How Its Made; Packaging

This series of videos is incredibly interesting and valuable for designers. It covers the industrial manufacturing of packaging from cardboard boxes, metal tubing, Tetrapak, aluminium cans, glass bottles and plastic bottles. Cardboard box manufacturing goes through a number of processes from the creation of the three layered system of two flat pieces of card and one corrugated piece to being cut, creased and inked/printed on. Cardboard is completely recyclable and all of the off cuts are used again in the same process up to 6 times over. The series also investigates the manufacture of flexible metal tubing that stores items such as toothpaste and paint. These are made from a coin size of aluminium which is stretched to create a cylinder mould. This cylinder is then filled with contents and folded over to seal. Aluminium tubes are also recyclable as aluminium does not deteriorate, all excess material is sent back to aluminium factory where it is melted down to be reused. Tetrapak is an innovative packaging system that is comprised of 3 layers of material to keep the contents fresh without the addition of preservatives or refrigeration. The first most outer layer is made of a plastic which prevents any leakage while the middle is paperboard and the inner most layer is aluminium. This complex packaging is also completely recyclable making an incredibly efficient form of packaging. Aluminium cans are created much the same as aluminium tubing. A sheet of aluminium has holes punched from it which are then stretched to create the body the can is then processed to create the top before being sent of to the company that will use it. As with the tubing all excess material is sent back to aluminium factory to be recycled and reused. Glass bottles are created from 3 main ingredients as well as a small amount of recycled glass. The glass is melted into goo which is then cast into miniature bottle called a parison. The parison is then blasted with air to expand the glass to the actual size of the bottle. The bottles are then treated to create a thread at the top of the bottle. Glass like the other materials shown in the video is also recyclable. Plastic bottles are made from PET which is melted and injection moulded into performs which will later be heated and stretched using compressed air much like glass bottles. These will then be printed then tested to be sent to the companies that will use them. Unlike other materials only the new plastic left over from the manufacturing process is recycled for hygienic reasons.

Technical Drawings

Giving Packaging New Life

This series is all about the recycling and reuse of materials in the packaging industry. It covers everything from recycling paper, Tetrapak, tinplate, aluminium, glass and most importantly plastics. The series also covers innovations in the recycling world through new methods of sorting and separation. A video like this can be very useful for designers to watch as sustainability is becoming more and more necessary when designing and manufacturing. As a designer I will be more aware of how my product is constructed and what materials are used so when it comes to the end of a products life it may be easily separated and sorted for recycling. We see in this video the differences between recycling different types of packaging. The video on paper recycling shows us that ink and other impurities must be removed prior to pulping. While paper is recycled easily other materials such as Tetrapak must be processed to separate paper from aluminium and plastic. Some materials use innovative separation techniques such aluminium which is magnetised to sort them, this allows it to be easily melted down and turned into sheets which require only one twentieth of the energy needed for the production of new goods. Glass is also a material that has to be sorted and separated as coloured glass and impurities such as ceramic can hinder the recycling process. Innovations in technology have made this process much more viable, computer light readers can pick up coloured glass as small as 15mm and compressed jets blow these unwanted parts away immediately. Plastics are one of the most important materials to be recycled within the packaging industry and require the most sorting. Before technological sorting equipment majority of plastics ended up in landfill or were incinerated. With the aid of sorting innovations plastics can be separated into bottles, films, PET, expanded polystyrene and mixed plastics. These different plastics are then recycled individually. As a designer knowing these recycling techniques is very important, as they can be implemented into our own designs by using materials or manufacturing methods that make the sorting and separation of our products easier at the end of the life cycle. The three take home messages for this video series would be to design with recyclable materials, design with sorting and separation techniques in mind and try to minimize use of different materials within the one product. All of these are done to make the recycling process at the end of a products life easier, more effective and more efficient. Designing with these things in mind should make a more sustainable and more environmentally sound future. 

Blog Comments

http://ides2161yvonnesha.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/favum-new-kitchen-storage-experience.html

http://vindustriald.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/biodesign-pelapo.html?showComment=1332808537211#c7942029591071490608

http://tomloefler.posterous.com/

http://ttinging.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/project-one-bio-inspired-storage.html?showComment=1332809295052#c3700384247799285173

http://akiwei.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/model-project-one.html?showComment=1332809425239#c2897594064894982132

Proj 2.

Rationale

For this brief I had to develop a bio inspired domestic storage system by looking at how nature storage systems work. For my area of storage I focused on kitchen bench top storage. To do this I had to look into a range of different items that are commonly stored along the bench tops, these include spatulas, wooden spoons, vegetable such as onions, garlics, tomato’s as well as herbs and spices and salt and pepper. With so many different items being stored on kitchen bench tops I knew that my product would have to cater to at least a range of these items. By looking at how nature would store these sorts of items I came along a source of inspiration from an insect known as a lacewing, the insect goes about storing its eggs on the undersides of leaves from a thin strand of silk to protect them. This gave me the idea to create a storage unit that is elevated from the bench tops by hanging from the under sides of a kitchen cabinet. My concept consists of three hanging pod like forms, carrying on from the natural inspiration for a concept these shapes take on quite organic and natural forms. Each pod like piece holds a different kitchen item. The longest and thinnest pod stores wooden spoons, spatulas and ladles. The widest pod is for fruit and vegetables that can be stored out in the open, it will fit food such as onions, tomatoes and garlic. The smallest pod, which has two separated bowls, is for storing cooking salts and pepper or herbs of the users choice. The benefits of having an elevated storage system means in medium to high density living small kitchens will have increased bench space to work with. These hanging storage units are not only a functional item for the kitchen but are also meant to have decorative value. The final product will be made from clay as it gives the user the feel of preciousness and delicateness, as well as being aesthetically appealing for kitchen type environment. Clay also has the strong ability to absorb moisture, this benefits the storage of fruits, vegetable, herbs and spices by absorbing any excess moisture and keeping those items fresher for longer. Assembly is easy as the timber rests on hooks that have adhesive bottoms that stick directly onto the underside of a cabinet. If no area underneath a cabinet can be used for hanging these items the adhesive hooks can also be directly placed onto the wall. This product will be manufactured from clay using a slip casting method, this involves using a plaster cast for the clay to be to put into.

I have not uploaded my technical drawing as it has to be re submitted.

Truth

An Inconvenient Truth

This movie displays the nature in which humans interact with our environment and the problems it poses. Starring Al Gore he takes us through our polluting habits and the damage it is causing to the atmosphere and the overall warming affect it will have on the earth. He uses many examples of how human involvement has caused the melting of glaciers, warming of seas, increased flooding and drought and how all of these relate back to human interference. These are all due to humans increasing carbon emissions into the atmosphere through pollution and energy consumption.  Al Gore demonstrates how warming oceans have even caused storms to increase in intensity and how heat waves are becoming more and more prominent. Global warming effects are even being seen in natures natural life cycles with populations of birds that rely on certain worms to be born similar times are now being seen much earlier in the year. Developing nations as well as the USA are some of the highest contributors to Co2 emissions. Many have tried to pass global warming off as a theory rather than fact in the public limelight however global warming is scientifically recognized as fact and due to human involvement. Al Gore preaches at the end that we need to take a stand, we have the technologies and resources to reduce such emissions.  He places great importance on the fact that we must look to renewable resources and choices for the future to cut carbon emissions to zero. This incredibly relevant for industrial designers as they are the ones responsible for the production, manufacture and designs that are used on a major scale. Industrial designers need to think very hard before they take a product to the market on how they may reduce wastage, carbon emissions and how a product may in turn be recycled to be used again. In the 21^st century these are some of the most important factors that will go in our designs such as “how can we make this product from cradle to cradle” to breath new life into old, obsolescent products. After watching An Inconvenient Truth, as a designer I will be much more conscious about the materials, manufacturing processes and packaging I incorporate into my products as well as this recycling and the reuse of the products I design will also be a major factor. Al Gore for world president!!