster and as a result, development costs are saved. Considerable resources have been saved by eliminating the need for physical validation models, which together with the time savings have more than compensated for the acquisition costs of the software.”
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Life on the farm
09 November 2009
Process type: Design
Drawing inspiration from his local harvest festival Stephen Holmes investigates the high-tech world of agricultural machinery
Just a cotton-pickin’ minute
John Deere with its green and yellow livery is one of the most recognisable brands amongst farmers and its leaping deer motif patrols fields across the world.
A specialist machine is needed for the process of cotton harvesting, in which the company has been at the forefront for the last 60 years. To enable the most efficient way of harvesting from the giant cotton fields John Deere’s design team has produced the 7760 Cotton Picker, a machine that can harvest non-stop, providing on-the-go packaging of seed cotton as it moves.
John Deere’s 7760 Cotton Picker can harvest non-stop, providing on-the-go packaging of seed cotton wrapped in a special plastic
The picked cotton is automatically wrapped in a special plastic, forming a secure, round bale, which then drops onto a rear handler shelf that can lower the bale to the ground at the end of the row. Throughout this process the driver need not stop and can continue to harvest more cotton.
Having spent time testing multiple concepts to find what shape of bale and mechanism would be best suited to the harvesting process, David Winter, the global manager of John Deere’s cotton engineering sector, relied heavily on 3D design tools to develop the final design.
“All components of the machine are created in a virtual environment using the 3D modelling software Pro/Engineer,” says David. “These models feed downstream tools to analyse the design and make improvements before actual parts are made.
“For example, the model geometry is imported into a finite element analysis tool to help determine if the part, or parts in question, will meet the rigorous demands of the final product. Manufacturing also uses the 3D models to perform virtual builds, helping them define assembly methods and the production line configuration well before a build begins.”
One of the biggest challenges faced by John Deere was designing the cotton picker for two specific groups of users that would transform the way the cotton harvesting workflow operates. The design not only had to meet the requirements of the cotton farmer, but also the those of the downstream user of the new ‘packaged’ cotton, the cotton ginners, who process the raw cotton by removing the seeds from the useful fibres. Through careful consultation with both sets of users the final result is a product that saves time and lowers waste for all involved in the industry.
Blades of glory
Agricultural mowers are tough pieces of kit, far more so than the Flymos used for preening the garden, but even they can have difficulties when the land gets steep.
The GMD Compact mower is optimised to work in hills and mountains while being light enough to be operated by small or low powered tractors
A new range of front disc mowers from Kuhn have been designed to tackle this problem. The result is the GMD Compact which is optimised to work in hills and mountains while being light enough to be operated by small or low powered tractors.
The mowing unit adapts to ground contours through its central pivot point. The ground pressure adjustment is made directly from the tractor for those equipped with an integrated front lift suspension or using powerful springs.
The design of the cutting discs means there is no area where two discs rotate simultaneously frontwards, allowing forage to be moved more efficiently to the rear.
One of the main concerns with the design was to keep the weight low without sacrificing the reliability of the machine and this was considered throughout the design process. Keeping the weight below 600kg the team aimed to give the machine the lowest possible overhang to allow it to mow grass on steep slopes.
Concept sketches wanted to give the GMD a ‘sporty’ effect
“For the computer assisted conception we use Pro/Engineer software and its different attached modules, which enabled us to make structure resistance calculations, kinematics simulations as well as realistic pictures of the machine,” says design engineer Gilles Fischbach.
Away from the practicalities of such equipment, Kuhn aimed to give the piece of equipment an innovative style of its own, contrasting with the majority of the Kuhn range of machinery. “The scope was to obtain a somehow ‘sporty’ look, with dynamic and harmonious lines,” says Gilles.
The end product is both small and manoeuvrable, but tough and designed with purpose for the ever-expanding reach of modern farmland.
I’ve got a brand new combine harvester…
The infamous song of West Country bumpkins and their preferred choice of agricultural machinery failed to mention exactly what these machines are capable of doing – it must have been the cider.
New Holland’s CR9090, a beast of a combine harvester, holds the world record for harvesting: 551.6 tons of wheat in eight hours. That equates to, er, quite a few loaves of bread
The CR9000 Series is the giant of New Holland’s combine harvester family, with particular attention devoted to capacity, operator comfort, grain and straw quality, and residue management.
The technically advanced rotary model was launched last year with a series of unique features, much to the delight of farmers across the globe. An electronic stone detection and ejection system stops any unwanted stones entering the straw elevator; a Twin Rotor threshing and separation system ensures high capacity and gentle handling of grain and straw; a camera system measures the concentration of chaff and the amount of broken grain in the grain sample and the CR9000 also has one of the largest and quietest operator’s cabs available.
Designed primarily in Pro/E, the giant machine underwent substantial model testing before anything was built. Pro/Mechanica was used for force simulations and FEA and CFD for respectively assessing strength and air flow in the cleaning systems. The design team also uses in-house software to calculate drive lines and variators needed to ensure the machine can handle all worldwide crop variations.
New Holland run its designs through its very own virtual reality room DMU (Digital Mock Up) linked with Pro/E to verify any build interferences. This became key when packaging the sub modules into one assembly, ensuring access and serviceability is available for all the required components.
Soon after being set loose on the world’s crops the flagship model, the CR9090, set a world record for harvesting: 551.6 tons of wheat in eight hours. This astonishing feat was achieved in the UK in September 2008, and it is still unbeaten.
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Clean living
09 November 2009
Process types: Design, Manufacture, Prototype and Visualise
The new @ease from Electrolux is designed to put the fun back into cleaning. During the development process, the global design team learnt much from watching consumers interact with prototypes of the upright vacuum cleaner. Frances Corbet reports
Let’s face it - unless you’re Freddie Mercury - vacuuming is a bore. However, if your vacuum cleaner is simple to use, can be manoeuvred with ease, doesn’t require any bending, winding or stretching and is also good to look at, you may just enjoy it that little bit more. This is exactly what Electrolux set out to achieve with its latest product offering - the aptly named @ease.
“Vacuuming isn’t seen as the most fun thing to do - there is physical effort involved and it takes time. We wanted to make that easier and more enjoyable for people,” says Randy Sandlin, general manager of consumer experience and innovation at Electrolux Home Care Products, who was responsible for bringing the new @ease to market.
The @ease eliminates stretching bending or winding. All controls are either hand or foot operated for ease of use.
Electrolux, a global appliance brand that sells more than 40 million products including refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and cookers to customers in 150 countries every year, prides itself on being a ‘Thoughtful Design Innovator’. This means that it wants to be portrayed as a customer-focused company that is dedicated to creating innovative and thoughtfully designed products that meet the real needs of customers.
This may all sound a bit like ‘marketing fluff’ but according to Sandlin, extensive consumer insight really does drive the product development. “At Electrolux, we have a thoughtful design philosophy. It starts with the consumer - identifying their needs and finding ways to deliver on them. We then look at functionality, usability, how people actually interact with the product, aesthetics and capturing the brand identity. It’s really a holistic approach to the product. It’s the total experience,” he explains.
Global design
Electrolux has its design roots in Scandinavia, a region renowned for its clean and simple yet intuitive creations. The company’s headquarters are in Stockholm, Sweden, but the industrial design team, that consist of 140 designers, model makers, surface designers and project leaders, are also spread between Electrolux Design Centres in Porcia, Italy; Curitiba, Brazil; Sydney, Australia, Singapore, Anderson, California; and Bloomington, Illinois.
Concept development of the @ease was carried out using Alias
However, despite being geographically dispersed, Electrolux’s designers don’t work in isolation. Not only do they collaborate on projects with their design colleagues in Stockholm but they also work as part of an integrated team in-house that consists of both engineers and marketers. “Good design happens when design teams work with other departments to ensure that essential brand aspects are seamlessly integrated into the product,” says Sandlin.
Consumer appeal
Every project starts with consumer insight and instead of the industrial designers merely relying on what the consumer researchers tell them, they actually go out there and get involved in the research themselves. Sandlin refers to this research as ethnographies, and it involves actually going into people’s homes to observe them using their appliances and products. “You can’t make a product succeed without knowing for whom it is intended,” he says.
“A good design is born when a product answers a specific need existing in the real world and this can only be accurately determined through interaction. Ethnographies are the best way to achieve this interaction.”
Interaction with consumers doesn’t stop there as throughout the design process focus groups are held, which the designers also attend. “Understanding that consumer first hand - getting to see their body language and visually see how they interact with products - is so important because that is where you can get those big ‘eureka’ moments,” he adds.
In the case of @ease, the designers had several different areas that they wanted to explore based around making the vacuuming process easier for the consumer. One of the first things they wanted to look at was the cord and instead of the user having to bend down to wrap the cord, they wanted to look at the possibility of creating a button that they could push to automatically wind it in. According to Sandlin, although the cord rewind is common on canister vacuums, it is not heavily used on uprights.
Another design feature that came out of the brainstorming sessions was use of two zones on the product – one zone at the top consisting of buttons and interaction points controlled by hand and then a foot zone where users can change the height adjustment and access the on/off button. “From consumer insights we saw people bending or just not doing things because it took some physical effort and we wanted to avoid that,” explains Sandlin.
The internal components and external structure are developed using Unigraphics
With the consumer opportunity identified, the design process - which Sandlin refers to as a pretty in depth stage gate process - now begins. It either kicks off with a primary development, which is when a new technology needs to be developed, or, as in the case of @ease, progresses straight into concept development. Here the designers and engineers worked together to come up with concepts that incorporated the cord rewind, telescopic handle and telescoping wand. They then constructed some very quick engineering rigs. “These are not beautiful,” says Sandlin, “but you can mess with them and can cobble some stuff together from other projects to get some kind of prototype to interact with.” The designers will then start working on concept sketches and utilise Alias software to create renderings.
Product development
Having identified the segment they want to go after, found the consumer need they want to focus on, established the business case, and what timeline they are working towards, the designers can then move into the product development phase. In the first stage they will continue the design exploration. “We do a more in depth dive into how we are going to make all this work - from a technical and a design side,” says Sandlin. So, whilst the designers create their external surfaces in Alias the engineers will be working on the internal components using Unigraphics. The designers and engineers will then both work in Unigraphics to build the structure. This is a very collaborative process as the designers and engineers will work concurrently transferring files back and forth.
In order to test their designs and show how the product solution has been interpreted, physical models are produced, by sending CAD files to either the in-house CNC or SLA machines. “If we send a file to our SLA machine, the next day we can come in and see the parts to verify that design,” explains Sandlin. In the case of the @ease, testing the product’s height adjustment using your foot took rounds and rounds of prototyping to make sure that it was something easy for the consumers to do both with a shoe on and off. At this stage the US team can also get input from the Stockholm design team by sending the Alias files to them to review and give feedback on.”
Rapid prototype models are produced in order to test designs and show how the product solution has been interpreted
Next is the ‘design freeze’ where everybody stops what they are doing and scrutinises the full size prototype to make sure that they are all in agreement with its size and features. “Our goal is that we freeze the external design and make sure that the engineering technicals will fit within that design,” says Sandlin. They look at things like the structure, the ribs and the parting line of the plastic parts. Doing this prevents costly and labour intensive changes having to be made further down the line.
After the design freeze there are various stage gates that the team needs to go through including the engineers working on finishing external surfaces in Unigraphics and release tooling. “When we get parts back from tooling, we will do reviews. Engineering will review it from all their technicals and we will review it from an aesthetic and consumer interface side,” says Sandlin. Towards the end of the process when they are nearing production, they carry out a final review of the product checking that it fulfils the original design intention that was set for it. “Part of the development is focussing on what you want to do and not making compromises on those areas,” he says.
Colour me beautiful
An important area that the designers need to consider before the product goes to production is the graphic application and colour. “We have to look at the colours we are going to use and how we are going to communicate the brand and the features with the graphic on the product,” explains Sandlin. In the case of @ease - white with cyan and then white with magenta were chosen for the two different models. “We use splashes of colour, which is very fresh and new compared to what is happening in the category with other products just being one colour. Colour draws the consumer’s eye to particular features and details,” says Sandlin. Interestingly, consumers in the UK and European markets have different feelings towards colour compared to the US market. “White with magenta does well in the UK but doesn’t get the same response when we do colour research in the US,” says Sandlin. “In the US we did a similar model in grey and they reacted differently.”
Production ready
When the product is ready for production, communication with the factory is done through the engineering group that sends the 3D CAD data. Like many companies, Electrolux wants to remain competitive and that involves cutting costs and so it has embarked on a comprehensive restructuring program. By the time this program is completed in 2010, approximately 60 per cent of the group’s appliances will be produced in low-cost countries, including Poland, Hungary, Mexico, China and Thailand. The company is also saving on its purchasing costs, mainly by increasing the share of purchases from suppliers in these low cost countries.
The @ease was launched in September and despite a difficult market, Electrolux is hoping that with its foot operated controls, looped telescopic wand and 8m cord auto rewind it will stand out from other products in the category and connect with consumers. As for Sandlin, after 15 years with Electrolux his enthusiasm is not waning. “There are so many unfulfilled needs out there that need to be solved. So when we start the next project, it’s a new set of consumer problems that we are tackling - we are not doing the same product over and over and just making it look a little different,” he says. “They all start with that consumer problem and you dive in to find out how you can make that product better for the end user. That’s what makes it really fun.”
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Finishing strong
06 November 2009
Process type: Prototype
Long established modelmaker and industrial prototyping specialist, Malcolm Nicholls Ltd (MNL) is a company that doesn’t dwell on its past. Stephen Holmes finds out what is driving them forward
A short drive from the historic town of Stratford-upon-Avon, with its Shakespearean heritage, leaning timber framed buildings and legions of waddling tourists, MNL operates from its own historic base.
Having been in operation since 1971, beginning with the production of humble milk crates before introducing a technological edge, the company now continually pushes boundaries in the industrial prototyping industry. It services prestige brands and little known designers alike with its knowledge of the processes and materials required for professionally finished models.
An MNL employee working through the finishing stages of a high-end visual appliance casing that once painted will go straight into a commercial product
“Having the years behind us that nobody else has, we can say ‘Oh, we were doing that years ago’. We’d developed our own processes for that,” enthuses technical sales manager Tracy Nicholls.
This confidence that the company exudes is born from the huge range of skills it has built up in its 38-year history, working on a gargantuan number of projects.
From automotive parts to mens’ shaving equipment the company’s portfolio is certainly diverse, but it’s in the area of surface finish that MNL has recently been getting most attention.
The PowerBreathe inspiratory muscle trainer is designed to help exercise and strengthen the muscles used in breathing
The company has an almost religious zeal for producing the best possible finish to a product, and this has now become another source of income. “We actually do some work for our competitors because they’re not at the level we are,” says Nicholls. “We offer our services on the finishing side. Not many companies work directly with their competitors in this industry.”
Across the board, vast improvements have been made in the speed, cost and quality of what the team can now produce, to the extent that a part can be taken from CAD data to physical model in under two weeks. But most importantly the materials used in these parts are close to production quality, making the process ideal for short batch manufacturing.
“The polyurethanes are 80-90 per cent the chemical properties of production materials,” says Nicholls. “When you make them UV stable as well they’re so close [to the production variant]. To some companies that don’t need multiple thousands or millions a year, and need only a few hundred it’s perfect. They can use our tooling as production.”
For small production runs, or even a handful of pieces, the line between prototype and production is blurred. A perfect example of this occurred last year when the team was approached by a wealthy Saudi Arabian man who wanted lightweight replicas of some very expensive ornaments to adorn his private jet.
MNL sent a team to the customer’s house in Mayfair, London to scan the artworks. This picked up all the minute details, down to the artist’s signature, before being collated in a file for the team to work from.
“We took that data, built them by SLS, hand-finished those and then had them painted with a metalised gold finish for them to go on his plane,” says Nicholls. “He didn’t need the armed guards stood next to these!”
The economic troubles of late have had little effect on the business as sectors such as automotive, defence and medical continue to approach MNL with work. There are fears that this work will begin to slow as budgets continue to be readjusted, but having weathered several recessions previously the company has got through this latest period relatively untroubled, primarily through the continued development of processes and products.
“Obviously medical is an easier sector to get into than defence,” states Nicholls. “But I think our new material for the SLA has really helped because it has a medical classification and grade to it which has made people in that industry sit up and think.”
Expansion into new sectors and new techniques is proving to be a key factor in MNL’s continued success. By making new advancements in technology and processes, coupled with the vast experience the company brings with it should ensure that MNL will be around for some time yet.
Breathing Easy
The PowerBreathe inspiratory muscle trainer is designed to help exercise and strengthen the muscles used in breathing.
Developed for the benefit of both medical and sports users, the device increases the ability to take deeper and more controlled breaths, and improves strength, endurance and recovery of the respiratory muscles.
Designed by HAB Intl and Coventry-based design consultancy Smallfry, MNL was approached to help with the product development and to produce an accurate prototype.
“It was a bread and butter job for us in terms of the materials and processes used,” explains MNL general manager Ross Nicholls. “We were presented with full 3D data from the outset, but the customer required different finishes on parts of the model.”
Silicone tools were used to produce a production quality model. “We used different polyurethane (PU) materials to represent the materials they required in production, including the ‘water clear’ flexible PU for the mouthpiece,” adds Ross.
“Roughly you would be talking about around a day to have the masters done and three or four days for the finishing. You can’t rush the gloss finishes – and that is what makes us different - that we make sure all the finishes are absolutely spot on. Silicone tooling takes one-to-two days and if we did ten sets of PUs then we’d probably get them done in less than a week too.”
The finished product reaches market this month having been developed on the model built by MNL. The ability to develop and bring a product to market in such a way has speeded up the process and allowed testing and marketing to take place much sooner than originally anticipated. The final result is a breath of fresh air.
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24-carat industry
04 November 2009
Process type: Prototype
In a small workshop in Hatton Garden, the heart of the British jewellery industry, lies PP Manufacturing, whose combination of rapid prototyping and CNC machining gives it an edge in an increasingly competitive market. Stephen Holmes reports
The design and manufacture of jewellery is no longer the laborious task it once was, thanks primarily to the abilities of companies like PP Manufacturing to work with the latest technology.
The use of 3D software and rapid prototyping (RP) machines in jewellery design has continued to grow throughout the industry, and because it gives the designer creative freedom this positive adoption is likely to continue.
This is evident at the heart of the British jewellery industry, London’s Hatton Garden. On an entire street of gleaming gold and diamonds, set behind the storefront bling is a small but industrious CAD bureau that specialises in jewellery design and manufacturing.
Gemvision Matrix is used by PP Manufacturing to create new jewellry designs
PP Manufacturing began life nearly five years ago. In 2006 it moved on from engraving technology into full CAD, and although admitting that it fell into it by chance, it was a great time to begin. The company now has the right experience and know-how to take a lead in a fast developing area for 3D design technology.
From its small workshop, Paul Burton and Paul Thurston, the founders of the company, have built their business through reputation, and being situated in the nerve centre of British jewellery production they have steadily built their business.
“It’s through word of mouth that people will come to us,” explains Paul Burton. “Customers come for either the whole job - for instance they bring in a sketch, we do the drawing, make the wax cast, and produce the finished piece - or some will come along with a file and we will just make the wax cast for them.
Stepping into the office the advanced machinery stands out from those areas more traditional to a jeweller’s workshop, although both are needed to complement each other. A piece made from a RP machine still needs to be hand finished, and the artisan skills associated with the craft are certainly in demand.
Since setting up, the company has made an effort to try and maintain the right balance of machinery, software and traditional skills to give customers what they want.
The role of CAD
Working in Gemvision Matrix, a dedicated 3D jewellery design software, Paul spends most of his time building the 3D models to be cast in wax. The software offers specific toolsets for a jewellery designer, helping to make it quick and efficient for selecting styles, shapes and gem settings. Alternatively a designer can start from scratch and draw out all the shapes themselves.
Rendering is done using Matrix’s in-built Vray renderer
Being an early adopter, Paul found it had the edge over other jewellery software and maintains that he still finds it best for PP Manufacturing’s workflow. “Coming to this from previous software, which was engraving software for us, it’s quite similar, being very basic,” he says. “Although it’s no use learning how to use it and then using it only once a month. I sit on this all day everyday.”
The final design can then be rendered using Matrix’s in-built Vray renderer, specifically designed for jewellers, giving a quick choice of colour variations for precious metals. However Paul has to remind customers that the impressively sharp edges of the render will have to be smoothed off in reality to make it safe to wear.
From here the designs are ran through ModelWorks inside SolidWorks to create the toolpaths for the print before being set to the SolidScape T66. Similar to an inkjet printer, there are two inkjet heads, one depositing a cyan thermoplastic material (InduraCast) that acts as an investment casting wax. The other is a sacrificial wax (InduraFill) that is dissolved when the model is complete. The models are then cleaned up and the finished result is ready to cast.
Mould production
The company was the first to take on a Revo Mill in London, and as a result can produce fine detail casts much smoother than the ‘build-up’ process of the SolidScape machine. Essentially a fine detail 4-axis milling machine, it transforms wax blocks into detailed moulds with a surface “as polished as glass” when completed. By having both machines PP Manufacturing can offer a wider range of surfaces, from rings and cufflinks, to pendants and medals.
A designer can start from scratch and draw out all the shapes themselves
The company is a popular choice for customers from different backgrounds: the big jewellers of Hatton Garden frequently use the company to meet a request of a customer; a person with their own design might walk in off the street, or a jewellery designer at the other end of the country might send over a CAD file for a wax cast to be made.
“There are quite a few people on Hatton Garden that use CAD software, and more and more people are buying into the technology,” says Paul, explaining how the company fits into the surrounding market. “We were the first to have the Revo Mill and it just offers something different from the SolidScape machine. Not many people have both sets of machinery.”
The technology might be new and the product may be small, but as PP Manufacturing proves, the end result has to maintain the same quality and craftsmanship that traditional methods have always offered.
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Ahead in the clouds
09 October 2009
Process type: Simulate
Advanced 3D inspection software from Geomagic coupled with optical scanning technology is helping Italy-based Scuderia Toro Rosso improve the performance and reliability of its Formula 1 racing cars
If ever there was an industry in which time compression is the name of the game, it’s Formula 1 Grand Prix motor racing. Among the teams competing in Formula 1 is Scuderia Toro Rosso (STR), which is owned by the Red Bull Company. And like all other Formula 1 teams, STR is always looking for new and better ways to compress development and production times and to increase the reliability of its racing cars.
One advantage that the team has over the competition though is the use it makes of Geomagic Qualify 3D inspection software at its headquarters in Faenza, Italy. This has reduced the time required to inspect new parts by an average of 30 percent. It has also given STR the ability to inspect parts that previously could not adequately be inspected within the demanding time frames of Formula 1.
F1 team Toro Rosso used Geomagic technology to help driver Sebastian Vettel win last year’s Italian Grand Prix
Pierluca Magaldi, quality manager at STR, believes that in addition to the reduction in the time needed to inspect new parts, Geomagic Qualify has played a part in enabling the team to achieve the best result in its history last year. During the 2008 Grand Prix season the team earned its most points ever, its first pole position and its first win, fittingly at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
Wide-ranging inspection needs
Apart from the engines, which are supplied by Ferrari, around 35% of the components of STR’s F1 cars - including the chassis, rear crash structure, body shell and bonded aerofoil wings - are produced in-house. The remaining 65% - including light metal castings, machined parts and carbon fibre laminates – are produced by external specialists. Final assembly is done completely in-house.
Front brake duct detail on a Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 car: Geomagic Qualify assigns a colour-map to the 3D model, with the different colours representing different degrees of deviation between the physical part and its counterpart 3D CAD model
“Production runs for our components range from one to maybe 30-40 for a complete season,” says Magaldi. “So we are definitely a prototype company, even though the prototypes we produce are used for racing.”
Before implementing Geomagic Qualify, the team used an outside company to inspect parts with complex shapes. Parts with less complex shapes were inspected in-house in the traditional way, using micrometers, vernier calipers and co-ordinate measuring machines (CMMs).
This traditional method required collecting individual measurements at specific points on the part. Those points would then be analysed for any deviation from the nominal as defined on the corresponding 2D part drawings. Inspection was therefore a long and laborious process and only a selection of points on the part could be inspected.
Today, the wide range of inspections carried out at STR starts with a Faro Laser ScanArm scanner and a Laser Line Probe to capture the shape of an object, be it a cast or moulded component, an aerofoil wing, or a casting pattern. The resulting ‘point cloud’ represents the bounding surface of the object to an accuracy of 35 microns. This point cloud is read into Geomagic Qualify to begin the inspection process.
“We still use CMMs for geometric dimensioning & tolerancing (GD&T) checks on machined parts where tolerances are set to a few microns,” explains Magaldi. “But in general, we use the scanner and Geomagic Qualify because the process is much quicker and allows the whole part to be inspected in detail, rather than just a few selected measurements.”
Simple, fast process
The inspection process relies on two inputs to Geomagic Qualify: the 3D scan data of the part to be inspected and the original 3D CAD model of the part from the team’s Unigraphics CAD/CAM system.
The first step is to create a single, unified 3D scan data model of the part by aligning and merging the individual scans taken from different viewpoints. The scans are aligned using automated methods provided by Geomagic Qualify.
Gear box case on a Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 car
When the single 3D scan data model has been produced, datums and features upon which the inspection is going to be based are created on the CAD model. The scan data model is then aligned with the nominal 3D CAD model using both manual and automatic alignment facilities provided by Geomagic Qualify.
The whole process, from reading in the scan data and the CAD model to arriving at the point where the two models are aligned correctly and inspection analysis can start, takes no more than an hour or so to complete.
With the models aligned, the 3D scan data model is automatically analysed against the 3D CAD model to identify and measure any deviations between the physical part and its counterpart 3D CAD model, as well as for GD&T purposes. Geomagic Qualify automatically assigns a colour-map to the 3D model, with the different colours representing different degrees of deviation. Actual deviation values are also shown, along with GD&T call-outs.
Generally speaking, surface form errors at STR are 0.2mm maximum for complex shapes. If appropriate, whisker plots of cross-sections and wall thickness analysis results can also be calculated and displayed by Geomagic Qualify.
Inspection reports are then output as PDFs automatically and sent to the research & development (R&D) department and the design office for any remedial action. If any big non-conformities are discovered, the reports are sent to the original part manufacturer for action.
Benefits all round
At Scuderia Toro Rosso it’s all about maximizing results in the fastest time possible, so the first parts analysed by Magaldi and his team using Geomagic Qualify were those that had an effect on the aerodynamic performance of the car. These included the front and rear wings, as well as their corresponding patterns and moulds.
Today, the software’s use has been extended to just about every kind of part that is manufactured, either in-house or by third-party suppliers. These include cast, machined and carbon fibre laminate parts, as well as the patterns and moulds used to produce them. Because of the small batch numbers involved and the automation and speed provided by Geomagic Qualify, STR is now able to inspect every part produced for its Formula 1 cars.
Front wing support on a Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 car
Magaldi and his team have also gone beyond using Geomagic Qualify just to inspect individual components. It is now used in the assembly process as well to check, for example, the correct insert positioning for structural composite parts.
“There’s no doubt that the use of Geomagic Qualify has brought us a number of very real benefits,” says Magaldi. “For a start, we are now more confident that parts conform correctly to what was designed. We are also able to inspect parts that previously we couldn’t inspect fully, either because we didn’t have the technology or because of time constraints – or a combination of both of these. This gives us a better understanding of what we are going to assemble on a race car which will help towards better performance and reliability.”
www.scuderiatororosso.com
www.geomagic.com / www.faro.com
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On the right track
09 October 2009
Process type: Collaborate
Driverless personal transport is to become a reality at London’s Heathrow Airport. DS’s V5 PLM helped ensure that this futuristic system was designed and manufactured in a single enivironment
Driverless vehicles that effortlessly deliver passengers in futuristic automatically guided luxury pods may be the stuff of science fiction, but they will soon become a reality when they are unveiled to the public at London’s Heathrow Airport later this year. The ULTra Personal Rapid Transportation (PRT) programme is the first project of its kind and heralds a new era in transportation.
With its aluminium chassis, air conditioning, LED screens displaying journey information, and cameras the Heathrow ULTras are well equipped, sleek and appealing. Smart scheduling reduces waste in use by optimising journey routes while onboard systems compensate for wind, obstacles and other obstructions that might be encountered.
400 of these vehicles are to serve all terminals at Heathrow Airport
The driverless vehicles run on a dedicated lightweight guideway, the cost of which is relatively low compared to roadways and light rail, as is their cost of installation. Operational costs are also low since there are no drivers, and the environmental benefits are significant with zero emissions at the point of use and no empty busses needlessly cruising around.
The company responsible for design engineering and production of the vehicles is ARRK R+D, based in Basildon. Jason Roberts, ARRK Director, provides the details. “This project includes development of 21 initial vehicles that will run on a dedicated track much of which is elevated. This was fitted on site at Heathrow at up to 80m per night and will carry passengers to their destination at up to 40km/h.”
The first 21 vehicles are for Terminal 5. However, it is planned to eventually have 400 vehicles running at Heathrow serving all terminals. Despite this level of service, the economics of this type of transport system are very promising and the entire Heathrow project will cost around €30m including vehicles.
From digital prototyping to testing, ARRK relied on a single system for the development of the ULTra. “Our work was carried out using the Dassault Systèmes’ V5 PLM suite,” explains Jason. “This delivered the advantages that we experience in our other work, which includes the benefit of operating on a single software platform for prototyping, tooling, testing and surfacing. Suspension durability testing was carried out using Abaqus and the software helped to provide the vehicles with their highly accurate tracking characteristics.”
“We cut tooling direct from 3D Catia models and can easily accept third party software input from stylists and others in the supply chain, incorporating it to develop 3D data for our purposes,” adds Phil Griffiths, General Manager, Engineering Group.
Future vision
ARRK sees a strong future for ULTra with interest coming from around the world including Middle Eastern cities, leisure resort hotels and other mixed usage environments that would replace bus services or conventional transport with this modern alternative system. When this happens the company is ready to react. “Our technological position means that we are the data holder for the ULTra project and since we have more than 300 seats of V5 PLM within Europe alone, we will be able to deal with any level of demand,” concludes Phil Griffiths.
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Green energy design
09 October 2009
Process type: Design
The need to develop new ways of harnessing green energy has never been greater. From wave power to solar energy, Stephen Holmes looks at how engineers around the world are using the Earth’s renewable resources to full effect
Solar Gain
Harnessing the power of the sun used to be the hobby of choice for Bond villains - now it is proving a clean way of obtaining renewable energy.
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) and solar thermal power towers have been a proven technology for many years, but until now no one has been able to make a cost-effective, utility-scale plant. The team from eSolar has worked hard to change this.
The eSolar Sierra SunTower power plant in Southern California uses small, flat mirrors that track the sun with high precision and reflect its heat to a tower-mounted receiver, which boils water to create steam. The resulting steam powers a traditional turbine and generator to produce electricity.
The eSolar Sierra SunTower power plant in Southern California
Rick Ianello, VP of manufacturing at eSolar, reveals the secret to be smaller is better, “We use hundreds of thousands of small mirror assemblies to focus the sun’s energy onto our receiver. Because of the large number of assemblies we are able to take advantage of the economies-of-scale to drive down the material costs. The assemblies are prefabricated at the factory to increase quality and consistency while minimising assembly time in the field.
“The key that makes all of this work is our tracking software, which can accurately and precisely focus all of the mirror assemblies to maximise the energy to the receiver.”
Because of the demanding environment the equipment must survive in, and because of the precision it must maintain for 30 years, eSolar ran FEA and fatigue tests on almost every part. “We ran countless simulations on concept designs before we cut the first metal,” says Rick. “We did this to minimise the risks, speed time to market and reduce prototype expenses.”
SolidWorks was used for the mechanical design of the parts, with the team testing parts in a variety of software including Ansys Mechanical and CFX for FEA and fluid flow analysis. Complex issues like thermal simulation and the plant operation were completed using Flow Master and Thermal Flex to optimise the electricity generated.
The eSolar plant features hundreds of thousands of mirrors which track the sun with high precision
Rapid prototyping played a key role early on in development as the team built test parts in a Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) machine to validate parts or to help visualise the assembly processes in the factory. The first prototype was put through wind tunnel testing.
“The schedule was extremely challenging making long hours and countless trips to our suppliers necessary,” says Rick. “But the most difficult element was our extremely aggressive cost targets We knew we needed to find ways to reduce the amount of steel we used, the time to install the product in the field and the time to commission a plant in order to make this a truly competitive technology anywhere in the world.”
The finished plant is an incredible design; the pre-fabricated mirror frames fit easily into standard shipping containers for delivery to the site; it can be installed using basic hand tools; the turbine is a standard model, and the tower is a standard 150 foot tall wind tower component. Deployment is fast, efficient, and requires a minimum of surveying, training and heavy machinery, making it a universal means of generating clean energy.
Fuel for thought
Bio fuel is a growing alternative fuel choice. Commonly used to power vehicles and heat homes, it substitutes the use of rapidly depleting fossil fuels with newly ‘grown’ plant-based renewable energy.
Producing bioethanol requires an efficient pre-treatment and fermentation system
Danish firm BioGasol, a spin-out of research being done at the Technical University of Denmark, develops and designs process technologies for the production of second-generation bioethanol, sometimes called cellulosic ethanol. Based on a new technology, it is being developed to derive sugars out of plant-based biowaste, rather than from food crops, and ferment these sugars into ethanol.
To produce bioethanol, BioGasol needed to design an efficient pre-treatment and fermentation system for processing the raw material that would eventually become the final product.
The team, based in Ballerup, designed the various components of the processing plant using Pro/Engineer, giving them the option to be able to scale the plant from a small demonstration model to a full-size production version, fully able to process more than 24,000 pounds of raw material - or biomass - per hour.
This second-generation bioethanol costs less to produce than conventional bioethanol and does not rely on food crops as an energy source, and produces even less greenhouse gas than first-generation bioethanol.
BioGasol began using Pro/Engineer as a design tool for building the C5 [sugars used to create bioethanol] fermentation systems. Engineering manager Rune Skovgaard-Petersen, explains the evolution of the design workflow, “We began by having brainstorming sessions and doing the rough sketches, then we used Pro/Engineer to draft up ideas and see how it works and how it all fits together.”
Buoyant with possibilities
The Wave Treader is mounted on the base of a static offshore structure, such as a wind turbine
With 70 per cent of the earth’s surface covered by water mankind has long taken sustenance from it. Now engineers are developing new ways to harness its power and transform it into electricity.
UK-based Green Ocean Energy is developing two devices that will harness the waters of the north Atlantic: the Ocean Treader and Wave Treader.
Both are designed to bob on the surface of the ocean while waves cause attached floating arms to move up and down, powering on-board generators, which then send electricity back to shore via underwater cables.
The Ocean Treader is much like a buoy with a pair of arms, and is meant to be moored one to two miles offshore in open water. The Wave Treader shares a similar design but is mounted on the base of a static offshore structure, such as a wind turbine or tidal turbine.
Autodesk Inventor was used to design the mechanical parts for both variations, giving the designers the necessary model to begin the arduous testing needed to give the Treaders their expected 25-year life. This is a tough target to achieve considering that the machines must withstand the rough waters and gale-force winds of the Atlantic Ocean.
Each machine is designed to produce 500 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power 125 homes, with the idea for ‘farms’ of the Treaders being placed in the water - 30 such devices would generate 15 megawatts of power.
The arms on Green Ocean Energy’s Treaders bob up and down with the waves to produce electricity
“Because prototypes cost over $3 million dollars each and take months to construct, numerous rounds of hardware test-and-redesign cycles are impractical,” says George Smith, MD of Green Ocean Energy.
Instead, the company utilises the hydrodynamic and structural analysis tools from Ansys in the design process to help reach the balance between structural strength and optimal weight.
“The virtual prototyping capabilities of the Ansys tools have been a critical element in getting the products to produce maximum energy output as well as to operate effectively for decades,” adds George.
The digital prototypes have allowed the firm to begin extensive indoor wave-pool testing, before raising funds to develop a full-size prototype to start offshore testing in 2011.
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Flexible friends
11 September 2009
Process type: Prototype
With a wide range of services including stereolithography, product finishing, vacuum casting and silicone tooling, Paragon Rapid Technologies (RT) recently extended its rapidprototyping repertoire to offer parts produced in silicone. By Stephen Holmes
Diversity is something Paragon RT thrives on, as the Darlington-based rapid prototyping bureau continues to seek out new ways and means to meet the needs of its customers.
As the economy falters, the company is looking to stand out from the crowd by increasing the range of services it offers, adding new materials and by working very closely with customers to identify new solutions to their problems.
The Nissan Qazana took centre stage at the recent Geneva Motor show and this would not have been possible without the help of Paragon RT, who manufactured almost all of the exterior “plastic” parts
“We add value with our technical support and our innovation,” says Darren Webb, business development manager. “Our innovation is one of our strengths. We already offer a lot of solutions but with research and development we are continually expanding our processes and materials.
Front grille: The full width grille is an interpretation of current Nissan styling, but this grille is a one piece clear epoxy casting, produced from a CNC master and silicone tooling. The ribs on the back are fully visible through the clear polished front face, creating an optical illusion of depth and form. Front lights: Fully CNC machined cans and lenses, painted and polished with vacuum metalised reflectors. The light source is a combination of superbrite LEDs around a luxion star for the main beam and a flexible LED array for the ‘halo’ side lights
“We’re not the type of company to just say ‘that’s the limitations of the process, that’s what you’re going to get’, we always strive to exceed the perceived limitations. Many of our customers come to us with specific requirements, whether it’s chemical resistance or a specific technical issue with a project. We’ll go away and do some research, trial new materials and prepare samples.”
This dedication and ability to seek out new processes has seen customers coming back with further work and more intricate ideas.
“We have worked closely with some of our most innovative customers and in many cases they’ve jointly funded R&D projects with us. There’s an obvious benefit for them to have a working prototype but there’s also a benefit for us if we can identify and add new services,” says Darren. “Many of our new processes, finishing techniques and materials are a result of these successful R&D projects and now our customers have the confidence that nine times out of ten we can rise to the challenge.”
“We’ve proven that this approach helps build relationships and that’s why our customers come back to us time and time again. We work very closely together, more like a partnership, rather than just another link in a supply chain.”
Silicone science
Paragon specialises in stereolithography, product finishing, vacuum casting and silicone tooling. Most recently though it has been developing processes for the production of silicone prototypes, a service for which it has created its own dedicated department to mix specialist blends and to improve processing by avoiding contamination.
Wheels: The individual spokes of the “alloy wheels” were produced as PU vacuum castings from SL masters and silicone tools, painted a metallic graphite colour and assembled to an aluminium hub and steel rim, giving the illusion of a robust, cast alloy
“We’ve adapted the vacuum casting process, applied what we’ve learnt from tooling and moulding, and now we’re producing parts in silicone,” continues Darren. “Initially they were quite simple parts such as keypads and seals, but now we produce some really complex mouldings such as full face respirators, and twin shot silicones and foams. There are very few other companies that would consider these projects.”
This has also opened up new opportunities in the health sector and a recent project with Touch Bionics drew on Paragon’s expertise in materials technology to develop a silicone-based transparent skin for a prosthetic hand.
Road tested
Paragon’s most high-profile customers come from the automotive sector and scattered around the workshops are all manner of parts, most of which are for high quality, low run projects. These are commissioned for life-size concept cars, such as the latest Nissan Qazana displayed at the Geneva motor show.
“It’s always exciting working on concept vehicles, but as always Nissan and CGi push the boundaries of innovation and we in turn have had to expand our processes and techniques, investing in research and design to come up with a solution,” explains Darren.
Rear lights: These innovative lamp units were machined from ABS, vacuum metalised and lacquered. The lenses were machined from acrylic with the internal lens tinted red with lacquer and the external lens smoked. The illumination is via optical fibres with a single central light source. The fibres feed up through a loom with 127 individual strands per side, emitting through custom made tubular holders to position the light just below the surface of the lens
In addition to concept projects, Paragon’s parts also find their way into production and the company has carried out work for luxury cars, which are produced in low numbers.
Building for the future
The business has recently focussed resources on increasing the size of the projects it can handle. An extension chamber for the vacuum casting machines has allowed it to manufacture components up to 1.7m in a single form. Elsewhere an extension to the building allows for vehicles to be driven inside and worked on directly, while also creating a space for confidential projects, which is essential when the company has competitors using its services concurrently.
Finding business between all the various market fluctuations seems to have allowed Paragon to sweep through the credit crunch relatively unscathed. By working to its strengths and expanding its range of services, the risk of diversity is paying off.
The car
The Qazana is the latest concept vehicle from Japanese car giant Nissan.
A baby brother of Nissan’s Qashqai, already in production, the Qazana is a study into how a small car of the future could look, taking cues from SUV and sports car styling. However, unlike most motorshow concepts nearly 75 per cent of this car should make it onto Britain’s roads next year.
The car took centre stage at the recent Geneva Motor show and this would not have been possible without the help of Paragon RT, who manufactured almost all of the exterior “plastic” parts.
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Urban legends
11 September 2009
Process type: Prototype
The weird and wacky world of urban vinyl toys is a global sub-culture with a huge following. Stephen Holmes talked to prominent London-based artist Cris Rose about how rapid prototyping has transformed his creative business
The urban art scene has seen a commercial boost into the mainstream of late; a niche collectors market for figures is now a million dollar industry the world over.
Around the world artists are making models with a twist. Robots stalk, Manga animals threaten, and aliens pose - all in great detail, standing a few inches tall. These creations are hugely desirable to collectors who pay big bucks to get hold of the latest limited edition or custom pieces by their favourite designers.
The rough surface finish of stereoligthography helps give this rusty ‘Rotund’ plenty of character
The models are an extension of what is better known as the ‘urban vinyl’ or ‘designer toy’ scene, the biggest names being Dunnys (by Kidrobot) and Qees (by Toy2r). The industry’s high turnover rate means that artists rush to get their latest creation out to the masses, something that commonly proves a costly and time consuming process.
Production values
Large batch production in vinyl is not always practical, and to preserve exclusivity for an artist, limited edition runs might be preferred. These are made out of resin and the moulds for this process are much cheaper to produce because they are gravity fed and don’t require machinery. For short batches though they are still not particularly cost-effective as each original needs to be made by hand using modelling foams, polymer clays, found objects and car bodyfiller.
Mass customisation
With a view to driving down the cost of short batch production runs, Cris looked at rapid prototyping and found detailed originals could be produced for £100 or less. “These are the kind of originals that you would have had to have gone to a professional model maker for and spent over £750 on - up to £3,000 on a larger, very complicated design that has a lot of revisions.
“Using RP means you can get a very high quality original to cast from, but as we don’t need to sell a lot of pieces to break even, we can take more risks and produce lower numbers. Lower numbers means more exclusive and often more desirable,” adds Cris.
Starting with initial sketches, Cris then develops them inside SolidWorks to create a 3D model. This is sent to a rapid prototyping bureau and the returned figure is hand finished, before the silicone mould is created. The resin is then poured in and once set, it is cleaned, assembled and painted.
Rapid prototyping has done more for Cris than just reduce costs. He can now make much more detailed models than were previously possible with resin.
“With these designs I’ve purposely made them as thin as I could to see what I could get away with,” says Cris showing off a model’s robotic arms done in stereolithography. “You can print these tiny, little details with this type of rapid prototyping, but you can’t really cast it in resin particularly well because you get air bubbles trapped and you end up with an arm in two pieces.”
Rapid Prototyping has helped Cris Rose create a collection of Urban Vinyl individuals
In cases where manufacturing issues dictate the form of the model, Cris needs to make adjustments to the design and this is where CAD is incredibly useful. “One reason why I use SolidWorks rather than other programs is because I can almost go all the way back to the first bit of size and shape detail I put into it and just change the sizes.”
“There is no [other] way I’d be able to create something so detailed, so dimensionally perfect and have it put into production in such a ridiculously short timescale.”
Cris has always been computer literate, using CAD of his own accord back in his school days when systems were in short supply in education. Now it means he can work quicker, cheaper and give his models individual personality.
“In a lot of ways it allows me to produce new iterations, new versions and more diversity in the characters I was doing without having to do a whole new sculpture, new moulds and everything else.
“If you design it like a real product, such that they’d actually have separate joints and pieces, then you’re able to make a few different types of arms that fit the same body. They’re ever so slightly different, but it’s enough to change the whole character and expression. Whereas when working with resin where the whole character is just a single piece, arms moulded into the body, if the artist wanted to do anything further with it then it would have to be a completely new sculpture.”
The rapid prototyped figure has a rougher surface than most modellers would appreciate but for Cris this is beneficial. “I’m trying to do something which in the end looks like this when it’s painted up,” he says pointing to a finished Rotund, one of his most popular designs, “Old and rusted with lots of character – a super-smooth finish would have been counter productive.”
His influences are nature and technology: “I like the old with the new, the futuristic designed in the 1950s. [A time when] they thought we’d have little guys like this running around the house.
“A lot of modern design tends to be take away all the buttons, take away all the character - smooth it off and make it flat and perfect. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge Apple fan, I love the simplicity, but it seems to me that if you were going to have a robotic companion you’d want it to have personality.”
The collectables are usually produced in runs of around five pieces, although a cast from an RP model can last for up to 40 resin copies.
The future
The next step for Cris is to get his designs out to the masses. “I’m currently doing some designs for vinyl production, but the initial costs are over 50 times higher and the project has required a manufacturing partner in Japan,” he says. Whichever path he chooses, mass production or bespoke creations, Cris dreams of having his own rapid prototyping machine. This will give him instant control over modelling changes, and a whole new army of individuals to unleash on the urban vinyl art world.
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Forward thinking
11 September 2009
Process type: Design
Wheelchairs aren’t usually considered to be ‘cool’, but the Trekinetic K2 All Terrain isn’t your average wheelchair. Stylish looks, coupled with an innovative front drive three-wheel design means it’s just as at home off-road as it is on the high street. By Frances Corbet
Since the first lightweight, collapsible wheelchair was invented in 1933 by the American mechanical engineer, Harry Jennings, its basic form has remained pretty much unchanged, until now.
With the use of new production tools, materials and manufacturing methods, British engineer Mike Spindle, has gone about quashing our perception of conventional manual wheelchair design with the Trekinetic K2 All Terrain.
No ordinary wheelchair: The Trekinetic K2 All Terrain combines good looks with excellent handling
This stylish front wheel drive wheelchair sports two chunky wheels at the front and a smaller single wheel at the back, a carbon fibre monocoque seat, a dynamic braking system, ‘varicam’ quick camber change, a telescopic footrest, a quick-fold rear assembly, a nitrogen shock absorber and onboard wet weather protection in the form of an automatic umbrella. It is no ordinary wheelchair.
Back in 2000 Spindle realised that his Hertfordshire-based engineering company - DT-Clayton Toolmakers - that had been making components for the F1 industry and previously tooling for the motor industry, needed to diversify into new areas in order to survive. Being quite a cash rich company and having invested quite heavily in new technology over the years, including a large 3-axis Haas CNC machine, Spindle was looking to design his own, relatively high value product. He stumbled upon just the thing whilst waiting in Luton airport’s departure lounge.
Having noticed a “cool lad” in a wheelchair he was struck at how out of place he looked in his traditionally designed, purple wheelchair. “I had no emotional involvement with anyone in a wheelchair and seeing this kid I honestly thought, is that really the best that wheelchair manufacturers can do?” says Spindle. Feeling inspired that he could create something better, he started sketching out his ideas on the back of his boarding pass during the flight.
A new beginning
With a ‘clean sheet’ approach, Spindle’s mission was to build a new wheelchair from the ground up. “I deliberately didn’t look at any wheelchair designs because I thought that I may be influenced. I was going to try and come up with something as if a wheelchair hadn’t existed,” he explains.
Study of wheelchair operator position in relation to front drive wheels
His initial concept and break from traditional wheelchair design was to move the smaller wheels, or castors, from the front to the back. He felt that, perhaps naively, with the castors at the front the wheelchair is more susceptible to tip backwards. He also thought that it would feel more natural for the user to have their hands next to their knees and not behind their hips. The original concept also included ratchet type levers attached to the wheels. “Instead of pushing the wheels I thought that the levers would be more efficient but, as it transpired, I was completely wrong about that,” admits Spindle.
From this kernel of an idea it took another six years and 14 separate prototypes before the K2 was ready for market. “The first prototype was made cheaply and simply out of plywood and didn’t look anything like what we have now,” says Spindle. “It was a front wheel drive wheelchair with two levers and two castors at the back.”
With that prototype he realised that the lever propulsion system was not the best solution. “When we developed it we found out that it simply wasn’t a practical method as it’s much quicker to move the wheels with your hands. A lever is too cumbersome, too expensive and it’s also difficult to put into reverse,” he explains. With subsequent prototypes Spindle discovered that a three-wheel design would offer a better solution as it meant that all the wheels would remain in contact with the ground, even on an uneven surface.
Sitting pretty
With a ‘clean sheet’ approach, Trekinetic’s mission was to build a new wheelchair from the ground up.
The real breakthrough came with the fourth or fifth prototype when Spindle decided to build the wheelchair around a moulded seat to which all the components would be attached.
“One of the remarkable things that I thought about when I saw the wheelchair at the airport was that it was still on a metal frame chassis with a seat plonked on top,” he says. He sourced an aluminium racing-car seat and weeks of painstaking measuring later, he had the CAD data that could become the basis for a comfortable and mouldable monocoque wheelchair seat.
He used AutoCAD combined with NC Graphics Toolmaker to produce the first on-screen prototype. This was then machined, full size from a huge block of solid reinforced resin. The machining took three weeks and needed great care, as many sections were a fragile 4mm thick. Once this was successfully trial assembled, manufacture of the production moulds could begin. However, although he had originally envisaged the seat being made out of aluminium, this material proved to be very costly and as a result, he chose another very strong and more lightweight material - carbon fibre.
Down to the nuts and bolts
Using AutoCAD in conjunction with NC Graphics’ Machining Strategist, Spindle created a variety of tool paths for the more complex geometries of the wheelchair design. However, another rather unconventional ‘design tool’ he made use of during the process was his son’s Meccano set. Meccano is a model construction kit comprising re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces enabling the user to build working models of, for instance, planes and trains.
“Some of the linkages on the wheelchair were quite complex and even with a pen and paper or CAD I wasn’t actually sure whether they would work the way that I thought they would. So, I used the Meccano set to prove that they would,” reveals Spindle. “Sometimes you stumble upon what would appear to be a truly new solution. An example would be the self-locking trapezium that forms the basis for our ‘varicam’ mechanism. I was almost sure it would work and the theory looked flawless however, there was no prior art and I just couldn’t believe the solution was so simple and so elegant. The Meccano model proved what is now the subject of a worldwide patent.”
Although the development proved to be a long and difficult road for Spindle it was one he was determined to stay on despite having to keep creating new prototypes and then going back to the drawing board again when they weren’t quite right.
“I never quite wished that we hadn’t started but it was very difficult because when you are breaking new ground there is nobody to ask how it should be done - you have to come up with the solutions yourself. We spent £1,000s making a particular device that didn’t work and that happened many, many times,” says Spindle. But having committed the company’s resources to the project he wanted to at least get to a point where he could prove that either it could or couldn’t work.
“What I didn’t want to do is spend all this time, money and many years of my life to prove that this thing was viable and then just give up. I wasn’t prepared to give up before somebody proved that it was useless. So, I felt compelled to find a solution to the problem,” he reveals. “Also, throughout the whole journey I always believed the solutions were already there, I just had to uncover them.”
Off the beaten track
In 2003, having overcome many complex engineering challenges, he had created a solution, in fact prototype number nine, that he was happy with. He took it to Aspire Leisure Services in Stanmore, Middlesex, a fully integrated training centre for disabled and non-disabled people, where he informally showed it to a focus group of doctors, nurses and wheelchair users. This exercise showed up one of the great strengths of the design - its off-road ability.
“We didn’t know at the time but because we had put the wheels at the front, the chair was quite good on gravel, snow and uneven surfaces. We had no idea that the average wheelchair was completely hopeless off-road as the little front castors get jammed,” says Spindle. “So, we realised that we had really hit on something here.”
Trekinetic has its own large 3-axis Haas CNC machine in-house
One wheelchair user in particular, Robin Gibbons, a former Royal Navy diver and ex-pilot, really helped in giving a critical assessment of the product and continued to provide valuable feedback over the remaining three years of the chair’s development.
It was Gibbons who pointed out that the three-wheel prototypes had poor directional stability and were unsteady at speed. As a result, Spindle developed a mechanism that automatically locks the rear castor into the straight-ahead position when travelling in a straight line and releases it when the wheelchair is turned. He also realised that in order to make the chair more stable the wheels would need to be tilted inwards because the wider they are at the point where they contact the ground the more stable the chair would be. But having the chair permanently wide would then mean that it wouldn’t be able to get through doorways.
The solution was an innovative ‘varicam’ system - by simply turning a rotating cross-shaft under the seat the user could easily change the angles of the wheels. So, at zero camber the chair is 710mm wide and then when adjusted to negative camber of 24 degrees it becomes 870mm wide. An adjustable nitrogen gas filled, shock absorber was also integrated into the design allowing the seat angle to be adjusted. In the end, Spindle filed for half a dozen separate international patents.
Nearing the end of the road
After the fourteenth prototype he was finally happy with his creation and had it tested to British and European standards by an independent body, the MHRA. In April 2006, the tooling was ordered, just in time for the Mobility Road show exhibition in June 2006. The response at the show was largely positive and subsequent press from the BBC, CNN and national newspapers including The Independent caused heavy traffic on the website as well as many emails and phone calls to Spindle. However, the interest did not only come from wheelchair users or companies interested in the commercial possibilities - many were from architects, engineers and designers who appreciated the design aesthetic and detailed engineering.
The Trekinetic K2 went on to win the 2007 Frost & Sullivan European Product Innovation award in the field of rehabilitation wheelchairs, an award that recognised Trekinetic’s pioneering work in developing an innovatively stylish and ergonomically designed alternative to present wheelchairs, and was nominated for a series of other awards.
Mass production
The K2 All Terrain wheelchair is now in its third year of production and just in the past few months production has been moved to a bigger, purpose-built facility, which is just over 4,000 square feet.
“It is a brand new unit that we have designed specifically for Trekinetic production,” says Spindle. “We machine about 50 per cent in-house and subcontract the seat moulding and some of the components. In fact, we are probably keeping a lot of small firms going at the moment. For instance, the wheels are specialised and they are made in the UK but we have had to now order 100 at a time to keep it all viable for a small company.” This production set-up can handle 20 chairs a week.
Assembly area for the all terrain wheelchair
The wheelchairs are distributed through a network of carefully selected dealers that currently consists of 11 in the UK, Belgium, Greece, Israel the Netherlands and Australia. “We have a good relationship with our dealers and more and more are opening up as time goes by,” says Spindle. As for marketing the product, Trekinetic relies predominantly on word of mouth with many of the users doing their own ‘advertising’ by using their wheelchairs off-road such as in the country or on the beach, drawing admiring glances from both disabled and able-bodied people.
“Because the chair is so unusual our users get stopped in the street and asked where they bought it from. Only this week I got a call from somebody in Dubai who actually saw someone using the wheelchair in Dubai and wanted to know how they could order one,” says Spindle.
However, not one to rest on his laurels and bask in the current success of the K2, Spindle claims that he has a number of “groundbreaking” ideas up his sleeve that he wants to introduce to the mobility sector in the next three years. One of them he reveals is an electronically powered version of the wheelchair, but the second he guarantees will take everyone by surprise. “It will be based on this chair but I don’t think anybody expects what we are going to do next,” he says. So, without it sounding like too much of a cliché, watch this space!
20 ways F1 racing is changing our world
F1 racing isn’t just about fast cars and tight boiler suits. The Trekinetic K2 All Terrain is currently featured at an exhibition at London’s Science Museum, which showcases 20 examples of where F1 technology is impacting on our lives. The F1-inspired wheelchair will be showcased alongside examples of new ways to look after patients, design sports equipment, and maintain heating systems in homes.
The exhibition runs until the 5th April 2010 and is FREE. Result!
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
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Animal house
11 September 2009
Process type: Design
With this month’s product design showcase focusing squarely on the latest and greatest pet homes and accessories, one can only presume that author Stephen Holmes has the happiest collection of hamsters, cats and chickens in the whole of Britain
Rodents in residence
The traditional abode of a hamster was always a wire cage with a wheel, however now they’ve broken out into something much more interesting – tubing.
As zoos have been redesigned to create more natural environments, on a lesser scale we are doing the same in a domestic setting for our pets, with the hamster, an adventurous rodent benefitting more than most.
Happy as Harry the hamster: The modular and colourful world of Habitrail should give your hamster endless enjoyment. Now where’s the owner-sized model?
The modular environments for different activities found in Habitrail’s world not only replicate the pet’s natural environment, but provide interactivity with the pet owners through the use of transparent plastics and modern design.
The latest Ovo range is a bright world of activity, creating unique combinations of environments and tunnels for the pet (and owner) to discover.
“My primary objective is to design products that will make the experience of owning a pet a wonderful one!” says Robin Plante, research and development manager at Rolf C Hagen, Habitrail’s manufacturers.
Beginning with handmade prototypes to review the well-being of the animal as well as the ability for the customer to interact, the team then virtually recreates the product in 3D with Pro/Engineer. Here, all the mechanical details are added as well as the moulding parameters for production.
“To validate if our 3D files would work well before making any expensive production moulds, we did several generations of prototypes made directly from our 3D files in stereolithography, and retested the animal well-being, the customer interface, durability of the mechanical details and product assembly, as well as the knock down ability for the packaging size,” says Robin.
The hardest part is designing an end product that fits all the criteria. “Obtaining the perfect balance between the cool factor of the product, manufacturing in mass, durability, affordable for the consumer, easy to use and clean, without making any compromise to the well being of the pet,” concludes Robin.
Puurfect design
The ModBox is a stylish alternative to the traditional cat litter tray
You’d be hard pushed to find a receptacle for animal faeces that has had as much thought put into it as the ModKat. This feline friendly litter box features a ‘rooftop’ entry that catches gravel as the cat walks out of the box, an ergonomic shovel with a brush to sweep up accidents, and a reusable litter bag to save money and the environment.
“We thoughtfully considered every detail, from non-skid feet that keep ModKat put, to the locking rooftop that keeps nosey pets and curious kids at bay,” says Brett Teper, who along with ModProducts partner Rich Williams, designed the product.
Initial sketches
Truly functional, yes, but form also played a critical role in the design process. “We set out to design a litter box that was aesthetically worthy of occupying prime space in a small apartment, why should one be embarrassed to have their litter box out in the open?” says Brett.
Beginning with sketches Brett and Rich then developed full-scale foam core mock-ups. From there they worked with Cheetah 3D (an Apple Mac-based 3D tool for modelling, rendering and animation) and Adobe Illustrator to develop profile drawings, hole patterns on the top and to flesh out the hinge mechanism that causes residual litter to fall back into the box.
These were passed on to the manufacturer who developed more detailed models in SolidWorks to incorporate the necessary tapering required for the injection moulding process. Several full sized models were made to test for stress, and assess colour and textures.
For further testing real cats were also let loose on the ModKat and multiple breeds, of various ages and ‘unique personalities’, all felt immediately at home. If you treat your cat to this cool looking litter tray, the chances are they might actually like you for once.
Which came first…?
The humble chicken coop has had a renaissance as an environmental wonder, a bastion of the organic – a door step protein producer, which is why it needed a make-over.
The eglu cube is not your ordinary chicken coop. It’s rotationally moulded from MDPE for easy cleaning, available in seven colours and can house up to ten chickens
“What could be better than collecting eggs from your own hens?” says Simon Nicholls, part of the team behind the eglu, including James Tuthill, Johannes Paul, and William Windham, all graduates from the Royal College of Art, London who together set up Omlet in 2003.
The first step was to get rid of the image of chicken wire and salvaged wooden panels. “Existing chicken houses were all made of wood, a material not particularly suited for animal housing because of the difficulty of cleaning, and they looked drab.” To encourage more people to keep chickens the team decided that the product had to perform better and look much more pleasing.
Since its launch in 2004 the eglu has become the world’s best selling chicken house. The team have adapted the design for rabbits and guinea pigs and in 2006 unveiled the eglu cube, which plays host to up to ten chickens.
“The slide out droppings tray makes the eglu quick and easy to clean and the smooth plastic design allows the surfaces to be disinfected and washed with a hose.” Meanwhile the run is made from strong steel weld mesh and has a unique anti-tunnel skirt to prevent predators from digging in.
After the basic concept and mock-ups a handful of fibreglass prototypes were sent out to potential users to get valuable feedback. “They told us exactly what was missing and what needed to be improved,” says Simon.
Omlet’s beehaus is designed to take beekeeping into the 21st century
The eglu is rotationally moulded from MDPE and is available in seven colours, creating large, hollow mouldings with insulating properties to keep the chickens warm in winter and cool in summer.
“CAD modelling is used most heavily during the later stages of a project for production tooling and engineering drawings. Our design engineers are fully trained in Unigraphics NX5 and SolidWorks 2009,” explains Simon.
This month also sees the launch of Omlet’s beehaus, designed with leading apiarists to take beekeeping into the 21st century. With its contemporary and easy to use design it is aimed at first time and urban beekeepers.
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Master blaster
31 July 2009
Process type: Design
DEVELOP3D’s very own toy soldier, Stephen Holmes, puts on his war paint to look at the advanced design technology used in the development of some of the world’s most lethal weapons, oh and an Electronic Control Device (ECD) which shocks assailants into submission
Shocking stuff
Designing a product for military, law enforcement and consumer use is a hard task, but when that technology can incapacitate a human, the process is much more than point and shoot.
The X26 Electronic Control Device (ECD) from Taser International uses a cartridge of compressed nitrogen to deploy two probes that attach to the body of an assailant and transmit electrical pulses along its wires
The X26 Electronic Control Device (ECD) from Taser International uses a cartridge of compressed nitrogen to deploy two probes that attach to the body of an assailant and transmit electrical pulses along its wires. The pulses, which can penetrate up to one inch of clothing, affect the sensory and motor functions of the peripheral nervous system.
Variations of the X26 are being wielded on the front lines in Afghanistan, in police forces in town centres, and even legally in the hands of ordinary civilians across 43 states in the US.
All this makes its appearance, durability and the thought behind its mechanics an extremely interesting weapon.
“The unique aspect of the Taser X26 design was to maintain firearms mode of operation and features that officers are trained on [safety and trigger positions, sighting system] while designing an electronic control device product not to resemble any firearms in the market,” points out Steve Tuttle, VP of Communications for Taser International.
Most people will not have seen an X26 close-up but the dimensions are palm-sized, 60 per-cent smaller than the previous version, but still packed full of the complex electrical componentry. As Tuttle explains: “Generating and containing the necessary electrical energy and pulses required to achieve Neuro Muscular Incapacitation in a human safely and effectively,” was the hardest task to achieve.
The team works within AutoCAD and SolidWorks to transform original sketches and ergonomic foam models into 3D CAD data, with drop test simulation done inside Ansys and CosmosWorks. Parts are rapid prototyped in order to verify the design of specific components, such as the mechanism for the cartridge, before providing a pre-tooling release.
The diversity of its application, and its ability to resolve conflict with the greater reduction of death make this a truly modern weapon.
Hunting season
Bowhunting brings to mind images of Rambo stalking through the forest on the set of a Hollywood blockbuster, although the reality is much different.
Bowtech uses non-linear solvers to simulate the behaviour of its high-deflection bows
The sport of hunting with a bow is incredibly popular in the US, where modern technology continues to advance the pastime. In contrast to a rifle hunter, who can shoot targets over 200 yards away, archers are restricted to taking shots from 20-30 yards, a distance that depends upon individual ability, the target, the bow setup, and the weather.
Bowtech’s latest bow, the Admiral, is a lightweight, durable weapon, reliant on cutting edge materials, dynamics, and ergonomics in order to operate at extremely high speeds in near silence.
Sketching was transferred into SolidWorks to layout the assembly of the model, incorporating modern technologies vital for a smooth draw-back motion, and the reduction of vibration and noise.
“Somewhat unique to our industry,” says Craig Yehle, head designer at Bowtech. “Is the bow’s limb, which is responsible for storing the strain energy used to propel an arrow at speeds well in excess of 300 feet per second.” Built from high-grade fibreglass they are analysed using DDS Simulation Premium with nonlinear solvers.
Non-linear solutions are required because of the high deflection values of the bow. “The trick here is to bend the limb in the software and optimise the stress distribution throughout the component,” explains Craig. “This, in turn, maximizes the strain energy that can be stored in the component without exceeding the material’s limits.”
Rotary club
Having ushered in a new way of fighting during the Vietnam War, the helicopter now plays a key role in wartime and peacekeeping operations, and the Agusta Westland Lynx is one of the most modern incarnations.
Its crew operates within one of the most advanced environments devised by engineers, and flying at over 200mph into direct conflict situations, search and rescue missions, and even anti-submarine warfare scenarios, it is vital to have essential controls at their fingertips.
Digital manikins form an essential part of the cockpit design process at Westland Lynx
To help with the correct ergonomic positioning of the various equipment, switches and dials in the cockpit and crew areas, the design team makes great use of digital human manikins. Russell Bond, human factors engineer at Agusta Westland, points out that this is key to adapting to a more sophisticated working space as technology advances. “Using Delmia V5 Human we optimised the design taking into account the most frequently used apparatus in relation to minimising operator’s negative or extreme posture.”
This was done across a full range of body types and sizes, with vision assessment also key to the process. “The software allowed us to measure the relative efficiencies of various design layouts and to accurately assess body types that would prove unsuitable for the design,” says Russell.
“Using digital human manikins in conjunction with digital 3D Catia helicopter models it is possible to analyse the man-machine interface and assess human performance within the design. Questions of visibility, task performance, physical accessibility, maintainability and other factors are investigated.”
The end result has all the ergonomic benefits that allow a crew to operate with ease in the most pressured situations. “They can be sure, through analytical feedback, that their designs are on track and optimised allowing pilot and crew to function to their best capability,” concludes Russell.
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South of the river
31 July 2009
Process types: Design, Manage, Prototype and Visualise
As the financial crisis hits all areas of the industry, Stephen Holmes heads to one of the Capital’s most CAD proficient universities to see how it’s affecting study and students
On the southern bank of the River Thames, away from the water’s edge, London South Bank University’s final year students are completing their studies and pondering their futures.
The university has long been a champion of CAD systems, and as its senior lecturer in CAE applications and director of digital prototyping Tony Roberts explains, they have been designing in digital for over 20 years, beginning with MasterCAM V.3.
Although the university and its courses are well stocked with software and prototyping machinery, like many other universities around the country, they don’t have as great a spending power as many imagine.
Three-wheeled, concept vehicle designed by Simeon Gentle
With student numbers across the country hitting highs as some people return to education following enforced redundancies, it is interesting to see how a university adjusts, if at all.
A new set of tools and clamping systems for a recently installed Mazak five-axis machining centre is next on the list of additions for the department, yet this proposal like many others is subject to rigorous discussion at senior level to ensure that any funds allocated will add value particularly during such economically sensitive times.
None of the restraints of procuring machinery seem to be impacting on the availability of software for students. The computer aided design course encourages them to cover a wide range of programs, developing and specialising in particular aspects of design for their final year thesis.
The vehicle was part of Simeon’s final year project
“We try to give them a broad understanding of the various technologies used in industry,” says Tony. “In the first year we look at AutoCAD as a 2D system but then very quickly introduce them to the limitations of that approach. We introduce Solid Edge as a 3D modelling system, but only as a part modeller.
“The assembly side of modelling is explored during the second year where we actually start building much more complex systems. NX is used in the final year where students have the opportunity to learn much more about collaborative design and the associated tools available in such ‘high-end’ systems.”
Autodesk’s AutoStudio has been adopted as the main tool for surface modelling, giving the students greater understanding of the differences between that and solid modelling and for working in a particular way when dealing with designs requiring a more flexible approach to surface form.
Outside of the normal lecture periods nothing is set in stone in terms of what students are allowed to use for individual projects, and as the students reel off the various analysis applications they have used they’re keen to point out the hours spent in the workshops as well. “They are encouraged to do physical testing and try to understand why those results can often be different to the answers from analysis software,” adds Tony.
I’ve been taught how to use a variety of different CAD software. I’ve used them to develop concepts into practical models, analyse them and use the data to manufacture using rapid prototyping’’ Simeon Gentle, final year student
The final year projects show the achievements gained by working in different applications. This year’s students are all buzzing over the effects that hyperShot has had on their work compared to other visualisation tools they’ve used.
Tony admits that even though the University has invested in Autodesk’s 3ds Max, ImageStudio and Showcase, and Rhino’s Flamingo products, he is impressed by the students’ tenacity in seeking out other options to gain the optimum results, something that also helps keep the course working with the latest technology available.
The best example of hyperShot being used is in the renderings of final year student Simeon Gentle who, for his final project, has produced a small, three-wheeled, concept vehicle ‘able to meet everyday needs.’ He aims to compare the processes of traditional clay modelling with that of digital prototyping and analyse both for efficiency and constraints.
“I’ve been taught how to use a variety of different CAD software. With these programs I was able to develop concepts into practical models, analyse them to determine feasibility and then using this data manufacture using rapid prototyping or CNC machining.
The students produced renders in HyperShot
“When I graduate my goal is to pursue a job as a design engineer in the automotive industry,” says Simeon. “I’m confident that I have gained the creativity and engineering knowledge to adapt,” he adds before concluding that in a world where graduate jobs are few and far between, he’d gladly return to South Bank for postgraduate study, a choice it seems many will also view as the safer option.
This summer is going to be one full of tough decisions for many graduates. The financial and employment problems won’t be going away for a while yet. Education and training can set you apart from others but not guarantee you a job. However, the versatility of the students at London South Bank University is another weapon in their arsenal. Not tied to a particular software and the ability to work outside the normal methods, they should at least stand a fighting chance in what was already a challenging job sector.
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Cabin fever
12 June 2009
Process types: Design, Manufacture and Prototype
At In-CAD Services, small is mighty. Stephen Holmes visited the diminutive product development consultancy to find it elevated through its grasp of technology
Some of the greatest creations built in Britain have emerged from the humble garden shed, yet in recent years the ‘home office’ has gained kudos amongst a wide range of professionals.
There’s not an oily rag, packet of seed, or lawnmower present in the ‘home office’ of In-CAD Services’ founder Adrian Curtis, but there is a great deal of pride, knowledge and engineering skill that comes out of it.
As the sole entity in In-CAD’s workforce, Adrian is to be found working in his cabin at the bottom of his garden behind a three-monitor workdesk, with two workstations humming quietly away, an A2 printer and large format plotter resting at the back, now hemmed in neatly by an Objet 250 3D printer.
Single person firms tend to be specialist operations with the skills to provide a small, but important role. However, the company still manages undertake a huge breadth of projects, which it often follows through every stage of the product development process from concept to manufacture, and all of this is down to the experience and know-how of Adrian.
“I try to engineer as opposed to design,” he says in his affable West Country tones. “I’ll take on any project that’s mechanical, from special purpose machining to vacuum moulding.
“I sell my services to anyone who wants to design any type of component whether it be in metal, plastic, or mechanical,” adds Adrian of his company that is now over ten years old, and is advancing further with the introduction of its rapid prototyping service.
This large pool and spa for a palatial London terraced house, is over engineered and designed with a design requirement being that the water can be heated within a minute
With a background in the tooling shop he takes customer designs into the realms of engineering to get the best from production, function and, importantly, cost. “Knowing how to use the machines in the machine shop - the CNCs, the lathes – when you’re a tool maker, or a mould maker, you have to be able to use every machine to make the mould.
“It gave me the ability to adapt pretty much any type of special machinery to how the part was going to be made.”
Away from the traditional tooling, InCAD, as the title may suggest, is clinically up to date in all aspects of computer aided design and engineering, boasting the latest range of Autodesk software fresh from their 2010 wrappers.
I’ve looked into expanding and taking on graduates, but find that they don’t have the experience to handle all the tasks that In-CAD covers
A long-term Autodesk customer (Adrian was one of the first people in the country to use its software) he has been working with Inventor 2010 since the beta release and has found the new mould design tools particularly useful.
“I do Moldflow analysis when I design the product and incorporate all the areas, so that when it’s finished it will be tooled easily,” he says. “If there are any areas that are a bit iffy, because it is within Inventor it is so quick to run the analysis.”
The majority of Adrian’s work revolves around a strange balance between luxury and essential. His current project, the construction of a large pool, spa and its surroundings two storeys below street level in a palatial London terraced house, is dripping in excess wealth and is wildly beyond the norm. “The spa is massively over engineered and designed, the client wants the water to heat within a minute hence the extra pipes to change all the water,” explains Adrian.
Adrian at home in his design office (shed)
Even the marble flooring comes under scrutiny in the CAD model as Adrian has to compensate for waterproof layers between the base concrete and plush Italian marble surfaces, drainage from the spa’s ‘infinity pool’ ledge, and how to fit in all the pipes.
More essential piping is displayed when Adrian shares details of a previous project, a wastewater filtration system for the armed forces. Built into an ISO shipping container it was originally built for military use in Kosovo, and further redesigned for engagements in Iraq. A similar unit is now in use by the oil drilling-exploration industry in Oman (“Waste water goes in, drinking water comes out the other end”) where it is vital for human survival.
Adding 3D printing to his technology portfolio has been a significant move for Adrian, enabling him to make components to communicate more effectively to those involved both in design and manufacture. “I find this very useful for clients because there are still a lot of people out there who you can show an image on the screen in 3D that they can’t grasp,” he says.
Bringing the technology in-house has also saved him money. “The year before this I spent £8,000 on rapid prototyping [models]. That was the indicator to spend that money on the Objet 250.”
A small printer it may be, but even with continual investment in new technologies In-CAD Services should lose none of its garden shed charm as Adrian wants to maintain the personal and proficient service. “It’s more efficient for the way I work. I’ve looked into expanding and taking on graduates, but find that they don’t have the experience to handle all the tasks that In-CAD covers. As a result where I work is the most efficient for what I do. I love working where I do, and spend too much time there!”
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Marin bikes
12 June 2009
Process types: Design and Prototype
Hitting the trail, getting muddy and picking flies out of your teeth are what mountain bikes are all about. Frances Corbet takes a look at how Marin Bikes, one of the industry’s pioneers, is driving innovation with Autodesk Inventor
Known locally as Mount Tam, Marin County’s Mount Tamalpais, nestled between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, is a region of outstanding natural beauty. With over 160km of old fire roads and trails that criss-cross their way around the peak, it is also ideally suited to mountain biking and is considered to be the birthplace of the adrenalin-fuelled sport. During the 1970s early pioneers of the sport, including Gary Fisher and Charlie Kelly, were the first to freewheel down its trails testing out their inventions. Today, only a short ride away from the trails that lead to the summit, is Marin Bikes.
Marin Bikes was founded almost 25 years ago by Robert Buckley who stumbled upon a passion for mountain biking when his doctor suggested he take up cycling following a knee injury. Although the company has grown over the years, and gained a worldwide following for its quality custom-built frames, it still sticks to the convention of naming all of its mountain bikes after mountains, points of interest, towns and beaches in the county such as Sausalito, San Rafael, Kentfield, and Indian Fire Trail. “It’s quite funny that as soon as you cross the Golden Gate Bridge you begin to see the name of our bikes on all the road signs you drive past,” says Jason Faircloth, Marin’s product manager and bike designer.
All of Marin’s mountain bikes are named after mountains, points of interest, towns and beaches in Marin county
Faircloth, who is also passionate about mountain biking and has been riding bikes his entire life, came to Marin over five years ago from a bicycle component company. “Working at Marin turns a hobby into an income producing job,” he smiles. In fact, just about all of Marin’s employees are passionate about bikes. “When we have a spare minute of free time we don’t go out and play golf, we go out riding,” says Faircloth. “We are all riders and in our own ways are all pretty good.”
When a new bike arrives at the office from the manufacturer, everything stops. “We are crawling over each other to be the first to test it out,” says Faircloth. Indeed, when a brand new prototype was recently unveiled internally, as soon as the champagne was popped it was immediately wheeled out into the parking lot to be tested out by the employees. But this is not just to satisfy their passion for the sport. “We will try things out ourselves to make sure that they meet the design criteria,” adds Faircloth.
Driving development
With over 80 bikes in its range there is a huge cross section of designs and, with many new products introduced each year, innovation is essential in order to remain competitive. In recent times technology has become an even more critical tool in driving the company forward and three years ago Marin integrated 3D into its design and development processes.
“Although we had used AutoCAD for years to achieve superior design performance, we saw Inventor as the natural progression to stay ahead of the technology curve and keep making improvements to our bikes,” says Faircloth.
Jason Faircloth, product manager and bike designer, Marin
“Inventor allows us to produce cutting edge products by enabling us to get a lot more done in a lot less time. We design the basic platform of all of our bikes in Inventor and it allows us to really visualise what the bike will look like,” he adds.
Faircloth admits that Inventor has completely changed the way he and his team design and develop bicycle frames as they are now solely designed in 3D. “We use Autodesk Inventor to design all the key elements of the bike - from the tube shapes to the frame technologies - in 3D,” he explains. By building a complete bike virtually on the computer they are able to check for interferences and overlaps. They can spin the 3D model around to test how it will react to stress on certain parts of the frame. “Inventor has allowed us to do things that simply weren’t possible before, whether it is complicated 3D shapes or complicated suspension designs where we have components interacting with each other, we have to make sure that clearances are maintained and tolerances are kept in check,” says Faircloth. As a result, a great deal of the engineering and strength testing can actually be done inside the computer now, which ultimately cuts down on the need to build physical prototypes.
The beauty of Autodesk Inventor is that it gives you expanded capabilities while still accommodating 2D
Form follows function
Engineering requirements are not the only side of the story because although many bikes are bought on how they perform, the importance of aesthetic appeal cannot be discounted. Marin bikes have a particular shape and style and although Inventor has allowed the company to completely update its range over the past three years, the signature style is still recognisable.
“One of the key aspects of 3D is that it lets us put a real premium on aesthetics,” comments Faircloth, who felt that for years, a lot of bikes on the market had a real industrial look with straight edges and square corners. However, it was important to him to start creating designs that took more of a cue from nature. “What 3D has allowed us to do is create shapes that are much more natural, flowing and organic,” he says. “These non-industrial shapes are incorporated into the frames, and the cross sections change in 3D as you move from one end of the tube to the other. That would be much more difficult to accomplish with just 2D.”
Downhill race prototype on show at the recent Sea Otter Classic, the biggest consumer tradeshow for cyclists in America
Although the design of the bike is carried out exclusively in Inventor, Marin still uses AutoCAD and both 2D and 3D work seamlessly together. “The beauty of Autodesk Inventor is that it gives you expanded capabilities while still accommodating 2D. Often, we’ll generate a 3D model of one of our frames, and then create a 2D drawing off of it to call out certain dimensions. This 2D drawing can be edited in AutoCAD, and then the changes reflected in Autodesk Inventor,” explains Faircloth.
Design inspiration
Inspiration for a new frame design can come from a number of sources. However, more often than not it is through feedback from the distributors, and of course the riding experiences of Marin’s own employees, that helps guide the design process. Customer feedback is also important and although most of this comes through the distributors, on occasion Marin’s team interacts directly with customers themselves - for instance, at the recent Sea Otter Classic, which was held from 16 to 19 April 2009 in Monterey, California, and is heralded as the biggest consumer tradeshow for cyclists in North America with over 50,000 visitors.
Once feedback has been gathered from distributors and users, initial ideas for a new design often start as a sketch on paper but very quickly move into a 2D drawing in AutoCAD or directly into a 3D model in Inventor.
Downhill racer
Using a downhill race prototype (which was shown at this year’s Sea Otter event) as an example, Faircloth explains the design process of a bike that would not have been possible without the use of Inventor. The bike features a Quad Link 2.0 suspension system, which has been engineered to handle the terrain better and transmit fewer vibrations to the rider, and because it is much more complex than traditional rigid frames, it was entirely designed inside Inventor. “This prototype is the third physical prototype version in three years and the seventh iteration in Inventor,” says Faircloth. “The reason why we decided to show it at the event even though it is still a prototype is because the next version will only be slightly different - it is mechanically sound and ready for production. It may just need some aesthetic changes made.”
This downhill bike started its life as a simple hand sketch drawing by Faircloth. With the suspension pivot position provided by ATB Sales, a UK developer of suspension technology, as essentially six X and Y co-ordinates, simple hand drawings were created before moving into 3D where pivots, tubes and linkages were all added to the frame and tested. “When you have this frame in Inventor you can start looking at collisions,” says Faircloth. “So, in about one week we can test the first prototype in Inventor.” The refinement of this initial prototype took quite a while because, as Faircloth explains, there are a number of things that have to be considered, not least of all ensuring that the new design stays true to the Marin brand. So, an internal group will then assess and scrutinise certain specific aspects of the design.
This downhill race prototype would not have been possible without Inventor due to the complexity of its suspension
Once the design parameters were defined and the detail worked out, the frame then underwent a series of computer simulation tests. Loads and stresses were applied, allowing Faircloth to tune the strength and performance characteristics. With this particular bike design they had to spend more time because of the Quad Link 2.0 suspension system. This system was originally designed for a 160mm design envelope but the travel on a downhill bike is 250mm so there is more wheel movement and as a result, Faircloth had to go through a number of revisions to get where he wanted to be. Once happy with the prototype, Inventor will then be used to make tooling, whether it’s for CNC machines or hydroforming. Concurrent to this, the refinement of the design also takes place.
The prototyping advantage
Although far fewer physical prototypes are made since the company started using Inventor, some still have to be produced. The frames have to meet strict international standards for strength, durability and safety, and every design has to be comprehensively tested, both in the laboratory and in the real world. However, where previously Marin would have produced up to six physical prototypes per bike, with the use of Inventor it now only requires one or two. Additionally, as Faircloth points out, as so much of what a bike is revolves around how it feels to ride, physical prototypes still have to be made.
“There isn’t any way to avoid doing prototypes because you won’t know how people interact with it if you only simulate it virtually,” explains Faircloth. “Until you build one up you don’t know how it feels.” Although they test the bikes internally themselves and have no qualms in hurling themselves off a side of a mountain to test out the design in the pilot run, Marin does use professional riders. The geometries are tested in this run and feedback from the professionals allows the team to tweak the design if necessary before it goes to production. For instance, only in January an award winning slopestyle rider - Andrew Taylor - was hired to test some of the bikes in the range as well as race them. This year he will be riding the Marin Wolf Ridge, Quake XLT and Alcatraz bikes in some of the biggest mountain bike events worldwide.
Once the pilot run has been confirmed then, as Faircloth puts it, they have the green light to go to production. The design is communicated effectively and without ambiguity to Marin’s suppliers and overseas manufacturing partners. They provide the manufacturers with all the dimensions in a 2D CAD file together with the 3D models so they leave nothing to interpretation or chance. By giving 3D models directly to their suppliers, they get fewer mistakes and more consistent results the first time round. “What you see on the screen is what you get,” he says. “Output is structurally and physically the same - there is no guesswork or filling in the blanks.” As Faircloth explains, the use of Inventor stops at this point in the development process. “We do not manufacture locally so we don’t make that translation from model to part here,” he says. “But the information that we are able to output from Inventor is 100 per cent reliable.”
Using Inventor has also decreased time to market. For instance, Marin has been able to cut the development timeline from roughly 18 months to just nine. But as Faircloth explains, the benefits of Inventor can be seen in two ways - it either cuts development time or allows them to do much more intricate design work and pay attention to a finer level of detail in order to bring new innovations to market. This year Marin has launched five significantly redesigned frames and 14 to 15 models of bike.
“Inventor has allowed us to make huge strides in product development. We have made changes and updates to our existing bikes while also creating wholly original, new models,” says Faircloth. “This would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve without Inventor.”
www.marinbikes.com
RIVER DEEP, MOUNTAIN HIGH
Although Robert Buckley originally set up the company as Marin Mountain Bikes the ‘Mountain’ has since been removed to show that it now offers a comprehensive line of nearly 80 bikes for all skill levels and preferences in the mountain biking, road cycling, city and juvenile categories. Over the years the company has stacked up a number of technological advancements to its name including: Lightweight Hardtail Mountain Bikes, Performance Orientated Flat Bar Road Bikes meld, City and Urban Bikes. These bikes are distributed worldwide to over 45 countries.
