Design & Thinking

Design & Thinking

I think that design and thinking is like your fingerprint. It can be different for everyone but that does not make it wrong. You have to find your own way in the world and sometimes that means falling so you can learn what type of person you are by how you pick yourself up. “Prototyping, testing and failing all the time!  But doing it quickly and cheaply in order to succeed!” As human beings we are never going to be perfect! So how is it reasonable to assume that you will never fail? Watching this video reminds me of what Thomas Edison said about his incandescent light bulb design. “I have not failed. I’ve found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” For each design or idea that does not work, has the potential of sprouting one that will. If you did not take the time to explore options that fail, you may never find the one that succeeds. I think this video is a great one to keep on file and whenever I feel like I am losing my constitution to find the right answer I pull it up and watch it. The idea that failing should not be looked at as a failure, but just a bump in the road on the way to the destination is a great life lesson for anyone whether they are a designer, a doctor or astronaut.

Sketches of Frank Gehry

Sketches of Frank Gehry

Designing a number of buildings that are now world famous tourist attractions, Frank Gehry has made his mark in the world of architecture. One of the aspects about Gehry that caught my attention is his passion and enthusiasm for architectural design. Gehry’s work spans almost 60 years and yet every time you see him looking at a project it is as if he was discovering fire for the first time. His drive to always be different and not restrict himself to any constricted way of thinking is truly inspiring. “There is a certain threatening to taking a leap. But once you try that you can’t stop.”

Gehry personifies the idea that a failed idea is not always a loss. “That is so stupid looking, it’s great!” By working back and forth between modeling and planning Gehry delivers a respected design. I can only hope that after decades of designing, or anything in my life for that matter, I carry the same enthusiasm, passion and drive to continue to be the best I can possibly be!

Chapter 3: Design and Designing

Design and Designing

                Designs can vary greatly across time, regions and culture. A popular design today in America may not be popular in Europe or even in America years down the road. An early way of writing required a pen that was dipped in a type of ink reservoir and would only write as long as ink trapped in the pen tip lasted. A necessity of modern pens is extreme duration and functionality in the conditions of operation. A $2 pen design has the ability to write as well and long as a $2000 pen. The difference in most cases is the status of expense that the pen brings to the consumer. Despite the value, inspiration and design can and should be considered from many different perspectives. Inspiration ideas can stem from the materials, case studies, nature, sketching or prototyping. The more that is taken into consideration the better the design will be.

Chapter 2: What Influences Product Design?

What Influences Product Design?

                Many different things need to be considered to make a good design. Some of these considerations are the market, technology, sustainability and environmental effects, economy, aesthetics, identity and materials. A good designer will take into consideration topics like the fore mentioned aspects and combine them into a well-rounded design. If the mechanism works flawlessly but does not identify with the company values, is complicated to produce efficiently, overly expensive or reaches beyond the reasonable capabilities of technology or materials the design will ultimately fail. Modern design styles are not an accident. They serve a specific function or aesthetic purpose to represent the product, company and or function.

Chapter 1: Function & Personality

Function & Personality

Function: An activity or purpose natural to or intended for a person or thing.

Personality: The combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual's distinctive character.

                The function of a product is the most important aspect. Regardless of the aesthetics of a machine such as a water wheel or gun, if the function does not work the way it is intended the creation is useless.  A good designer seeks to maximize their design by blending the technical with the visual. As better technologies are invented, more visual aspects can be applied to the design.  To create an effective mixture of technical and visual an exploration of what the material requires methods and design the best combination of the two worlds can be achieved in a single harmony.

Manufacturing Process For Design: Metals

Manufacturing Process For Design: Metals

Ferrous Metal: The word is derived from the Latin word ferrum ("iron"). Ferrous metals include steel and pig iron (with a carbon content of a few percent) and alloys of iron with other metals (such as stainless steel).

Non-Ferrous Metal: Non-ferrous metals do not contain Iron, are not magnetic and are usually more resistant to corrosion than ferrous metals. Some examples of Non-Ferrous Metals we deal with are: aluminum, aluminum alloys and copper.

Alloys: Unlike pure metals, most alloys do not have a single melting point, but a melting range in which the material is a mixture of solid and liquid phases.

Iron: A strong, hard magnetic silvery-gray metal, the chemical element of atomic number 26, much used as a material for construction and manufacturing, especially in the form of steel.

Steel: A hard, strong, gray or bluish-gray alloy of iron with carbon and usually other elements, used extensively as a structural and fabricating material.

Aluminum Alloys: Are alloys in which aluminum (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin and zinc.

Magnesium Alloys: Are mixtures of magnesium with other metals (called an alloy), often aluminum, zinc, manganese, silicon, copper, rare earths and zirconium. Magnesium is the lightest structural metal. Magnesium alloys have a hexagonal lattice structure, which affects the fundamental properties of these alloys.

Titanium Alloys: Are metals that contain a mixture of titanium and other chemical elements. Such alloys have very high tensile strength and toughness (even at extreme temperatures). They are light in weight, have extraordinary corrosion resistance and the ability to withstand extreme temperatures.

Zinc Alloys: A bluish-white, lustrous metallic element that is brittle at room temperature but malleable with heating. It is used to form a wide variety of alloys including brass, bronze, various solders, and nickel silver, in galvanizing iron and other metals, for electric fuses, anodes, meter cases and batteries, and in roofing, gutters, and various household objects.

Copper Alloys: Metal having a specified copper content of less than 99.3% but more than 40% and having no other element in excess of the copper content (except in the case of certain copper-nickel-zinc alloys, in which zinc slightly exceeds the copper content).

Nickel Alloys: An alloy of nickel and copper and other metals (such as iron and/or manganese and/or aluminum) Nichrome. Nickel and chromium alloys have a high electrical resistance and an ability to withstand high temperatures; used for resistance heating elements.

Precious Metals: A classification of metals that are considered to be rare and/or have a high economic value. The higher relative values of these metals are driven by various factors including their rarity, uses in industrial processes and use as an investment commodity.

60 Minutes: Electronic Wasteland

60 Minutes: The Electronic Wasteland

                “E-Waste” has become a large issue!  130,000 computers and 100,000,000 cell phones are thrown away in the US every year.  Recyclers that say they are recycling the products they receive “properly”. In reality there are thousands of containers being shipped to the Far East to either be stripped down for high value parts such as the precious metals in cell phones. The remainders of CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) screens and other electronic devices are just thrown into massive piles in fields. It is truly appalling that impoverished people are being exploited for this work because they need the money to survive even though they were destroying the same environment they live in.

·         If the plastics that make up products such as monitors, computers or cell phones were made from biodegradable plastics, such as Polyanhydrides, the excess materials that cannot be recycled would be broken down in landfills and not harm the environment.

·         To recycle items such as lead from CRT screens, there should be a certified and monitored facility that filters the harmful chemicals and particles out of the air as they are recycled.

·         Put a responsibility on the manufacture to recycle their product at the end of the life cycle. If there is a refundable fee to the consumer when the product no longer works, the item can be recycled and disposed of properly.

El Dorado

 

Who:

 The designing + making concept behind El Dorado inc began in 1995, when architect Jamie Darnell began taking welding classes. By late 1995, it was time for the company to move out of the Kansas City Kansas Vocational Technical High School and decided to set up their own shop. El Dorado Public Architecture is an organization with a simple goal: to address public interest through architecture and solve problems of human interaction within the built environment.

 

Products & Services:

El Dorado is an architecture firm that provides interior or exterior architecture services for anyone from commercial businesses to private residences. In 2005 it launched its 1% program, a now nationally recognized portfolio of pro-bono work by architects and firms ready to donate 1% of their year’s billable hours to provide work for nonprofit organizations requesting a variety of services that strengthen their architectural identity and community impact.  There are 1100 firms registered with the 1% program.

 

Markets:

·         Commercial

·         Residential

·         Civic / Institutional

·         Public Art

·         Industrial

Due to a meeting with Tom over my final project, I was unable to be at El Dorado for the tour of the shop area.

Target: Watches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo7OGGVGnW8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92F3nwv7HDk

Berry Plastics

Berry Plastics

 

Who:

Originally Berry Plastics was established in 1967 under the name Imperial Plastics. In 1972, the injection molding company entered the container market and in 1983, Imperial Plastics was purchased by Jack Berry, Sr., and renamed Berry Plastics. From 1988 through 2014, Berry Plastics Group, Inc. has completed nearly 40 acquisitions and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2012 under the ticker symbol BERY. Worldwide, Berry Plastics has 75 companies (most of which are in the US)

Today Berry Plastics has…

·         300 Million pounds of closures produced annually

·         2,885 primary manufacturing machines

·         13,000+ customers

·         3.7 billion Thermoformed cups produced in 2013

·         751 active granted patents

·         30,000+ skus

·         16,500+ employees

·         2.5 billion pounds of resin purchased annually

Products & Services:

·         Packaging

o   Flexible: Stretch Film, Food Film & Packaging and Supermarket Film

o   Hybrid: “NuSeal” Recloseable flexible containers, “Rigid Lens II” Flexible container with a recloseable rigid lid.

o   Rigid: Recloseable food containers, Drink Cups, Bottles, Closures (Lids/Caps), Home & Party Products, Overcaps, Medicinal Vials, Jars, Tubes

·         Protection Solutions:

o   FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers)

o   Medical

o   Supermarket Film

o   Personal Care Film

o   Institutional Can Liners

o   Agricultural Film

o   Sheeting

o   Trash Bags

o   Seal for Life (cathodic protection, self-healing corrosion prevention and sealing, tape-based protection, heat shrinkable technology, and liquid sealing)

·         Tapes & Adhesives

o   Tape: Duct, Foil, Masking, Plumbing, Electrical, Double-Sided, Wire Harness, Cargo Pit, Woven, Non-Woven, Flashing, Film, Foam, Transfer, Preservation & Sealing, Surface Protection, Moisture Barrier, Clean Room, Color Coding & Labeling

Materials:

·         Polyolefin

·         Polypropylene

·         Polyethylene (Berry Plastics is the largest single consumer in the world)

Markets:

·         Personal Care

·         Household

·         Food

·         Beverages

·         Foodservice

·         Health Care

·         Industrial

·         Transportation

Forming:

·         Thermoforming: manufacturing process where a plastic sheet is heated to a pliable forming temperature, formed to a specific shape in a mold, and trimmed to create a usable product.

1.       Virgin material mixed with reground material

2.       (45% virgin to 55% reground material)

·         Melted into sheets

·         Thermoformed into uncut sheets of the desired product

·         Leftover or scrap material goes through 2 grinders to be used again

·         Injection Molding: is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting material into a mold.

1.       Plastic enters the mold at 500 degrees

2.       Closed loop 60 degrees water cooled molds to harden the plastic into the desired shape

·         5-12 sec/cup

·         4 sec/lid

3.       Once molded polyethylene requires 7 weeks to fully cure

4.       Polyethylene can be remolded 10-14 times before it cannot be used

Cutting:

Once the product is molded into the desired shape, the sheet passes into a press at the end of the line and stamped out of the sheet then collected for packaging.

Finishing:

Onsite ink lab with a PMS color system

·         Up to 8 colors

·         Dries almost instantly when exposed to high heat

·         Quality checked for consistency by customer’s needs

·         Excess ink is recycled by adding color dyes for later jobs

Cell Phone Material

Plastic

The casing of the cell phone is made of plastic. Plastic is a man-made material derived from petroleum. Manufacturers distill crude oil known as “heavy petrol” and treat it with heat to create the hardened plastic. Polycarbonate and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene are the plastics that make up the majority of the casing, keypad and adapters. Brominated flame retardants coat the plastic shell.

 

Liquid Crystal

Liquid crystal displays, known as LCDs, are flat-panel displays that consume very little power. Most cell phones use this type of screen as their main display units. Thin layers of glass with liquid crystals sandwiched between them compose LCD screens, which illuminate via electric charge. The liquid crystalline substances in LCD screens contain small amounts of the toxic element mercury.

Batteries and Power Sources

A Li-Ion battery is used to power this phone and contains elements such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, cadmium, zinc and copper. The included wall-socket charger contains copper wires or small amounts of gold and cadmium in the plastic casings.

Other Materials

Fiberglass or epoxy resin composes the base for the phone’s circuit boards. Copper elements often accent the circuit boards, acting as transistors. According to the Earthworks environmental advocacy organization, cell phones commonly contain substances including lead, mercury, beryllium, arsenic, beryllium, brominated flame retardants, lead, nickel, palladium, silver, tantalum, cadmium and antimony. Though harmless during day-to-day use, some of these materials become toxic when incinerated. This fact, coupled with the massive worldwide use of cell phones, is a good reason for users to recycle their phones after use rather than disposing of them.

Metal Mineral Location

. Arsenic (gallium arsenide in the amplifier and receiver). Mined in China, Chile, Morocco, Peru, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belgium and Mexico.
. Copper (circuitry). Mined in Chile, United States, Peru, China, Australia, Russia, Indonesia, Canada, Zambia, Poland, Kazakhstan and Mexico.
. Gallium (gallium arsenide). Mined in China, Germany, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
. Gold (circuitry). Mined in China, United States, Australia, South Africa, Peru, Russia, Canada, Uzbekistan, Ghana, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico and Chile.
. Magnesium compounds (phone case). Mined in China, Turkey, North Korea, Russia, Slovakia, Austria, Spain, Australia, Brazil, Greece, India and the United States.
. Palladium (circuitry). Mined in Russia, South Africa, Canada, United States and Zimbabwe.
. Platinum (circuitry). Mined in South Africa, Russia, Canada, Zimbabwe, United States and Colombia.
. Silver (circuitry). Mined in Peru, Mexico, China, Australia, Chile, Russia, United States, Poland, Bolivia and Canada.
. Tungsten (circuitry). Mined in China, Russia, Canada, Austria, Bolivia and Portugal.

Huhtamaki

Who:

The North American division is home to 16 production units in the United States and Mexico with more than 3,200 employees. Corporate offices are located in De Soto, KS. Worldwide the company employees 12,800 people with a net sale of 2 billion Euros last year operating out of 31 countries and 58 manufacturing units.

 The growth of Huhtamaki in America is largely due to the acquisition of established companies like Sealright and the Keyes Fibre Company in the late 1990s. The Chinet brand traces its roots back to 1903 and inventor Martin Keyes, whose molded fiber technology laid the foundation for the Keyes Fibre Company in Waterville, ME where the product is still made today.

Products & Services:

This segment serves local markets with Chinet disposable tableware, packaging for consumer goods and foodservice packaging.

Tableware: Huhtamaki offers a full line of single-use tableware, including plates, platters and bowls in a wide variety of popular sizes and designs.  Products are available in molded fiber, paper and plastic with options to meet every budget and every need, ranging from simple back-of-house preparation to premium front-of-house presentation.

Hinged Containers: Chinet hinged containers are an alternative to foam, offering a combination of strength and sustainability.  They easily handle heavy food and are compostable once the meal has been served.  The design protects food during transit, while the locking mechanism ensures food stays secure.  Made in the USA and available in a variety of sizes, Chinet hinged containers are great for the eco-conscious customer.

Drink Carriers & Trays: Huhtamaki offers a wide variety of trays and carriers.  Made from materials ranging from molded fiber to handled paper, all Huhtamaki carriers and trays transport food and beverages securely, minimizing the potential for spills, tips or leaks. 

Food Trays: Huhtamaki offers an extensive line of food trays, cartons and boxes in a wide range of popular shapes, sizes and functions.  All products are made from renewable resources and are available as shown, featuring a popular stock print, or custom-printed to enhance brand recognition.  In addition, Huhtamaki trays, cartons and boxes can be customized to include windowing, embossing, double sided printing and custom sizes, ensuring you have everything needed to meet customer demand.

Food Containers & Lids: Huhtamaki offers a complete line of food containers and lids in a wide range of sizes and designs, all proudly made in the USA. The construction and tight-fitting lids ensure foods stay at their optimal temperature (whether hot or cold) and customers stay protected from burns, chills, leaks and spills. Available in sizes ranging from six to 64-ounces and a variety of stock and custom prints, there is a container ideal for any portion, product and brand.

Cups & Lids: Huhtamaki offers a full line of cups and lids for a wide variety of beverages to meet every budget and need. Products are available in paper or plastic and are ideal for serving everything from hot coffee to cold iced tea. The line even includes kids' cups that are small for spill-prone hands.

Cutlery: Huhtamaki's complete line of Bioware CPLA cutlery offers premium strength paired with sustainability. The durable, 100% compostable cutlery withstands temperatures up to 190° F, suitable for hot soups, cold ice creams and everything in between.

Materials:

·         Paperboard

o   Bleached White SBS

o   Unbleached (SUS) or “kraft”

o   Newsback and recycled grades

·         Commodity Plastic Resins

·         Molded Fiber (wood Celulous) Primarily made from repurposed company waste.

·         (PP) Polypropylene

·         (LDPE) Low Density Polyethyline

·         (HDPE) High Density Polyehtyline

·         (PS) Polystyrene

·         (PET) Polyster

·         (CPET) Crystalline PET

·         (PLA) PolyLactic Acid

·         (UHMW) Ultra high molecular density polyethylene

·         Polyacetal (Delrin)

·         Acrylics

·         Polycarbonate (lexan)

·         Nylon

·         Aluminum alloy (6061-t6)

·         Carbon Steel

·         Stainless Steel

Markets:

Food service companies such as Ben & Jerry’s, McDonald’s, Sysco, Walmart, Kroger, Arby’s, Wendy’s, KFC and Starbucks.

Forming:

For the products that are formed in-house, specific guides within the production line fold the cartons into shape. The flat stock that comprise the cups are fitted around dies just before they are glued.

Cutting:

·         CNC

·         An assortment of lathes

·         Die cutting

Joining:

Most of the product is shipped out unglued to maximize shipping efficiency. Many of the other products, like paper cups, the gluing process is done inside the same production machines.

Finishing:

·         The facility is climate controlled to maintain a specific humidity percentage in the paper.

·         The product must sit for 2 days after printing to fully dry.

·         After the product is boxed and stacked, the pallet is set on an automatic shrink wrapper for secure shipping.

Ikea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0hKYpLz1ZM

Hallmark Cards

Who:

With headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., privately-held Hallmark Cards, Inc. creates products sold in more than 40,000 retail stores across the U.S. and in 100 countries worldwide. Hallmark was founded more than a century ago by a teenage entrepreneur with a couple of shoeboxes of postcards under his arm and the American dream in his heart. Today’s Hallmark is a $4 billion business with greeting cards and other products sold in more than 40,000 retail stores across the U.S. (including top mass retailers and the network of Hallmark Gold Crown stores.)

Products & Services:

·         Personalized cards for any occasion

·         Gifts

o   Personalized Books

o   Stuffed animals

o   Décor

o   Books

o   Stuffed Animals

o   Memory Keeping

o   Jewelry

o   Kitchen & Entertaining

o   Movies

o   Games & Toys

o   Keepsake Ornaments

o   Apparel

o   Event Invitations

·         Event Announcements

Markets:

·         Grocery Stores

·         Department Stores

·         Hallmark approved retailers

Materials:

·         Plastisol (glue)

o   Remains wet until cured at ~200 degrees

·         Flock

o   Cellulose (made from trees)

o   0.0002” long

·         Flitter (looks similar to glitter)

·         Virko: Thermographic powder

o   Powdered nylon

o   When baked it looks like it was printed plastic

·         Iridescence

·         Foil

o   0.0005” thick

o   Made for Hallmark by API in Lawrence, Ks

Paper: 99 bright

o   Main source- Georgia

o   From a renewable forest

o   Secondary source- Shri Lanka

o   Purchases 1,000,000 lbs/order

o   Scrap is chipped, bailed and recycled

                                                               Forming:

·         Emboss: To stamp a design on (a surface) so that it stands out in relief.

o   Dies are made out of either magnesium or brass (magnesium is used for product runs of 25,000 or less to save money but will not hold their form as long as brass)

·         Production for items such as toys, stuffed animals or apparel is outsourced to other companies.

Cutting:

Die cut: The process of using a die to shear webs of low-strength materials, such as rubber, fiber, foil, cloth, paper, corrugated fiberboard, paperboard, plastics, pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes, foam and sheet metal.

Guillotine: A large horizontally mounted blade is actuated vertically down through paper stock up to ~6” thick. The blade is so sharp if you were to cut yourself on the blade you would not feel it.

Laser Die cut: The exact process is a closely guarded Hallmark secret, but the process uses a laser to precisely and consistently cut out an intricate design into each stock one at a time.

 

 

 

Joining:

To join additional items to the paper stock, Plastisol glue is used.

Finishing:

Silk screen: a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil to receive a desired image. Ink is then pressed through the mesh to expose only the chosen area on  

the paper stock.

To make the flock stand on end, it is electrostatically charged with 35,000 volts causing the flock to stand on in as it sets into the glue. The end result is a material that feels similar to felt.