PRODUCT DESIGN | 1ST YEAR | GIORGIA CAVARRETTA LECTURE 1 GIORGIA CAVARRETTA Industrial Design Product Engineering Material Research giorgiacavarretta@gmail.com LECTURE 1 DESIGN is often used as an adjective to describe the aesthetics of objects and forms. – That is a well-designed lamp. DESIGN is often used as an adjective to describe the aesthetics of objects and forms. – That is a well-designed lamp. DESIGN is also frequently used as a noun when referring to certain commodities, objects or shapes. – I like that design. DESIGN is often used as an adjective to describe the aesthetics of objects and forms. – That is a well-designed lamp. DESIGN is also frequently used as a noun when referring to certain commodities, objects or shapes. – I like that design. As designers, we are most interested (and involved) in DESIGN as a verb. PLAN PURPOSE Industrial design is a process of design applied to products that are to be manufactured through techniques of industrial production. Its key characteristic is that design is separated from manufacture: the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features takes place in advance of the physical act of making a product. Its key characteristic is that design is separated from manufacture: the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features takes place in advance of the physical act of making a product. This distinguishes industrial design from craft-based design, where the form of the product is determined by the product's creator at the time of its creation. All manufactured products are the result of a design process, but the nature of this process can take many forms: All manufactured products are the result of a design process, but the nature of this process can take many forms: - it can be conducted by an individual or a team All manufactured products are the result of a design process, but the nature of this process can take many forms: - it can emphasize intuitive creativity or calculated scientific decision-making, and often emphasizes both at the same time All manufactured products are the result of a design process, but the nature of this process can take many forms: - it can be influenced by factors as varied as materials, production processes, business strategy, and prevailing social, commercial, or aesthetic attitudes. Designers use the design process to solve a problem or develop a new or better product. Common steps of the process are: The first step in design is to define the problem. When writing a problem statement, you will need to know the Who? What? and Why? of the proposed project. For example, ''Jaimie needs a device for cooking eggs using solar energy because the electricity is out.'' Once the problem has been defined, the designer will research existing solutions either to create something similar or identify problems that need to be avoided. For example, when researching cooking with solar energy, Jaimie may find that others have tried cooking on the sidewalk and failed because concrete does not conduct heat as well as other surfaces. The designer will determine which elements will be required in order for the solution to be successful. For example, the solar cooker needs to be able to focus the sun's rays in the direction of the eggs, the cooking surface needs to conduct heat, and the cooking area needs to be insulated to prevent heat from escaping. The next step is to brainstorm as many solutions as possible. This is a time for creativity. To generate lots of ideas, you may want to consider the best parts of existing solutions or create analogies between this problem and other problems. Write, draw, and give yourself ample time to come up with ideas. The best approach may be days away. Compare your solutions to the requirements to determine which one best meets your needs. Some things that should be considered include cost, time, safety, skill, resources, and aesthetics. Sometimes a simple pros and cons list can be used to compare ideas. Sometimes, you will need a more complex analysis of how well each solution meets your needs. Next, the designer will create drawings, models, blueprints, or storyboards to design a solution for optimal results. Sometimes, this involves determining which materials are the most practical choice to use given available resources. Sometimes a designer will build several prototypes from various materials to determine adjustments that need to be made before building the final product. Prototypes are generally less expensive versions of the final product that are made from available resources to test the design. There is a great deal of trial and error in the design process. Typically, there will be multiple redesigns based on the results of testing. Often, even after the final design is used, a designer will continue to enhance the product. The testing and redesign portion will often require many cycles to develop the best solutions. > > > Make ideas tangible Give specific mechanical and chemico-physical properties to objects Enable determined functions > > > > Interface between us and the world Communicate to our senses Trigger an emotional response Carry underlying meaning > > > > Visualize a design Communicate a desired experience Embody intangible values Establish an emotional connection All materials have particular characteristics or properties that influence their use. The knowledge of these properties allows to choose the most suitable material to achieve the desired purpose and use. Successful products begin with appropriate materials. You wouldn’t build an airplane out of lead, or an automobile out of concrete—you need to start with the right stuff. Material selection is a crucial step in the process of designing any physical object. In the context of product design, the main goal of material selection is to minimize cost while meeting product performance goals. Systematic selection of the best material for a given application begins with properties and costs of candidate materials. The choice of a material largely depends on its properties, which are mainly distinguished in: > > > > > chemical composition > internal structure (atomic distribution, molecular structure, etc) > behavior in contact with external agents (acids, air, water, etc.) general characteristics and behaviour in relation to external agents > mass > thermic properties > electrical properties > optical properties > ... ability to withstand and react to external forces and stresses > pressure > shocks > vibrations > wearing > ... ability to be transformed through specific technologies and machining With each materials, the ultimate goal is to convert it into some form of useful product. Manufacturing can be described as the various activities that are performed to convert materials into ‘‘things.’’ But materials rarely comes in the right shape, size, and quantity for the desired use. But materials rarely comes in the right shape, size, and quantity for the desired use. Parts and components must be produced by subjecting materials to one or more processes (often a series of operations) that alter their shape, their properties, or both. Good manufacturing relies on understanding materials’: as well as the interrelations between these four factors. Good manufacturing relies on understanding materials’: as well as the interrelations between these four factors. Good manufacturing relies on understanding materials’: as well as the interrelations between these four factors. Good manufacturing relies on understanding materials’: as well as the interrelations between these four factors. Good manufacturing relies on understanding materials’: - STRUCTURE - PROPERTIES - PROCESSING - PERFORMANCE as well as the interrelations between these four factors. > understand the properties of materials, both intrinsic and contextual > understand the technical possibilities and designs enabled by these characteristics > analyze and break down industrial objects from a manufacturing point of view > select materials and processing technologies to achieve specific designs > experiment hands-on with materials 17/10 > 19/12 09/01 > 09/04 23/04/2020 17.10 24.10 31.10 07.11 14.11 21.11 28.11 05.12 12.12 19.12 Course Intro|Materials in Design Materials classification and main definitions Physical, Chemical and Technological properties Metals and alloys Wood and derivatives Ceramics and glass Plastics pt1 Plastics pt2 Composite Materials (overview) Material selection best practices | Midterm test Ulrich K. T., Eppinger S. D.,“Product Design and Development” McGraw-Hill, 2000 Bralla, J. G., “Design for Manufacturability Handbook” McGraw-Hill, 1999 Manzini E., “The Material of Invention”, Hyperion, 1989 Ashby M., Johnson K., “Materials and Design”, Elsevier Ltd, 2002 Lefteri C.,“Making it, Manufacturing Techniques for Product Design” Laurence King, 2007 Thompson R., “Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals” Thames & Hudson, 2007 (single or group projects) to bring at the final exam for evaluation > Practical exercises in the classroom > Presentation of alternative designs and weekly revisions > Creation of models and prototypes > Experimentation on assigned materials and technologies > Project reports > Intermediate deliveries and presentations LAB PROJECTS REPORT + THEORY ORAL EXAM All the products that surround you in your home, school, or workplace are made of one material or another. Unless the thing you're looking at happens to be natural, like a tree or a flower, someone had to decide what material to make it from. Those people probably use some aspect of materials science to make that choice. Materials science is a part of engineering that involves discovering and designing new materials and analyzing their properties and structure. That information can then be used to make design choices. We can also use our knowledge to break materials apart and recombine them in creative ways. Materials science is important for the development of technology and has been for thousands of years. Different materials have different strengths and weaknesses and are better for different purposes. Since technology is the process of using our scientific knowledge to create devices and objects that benefit humans, understanding materials is an important step in this process. The more you understand the materials that you have choose from, the better choices you will make. Part of materials science involves classifying materials: putting them into groups. Materials are generally split into four main groups: metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites. Metals are materials like iron, steel, nickel, and copper. They're found on the left of the periodic table of chemistry. They tend to be shiny, strong, and usually require high temperatures to melt. They can be further split into ferrous metals and alloys and nonferrous metals and alloys. Ferrous metals are anything that has some iron content. So this includes iron itself, carbon steels, stainless steels, and other iron alloys (mixtures). Nonferrous metals include aluminum, copper, and nickel, among others. Metals are generally used when strength is particularly important and when the material also needs to be fairly thin. Polymers are substances containing long repeating chains of atoms. Most polymers we use in our daily lives (such as plastics, for example) are man-made, but natural polymers like wool, silk, and natural rubber do exist. The use of polymers depends on the exact material, because they each have different properties. Plastics are found all over the place because they're cheap and easy to make, and they're strong and durable. Ceramics are materials traditionally made from clay that has been hardened using heat. But in material science, ceramics also include glasses, graphite, diamond, and other crystalline structures. Ceramics are most commonly used for pottery like plates and bowls, for translucent services like windows, and for decoration. They vary a lot, but tend to have a high melting point, be particularly hard, nonelastic, and can't be broken apart without shattering. Composites are materials made up of two or more of the above materials that are combined or otherwise mixed together. This might be done by layering two materials on top of each other or by melting materials and literally mixing them together. Composites can be mixes of ceramic and metal materials, reinforced plastics, and materials that are inherently mixes like concrete. These materials are directly derived from animals and plants, often produced by craft working (they are the materials typically used by artisans). They could be classified as "zoo-materials" and "plant materials“, depending on where they are derived from. From the point of view of manufacturing, it is preferable to classify wood and plastics in their own respective categories, even if they could be classified as biological materials. From the ethical point of view, while the materials derived from plants are socially well-accepted by the consumers, the animal-derived ones are sometimes rejected because of the life sacrifice their use involves. These are the materials derived from rocks: in the antiquity they were sometimes used as they were found in the environment to construct rural buildings, civil works or tools (stones), or cut into geometrical shapes (cut stone) to use for the prestigious architectural buildings, or even finely worked for creating various objects. In the past very specific uses were defined for some of these materials (for example, the “soapstone” to construct fire cooker objects like pots); today instead, they are usually known and used for the generic and civil constructions (from fine marble, granite, porphyry to the most functional gravel and sand which are also used with the binders to produce concrete and mortar; sand is also important to produce glass). These materials are the result of woodworking process which is made from almost all the “dicot(yledon) essences” (trees) except the ones made from “monocot(yledon)s” (palms and reeds) which are not used in the production of woodwork. From wood, as well as the first level processed wooden materials (wood primary processed products, also known as solid wood), are produced the wood secondary processed materials, the most important ones for industrial products, like plywood panels, MDF, glue-laminated timber. Also cellulose pulp, paper (paperboard) and cardboard can be considered derivatives of wood. From the environmental point of view, it is important to underline the fact that the production of wood and its derivatives can be extremely impactive. These are the materials produced from inorganic non- metallic substances, formed at natural temperature and consolidate in hot temperatures. From this definition, some materials like glass, stones and binders, in the past sometimes generically included, do not belong to this class. From the archaeological point of view, because of its characteristics in time resistance and customization (decoration), the ceramic pottery had a great importance in the cultural development documentation. The typical characteristics of these materials were extremely important in buildings and construction of the past (brick). Nowadays they are not replaceable in some applications like “bathroom furnitures” and they are continuously studied and developed in order to obtain new special materials known as “advanced ceramic”. Scientifically they are inorganic liquids with “glass state” behaviour; this glass state can be intuitively assimilated like as if a “sub-cooled” liquid. This class is entirely perceived as the material that is commonly named “glass” and historically known for its characteristics amongst these is transparency; however even the glass has its own structured classification which range from glass sodium-calcium (the common glass) to the special type of glasses like photo-reactive glasses. Depending on the transformed component shape, we can also speak about “flat glass” and “hollow glass”. It is also important in composite materials production, in which it is used reduced in fibers. These materials are not real physical ones and could be called “pre-materials” because they are the substances that harden in the air or water or both cases. They form the “matrix” of a particular category of composite materials which are used especially in construction and civil architecture, such as mortar and concrete, where the binders is the cement; the clay is also considered a binder (once the huts were made from clay and vegetable fibers), even if, by means of firing, it can be transformed into a ceramic material. Even though they are often used as composite matrix, is preferable to attribute this adjective to the class of materials with the polymer matrix. Metals are chemically very simple “elements” even if sometimes are extracted from very complex ones, and in the past this represented a great problem, like in the aluminium case. Metallic materials are rarely used as raw structure materials because it almost always need to be transformed into “alloys” in order to be able to improve the mechanical characteristics. Metallic materials are accepted as structural materials for their excellence, although – in recent decades – increasingly they become to be used together with the polymer matrix composites. It would be better to call them “plastic polymer materials” as their fundamental characteristic is to be polymeric substances, usually organic origin (except silicone polymer, for example), normally produced by molecular synthesis, starting from hydrocarbons (petrolium and gas), even if still different polymers derive from “natural substances” (rubber, castor oil and so on). They are “the modern materials” of our era and often led to the decline of the usage of the traditional materials but, as being “modern”, they become constantly the subject of ecological debates even if some of them can be considered ecological. These are the materials that consist of two different phases; the first phase is the continuous one which is called the “matrix” and the second is the discontinuous phase called “reinforcement” made either of particles or fibers. They were always existing but had a great impulse with the advent of polymers since these materials nearly always perform the function of matrix; in this case they are called “polymer composite materials”. If plastics are considered modern materials, the composites – especially the structural ones (almost always reinforced by means of fibers) – are the materials of the future: their resistance is sometimes greater than that of the metals and especially their resistance/weight ratio is extremely high and make this materials fundamental for high performance applications (kinematics, sports equipment, cars, trains, ships, planes, spacecraft etc.). Advanced materials can be defined in many ways. The broadest definition is to refer to all materials that represent advances over the traditional materials that have been used for hundreds or even thousands of years. From this perspective, advanced materials refer to all new materials and modifications to existing materials to obtain superior performance in one or more characteristics that are critical for the application under consideration. They can also exhibit completely novel properties. The development of advanced materials can even lead to the design of completely new products. This is a category of special materials, often composites, in which can converge the use of materials of various kinds, and different science research, in order to use them in very special functional and/or structural applications. Different examples can be given for this class: electroluminescent materials; thermochromic polymeric materials; the last generation molecular materials produced with nanotechnology, graphene and so on. PRODUCT DESIGN | 1ST YEAR GIORGIA CAVARRETTA