What influences product design.

After reading this chapter I feel that ultimately there is soooo much more that goes into a product than we realize and sometimes the actual design is over looked or not as important. Todays designers seem to be recreating design or design shape because its what were used to. If a phone didn't look like a phone or a car like a car people would be come confused. Its interesting to me the designers that do take the leap and create objects that function in the same way that we already know but look entirely different and new to people. I find it interesting in the sense that a new experience has been created and new ideas, feelings, and conversations can be created by a single object.

Design and thinking a documentary

This film was ultimately inspiring. The field of industrial design is a growing field and its growing quickly, but how do we make it better and useful. This film covers some of the main obstacles and challenges industrial designers face today and how they are taking steps to assure that their design is useful and not just aesthetic. Design thinking is a very big topic and how that can relate to design is by applying the design dilemmas to a very big list of problems, situations and standers we live up to and in in todays world.

Manufacturing processes book (METALS)

Ferrous

• Mild Steel – Carbon content of 0.1 to 0.3% and Iron content of 99.7 – 99.9%. Used for engineering purposes and in general, none specialised metal products.

• Carbon steel – Carbon content of 0.6 to 1.4% and Iron content of 98.6 to 99.4 %.  Used to make cutting tools such as drill bits.

• Stainless Steel- Made up of Iron, nickel and chromium. Resists staining and corrosion and is therefore used for the likes of cutlery and surgical instrumentation.

• Cast Iron – carbon 2 – 6% and Iron at 94 to 98%. Very strong but brittle. Used to manufacture items such as engine blocks and manhole covers.

• Wrought Iron – Composed of almost 100% iron. Used to make items such as ornamental gates and fencing. Has fallen out of use somewhat.

Non Ferrous

• Aluminium – An alloy of aluminium, copper and manganese. Very lightweight and easily worked. Used in aircraft manufacture, window frames and some kitchen ware.

• Copper – Copper is a natural occurring substance. The fact that it conducts heat and electricity means that it is used for wiring, tubing and pipe work.

• Brass – A combination of copper and zinc, usually in the proportions of 65% to 35% respectively. Is used for ornamental purposes and within electrical fittings.

• Silver – Mainly a natural substance, but mixing with copper creates sterling silver. Used for decorative impact in jewellery and ornaments, and also to solder different metals together.

• Lead – Lead is a naturally occurring substance. It is heavy and very soft and is often used in roofing, in batteries and to make pipes.

Alloy
-a metal made by combining two or more metallic elements, especially to give greater strength or resistance to corrosion.

Iron- A chemical element which is crystalline in nature. To metalworkers, pure iron is relatively a soft metal so it is combined with other metals.

Steel-Simple steel is an alloy of iron and carbon containing no other element. Commercial steels, however, are plain carbon steels containing manganese and small quantities of silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, and traces of other elements. Its carbon content is from a few hundredth of a percent to 1.4 percent. Plain carbon steel seldom contains more than 1.4 percent carbon. There are, however, steels which contain up to 2.0 percent. Aside from carbon, various other elements are added to give steel different properties suitable for different applications:

Aluminum Alloys- A very light metal which is gradually taking the place of iron in many application. This metal is malleable, ductile, and a good conductor of heat and electricity. It is a cheap substitute to the more expensive copper in many electrical installations.

Magnesium Alloys- Magnesium alloys are mixtures ofmagnesium with other metals (called analloy), often aluminium, zinc, manganese, silicon, copper, rare earths and zirconium.

Titanium 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.

Zink Alloys-Used extensively in dry cells and batteries. It is used as sacrificial anodes attached to the hulls of sea-going vessels and in coating iron to produce galvanized iron.

Copper Alloys-Another very useful seddish-brown metal. It is malleable, ductile, and is next to silver in electrical and thermal conductivity. It is extensively employed in many electrical applications. When copper is alloyed with zinc, brass is produced. When alloyed with tin, bronze is produced.

Nickel Alloys-  nickel alloys are used extensively because of their corrosion resistance, high temperature strength and their special magnetic and thermal expansion properties.

Lead and Tin Alloys-Very malleable and can be rolled into very thin sheets. It is used in coating insides of pipes used for conveying drinking water. It is also plated insides cans used to conserve foodstuff due to its high resistance to tarnishing. One of the densest metals. It is soft and can be cut with a knife. A two millimeter thick sheet may be bent or straightened with bare hands. It has been used extensively in plumbing but it being replaced by other metals. One popular application is the galvanized iron roofing, where lead washers are used.

Precious Metals- gold, silver, and platinum.

Hallmark (lawrence kansas)

Hallmark Cards
what- cards. Greeting, birthday etc.
materials- paper (94 bright), bleached paper, flitter, flock, virko
finishes- embossed, foil, muli color foil.
processes- silk screen press, rotary press, glue printing, die cutting

• The Lawrence Greetings Production Center opened in 1958.
   
• The facility is 650,000 square feet, including 94,000 square feet of warehouse space. It is one of two primary U.S. manufacturing facilities supporting Hallmark Cards, Inc.
• The facility specializes in producing and packaging all of Hallmark's domestically produced greeting cards and about 98% of all envelopes for Hallmark North America.  
• Hallmark brand greeting cards with specialized processes, such as die cut, flitter, flock and foil stamp, are produced in Lawrence as well as the Shoebox humor line the Sunrise brand and cards for Hallmark's DaySpring subsidiary. Hallmark stationery and boxed cards also are produced in Lawrence.
• The Lawrence Greetings Production Center employs about 700 people.

Berry Plastics (Lawrence Kansas)

Who- Berry Plastics
What- Plastic containers, cups, company oriented
For Who- mostly commercial companies such as mcdonalds, country crock butter etc.
materials- plastic, ink
Processes- injection molding, pressure molding, ink rolling, screen printing

Over all- Berry plastics is pretty cool because it is taking someting so simple or overlooked and shedding light on all that goes into a single lifeless butter container that will be disguarded as soon as the contents are gone. The fact that they do everything is also pretty cool and of course its awesome that they are local!

Eldorado inc.

who- ELDORADO INC.

El Dorado Inc. is a commercial, residencial, public art, industrial, and planning studio all grouped in Kansas city. 

ELDORADO STATEMENT

"In addition to traditional architecture, we now offer our clients an expansion of our fabrication services: the option of architect-led design build. In this simple, streamlined process, el dorado serves as both the architect and the general contractor. From the first concept sketch until the completion of construction there is one team, one contract, and one goal–to provide our clients with the best building possible for their budget. The process takes advantage of our design capabilities and our understanding of construction. Communication is improved with an integrated team, allowing us to troubleshoot issues on site before they get out of hand. We have completed Design / Build projects in many of our studios, with some recent examples highlighted below."

Materials- tube steel.

overview- The visit to El Dorado was frustrating for me, not because of the actual place but because of the experience. The facility and work space was great, it was very personal close nit and energy flowed freely. I did not like the tour because we didn't really learn a whole lot about El Dorado as a whole and most of the tour was distracted by the late arrival of some classmates. I wish the tour had been longer and more meaningful for the drive that we all had to take that day and gas money that was spend, but over all I was interested to see the area of kansas city that the El Dorado got to see and be apart of every day. 

HUHTAMAKI

Huhtamaki, Inc.

Huhtamaki, Inc. produces the most recognizable consumer goods packaging and foodservice products, as well as the CHINET® line of premium single-use tableware.

what- food service products, cpg packaging, retail products

Huhtamaki technologies convert raw materials into finished goods and incorporate the following: 

• • Shaped paperboard – Paper cups, containers, lids, paper plates and trays, and folding cartons
• • Molded fiber – Made from recycled materials such as newsprint and paperboard; Select Chinet® molded fiber products are compostable
• • Plastics – Cups and food containers, bowls, and unique lids with color printed graphics and in-line printing

Huhtamaki has invested in cutting-edge machinery and processes that have helped our company create a number of competitive advantages, including: 

• • Equipment systems enabling you to form on-site/on-demand reducing transportation and warehousing costs significantly
• • High output and efficient production
• • Unique ability to work with multiple materials
• • Wide range of shapes and closures
• • Custom design options to make your product stand out
• • Creative design capabilities to put the final touch on your packaging

Our focus on technological excellence translates into cost savings, superior products, and ease of implementation for our customers.