Mega Factories

Mega Factories

IKEA has about 300 stores in 36 countries. It also includes 42 distribution centers and around 100 suppliers. These "mega factories" were create to keep up with the incredibly high demand of consumers across the world. Their chipboard products are the most produced and consumed good in IKEA. They have factories dedicated to producing a single type of product such as dressers. The amount of material they use in each of these facilities is hard to grasp and the production machines are equally as crazy. After visiting IKEA in Kansas City, I was able to see that a majority of their products are made out of chipboard that came from these facilities.

Waste= Food

Waste= Food

In the movie Waste= Food, companies like Rohner Textile, Nike and Herman Miller give us hope in a world where environmental waste is second to consumer goods.  We have already gotten a glimpse into Asia's horrible waste problem in The Electronic Wasteland but the facts presented in this film adds more to the shameful, wasteful material society we live in. Luckily, these companies have taken charge of environmental issues and hope to expand awareness to minimize waste in the future.

Rohner Textiles re-formulated there dyes after they realized the harm they were causing. Their dyes are non completely non-toxic and actually clean the water. They also decided to give their textile waste to farmers by forming it into felt that can be used for crops. These solutions benefit the the environment as well as the company and their image.

Nike aims to eliminate all of their waste by 2020. This is huge for a company of this size. Their new philosophy is that they design to dis-assemble. This allows them to reuse a majority of materials from old shoes that are recycled. They have also developed a new line of shoes that is completely reusable. Although it lacks aesthetic qualities at the moment, it is a major step in protecting our environment.

Herman Miller also decided to take part in the environmental push. Like Nike, they decided to focus on easy dis-assembly and replacement parts. They also changed their product facility to be environmentally friendly. They use natural light and air flow to reduce their production costs and keep their facility green.

This was an inspiring documentary and it was nice to see that some people are doing to the right thing for the environment. They showed us that there are great solutions that can be implemented into even the largest manufacturers in the world.

Chapter 3: Design and Designing

Chapter 3: Design and Designing

Chapter 3 gave us insight on the design process organization. It talked about ideation, iteration, and design details. This process is what we have been using for all of our projects in industrial design and seems pretty straight forward. The chapter also went into detail about the importance of inspiration in design and having resources we can use to benefit our own design products. I really want to start taking advantage of my resources here at the University of Kansas. I have heard many times that the Spencer Museum library has awesome design and architectural resources free for us to use but I have only been there once this year. I have also heard this advice from many speakers at hallmark symposium including the last industrial designer Vivian Beer who messes with many different materials and processes. 

El Dorado

El Dorado Inc. Field Trip

This was an extremely brief field trip and we received very little information about their technologies. Though the lecture about being on time was completely unnecessary, he did give some good advice about what we should be doing as current design students. 

Who they are: Hybrid architecture in KC, MO. Their design + build philosophy means that el dorado acts as both the architect and the general contractor.

Products: Commercial, residential, civic, institutional, public art and industrial studios

Markets: Offices, art projects, architectural commissions, charity work

Materials: Concrete, composite ( building insulations), wood, electrical systems, plaster, cement, ceramic, tile, metals, plastics.

Forming Technology: Testing prototypes downstairs

Cutting Technology: Hot wire cutter for cutting foam, circle saw, band saw

Joining Technology: Rivets, nails, bolts

Finishing Technology: Sanding

Hallmark

Hallmark Field Trip

The Hallmark manufacturing plant was also located in Lawrence. This place was massive as I had expected. I have driven by the facility many times and have always wondered what their process was like and if we would ever visit them. Luckily we got to for our final field trip this semester.

Who they are: Greeting card manufacturing facility

Products: Greeting cards and envelopes

Markets: Retail

Materials: Paper, Ink, wood, rubber, flitter, clay-coated boxes

Forming Technology: Machine Folding, laser cut card press, melting, screen printing

Cutting Technology: Die cutting and laser cutting

Joining Technology: adhesive, stamps

Finishing Technology: Foil, puff print, flitter, glow in the dark, digital printing, tinting, silkscreen

Berry Plastics

Berry Plastics Field Trip

Berry Plastics was one of the largest manufacturing facilities we have seen this semester. They are conveniently located in Lawrence, Kansas. It was really cool seeing major companies such as Mcdonalds on their production line. A lot about this place reminded me of our Huhtamaki trip. 

Who they are: Berry Plastics is provides innovated packaging and protection solutions.

Products: Packaging, protection solutions, tapes, adhesives

Markets: household, personal care, beverage, food, healthcare

Materials: Plastics such as high density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene 

Forming Technology: Sheeting, Injection molding, thermoforming

Cutting Technology: Die cut, punch, 

Joining Technology: Molds

Finishing Technology: Labeling, Ink press labeling

Dimensional Innovations

Dimensional Innovations Field Trip

This company was the exact type of environment I had always imagined for an industrial designer. It is also the same type of environment I would wish to work in in the future. They were very professional but also friendly and relaxed. I really like their "idea factory" where we could get a sense of the type of products they have worked on and also see how they develop their ideas for products. Their sister company Shields Caseworks had some awesome products that really caught my eye as well. 

Who they are: DI is a design and fabrication studio whose factory, design development and marketing branches are all in the same building. They are based out of Kansas City. The company is composed of 6 disciplines: Brand, Design, Technology, Build, Launch, and Innovation.

What they do: Their umbrella of work encompasses theater and stadium development, branding, and product design among other things. 

Products & Services: Theaters, stadiums, businesses/brands, branding, product design, fabrication 

Markets: Colleges, stadiums, theaters, various businesses

Forming Technologies:SolidWorks, BrakeBender, 3D printing, general fabrication forming tools

Cutting Technologies: CNC router, High precision CNC, Shear, Laser cutter

Joining Technologies:Welding, Bolts

Finishing Technoloogies: Lighting options, texture, paint

Chapter 2: What Influences Product Design?

Chapter 2: What Influences Product Design?

Chapter 2 explains how today's design process is surrounded by 5 influences. The five influences are the market, technology and science, investment climate, environment and industrial design. 

The Market: Shows that it is desire rather than necessity that leads consumers to purchasing goods.  Every year, consumers desire better functionality and greater aesthetics for their products. However, a successful designer can and will create a need for some function or product before consumers know they need it. This allows the designer to create interest in something new rather than respond to a need by looking at the current market. 

Technology: Technology can greatly influence the design process although it is the least predictable influence by far. Innovations with science and technology can completely change design processes as well as materials whenever they come to be. They create a drive for designers to innovate and take advantage of new developments that open uncharted avenues of design. 

Investment Climate: Turning a design idea into a reality depends on investment as well. wanting to create a product that is innovative and necessary brings about confidence to investors. This is vital for product development and commercial production. These investments should also be backed by the protection from competition;retaining control of intellectual property such as trademarks and patents.

Environment: Sustainability is an important factor in the design process nowadays. Designers need to be aware of our environment and the effect our production has on it." Diminishing the quality of the world in which we now live and threatening the well-being of future generations." Designers must find a better way to solve these issues in the near future. Recycling has seen a rise in popularity among major production companies in recent years which is a great start to this major issue we are faced with. 

Industrial Design: Aesthetics has a huge impact on consumers. It can add beauty to something and create interest. Just because a product is highly functional does not always mean that product will be successful. A product must be designed with appeal as well as function for it to truly work. Industrial design plays a huge role in the consumption of products today. 

Chapter 1: Function and Personality

Chapter 1: Function and Personality

This introductory chapter basically explained how materials are a crucial part to consider when designing any product. Materials chosen can completely change the product itself whether that be it's function, production processes and costs, and the actual tactile feeling it has in someone's hands. For every design problem there is a material solution. There are thousands of materials out there and switching from one to another may greatly effect that given products success. Materials help with both products functionality as well as their personality. I think a great example of this is the Apple iPhone and Macbook Pro's. Image if these devices were constructed out of mainly plastic instead of their notorious stainless steel and and glass/plexiglass. They would lose their sleekness which would greatly effect both personality and functionality (strong, durable materials). to create a successful product like Apple has, it doesn't just have to function properly, it must be simple and convenient for the user and have a personality that "satisfies, inspires, and gives delight". This chapter also mentions how to build a brand from the inside out. The order of this list goes: material, product, packaging, identity, retail, digital, service, systems, organization and then brand itself. This is something that I will definitely keep in mind in the future. 

How it's made/ cell phone dissection

PCS Touchpoint tp2200 Phone Dissection

For this project we were asked to dissect and old cell phone and research the materials processes used to make the phone. I was able to find a very old cellphone at my house and began taking it apart. I was surprised at how well put together this phone. It was interesting to see how they can fit so many parts together and still have an only slightly thick cell phone. After completely seperating the parts, I researched the materials that made up this particular phone.  

Plastic Housing: Polycarbonate/ Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene

LCD: (Liquid Crystal Display) glass, Silicon dioxide, indium, polymier with liquid crystals

Keypad: Silicon Rubber

Keyboard and screen circuit board: fiberglass base, mined raw materials including copper, gold, lead, nickel, zinc, beryllium, tanalum, coltan and other metals. 

Copper Speaker

Battery: Litium Ion- contains lithium, nickel, cobalt, zinc and copper

The Electronic Wasteland

The Electronic Wasteland

Every year, thousands of expensive, perfectly functionable products ( including TVs, computers and cellphones)  are thrown out for the next best thing. Everyone now-a-days has to have the best of the best in their possession. What a lot of people don't realize is that these products they throw out are creating a literal electronic wasteland.  This 60 minutes special was meant to inform viewers about the problem this is causing and show them where all of this waste is ending up. We throw out approximately 130 thousand computers a day in the United States alone.  Devices such as computers contain many rare earth metals including gold and silver. They also contain dozens of chemicals that have been know to be very toxic when exposed to them. 60 Minutes decided to trace waste from here in the US to their final destination. This recycling event claims that all of their collected waste is recycled properly in the US and not dumped somewhere else. After tracing this waste that was shipped, they discovered that it was ending up in Asia to be broken down for those precious metals. I found this very shocking and frustrating that they are either completely lying about their promise or they are not committed to the cause enough to ensure that their waste is ending up where they think it is. When shown the wasteland in Asia you could see that the environment was a complete disaster. They were even trying to cover up what was happening there even though it is harming the people and the environment. This problem is only going to get worse if we don't educate ourselves more on this issue and don't get involved.

Potential Solutions:
 1. Create electronics that can be modified and added to over time. This would allow someone to hold on to a cellphone or computer for much longer.

2. Inform the general public more about the issue. They could include information on or with an electronic product that has been purchased so buyers can see what is happening.

3. Force large companies that are rapidly making these products to dispose of the waste themselves properly. If they keep producing things that we don't need to make millions of dollars off of them then they should have to pay the extra money to properly recycle their own materials.  

Materials: Metals

Materials: Metals

Ferrous: 
-Ferrous metals are magnetic. 
- Contains iron, produced and used in larger quantities, make up more than half of all metal consumption.

VS

Non Ferrous: 
-Non Ferrous metals are non-magnetic (exceptions of cobalt and nickel)

Alloy: 
-Alloys are hybrids of different metallic elements combined to enhance properties and reduce costs. 
-Steel is a good example of an alloy metal. 

Wrought iron/ Cast iron:
-Low cost structural material, heavy & soft that is relatively easy to form hot or cold. ---    ---Wrought iron contains less than 0.2% carbon and largely replaced by steel, traditionally used in architectural metalwork and fencing, useful in construction industry, high thermal conductivity, cast iron contains between 2-4% carbon.
-low to moderate costs.

Steel: 
-This is the most common metal. It is used for many industrial and domestic applications. 
-Carbon steel: low, medium, or high carbon content ranging.
-Low alloy steels are made up of iron, carbon and up to approx. 10% of other metals
-Stainless steels contain iron, less than 1% carbon, 10% chromium or more and other alloys and is resistant to errosion.


-4 main types of steel include: 
austenitic - ductile, strong, non-magnetic 
ferritic - less strong, magnetic, generally used indoors 
martensitic - hardest but least corrosion resistant
precipitation - hardens to high strength with moderate resistance.

- More than 3/4 steel production is carbon steel. Stainless steel are used mainly in decoration and functional applications.
-Cost fluctuates



Aluminium Alloys:
- Lightweight and conductive metal that is non toxic 
- Used in a range of decorative and functional applications. 
- Pure aluminum is ductile and has good strength to weight
- Used in a wide range of applications: packaging, drink cans, cooking equipment, planes, trains, ships, construction.
- Cost moderate to high.

Magnesium Alloys:
Better strength to weight than aluminum but more expensive. Often alloyed with aluminium, silicon, and zinc. Explosive especially in powder form. Bright flame used in pyrotechnics and flares. many applications are the same as aluminium. costs moderate to high.

Titanium Alloys:
- Alternative to aluminium and magnesium, limited to applications that demand high strength to weight and superior corrosion resistance. 
-Naturally occurring oxide that forms on the surface. 
-High costs

Zinc Alloys:
- They exhibit high resistance to corrosion 
- Low viscosity and a relatively low melting point. suited for casting, and forming small, bulk, sheet, complex, and intricate shapes. 
- Resistant to atmospheric corrosion. 
- Moderate costs.

Copper Alloys:
-Copper alloys are ductile, have a low melting point and are easy to form. 
-Copper develops a protective and decorative patina on its surface, changes color over time. efficient thermal and electrical conductor. considered hygienic, many bacteria neutralize when they come in contact with it. Brass is an alloy of copper and up to 40% tin. used for its conductive properties, electrical cables, heating elements. cost low to moderate.

Nickel Alloys:
- Mainly used for electroforming, electroplating and as an alloy in stainless steel. 
- Good resistance to oxidization and corrosion. 
- Moderate to high cost.

Lead and Tin Alloys:
- lead and tin alloys and pewter have low melting points. 
- efficient for casting, can produce high detail. 
- "white metals" are used in casting applications and often plated with another metal. 
- cost low

Precious Metals:
- silver is bright and highly reflective, has to be polished and or colored over often to keep its brightness. not an effective conductor. silver ions have antimicrobial properties. 
- gold is very soft and malleable and ductile, can be beaten into thin sheets, known as gold leaf. 
Pure gold is yellow, different colors are produced by varying the alloy content. 
Red or pink gold contains copper, white gold contains platinum, silver or zinc, purple gold contains a precise measure of aluminium, blue and black are also possible. the purity of gold is measured in carats, 24 is pure, 18 ct is 75%. 
-Platinum is the most rare and precious and most expensive, its hard, durable, ductile, resistant to corrosion by abrasion, oxygen and many chemicals. it is a good conductor and catalyst. costs high to very high.