Sprint 4: Close the circle! “Empower a specific target group to actively recycle through your designs. Design an object and its cycle. Design a recycling situation that is low-threshold and requires no political effort.”Sprint four of the methodical design exercise “precious particle” continued with this task. The students, each in teams of two, developed ideas …
Author Archives: Andreas Wagner
Sprint 3: Add on! Lift up!
Sprint 3: Add on! Lift up! After completing the previous two sprints, new sprint topics were worked on in various group constellations within two weeks. One of these sprints, entitled “ADD ON! LIFT UP!” included the task of using particle foam to improve a given situation. As in the previous sprints, we were asked to …
Sprint 2: Take a seat!
Sprint 2: Take a seat! After gaining lots of impressions on excursions and in workshops, we started our first design exercises in week 1 of the semester.In teams of two, the task was to draw ten quick designs on a topic in five minutes each.The more detailed description of the sprint was as follows:“Design an …
Sprint 1: Take me along!
Sprint 1: Take me along! “Design an object for transportation: a bicycle box, a backpack, a handbag, a travel case, a lifebuoy… Explore the heat-insulating, lightweight, shock-absorbing and aesthetic properties as well as the possibilities of integrating functions and components.”Sprint 1 was about quickly developing ideas in teams of two and recording them in sketches. …
Introduction: CNC Styrocutting
Introduction: CNC Styrocutting Christoph Rafoth, Head of the Digital Workshop, introduced us to the use of the CNC Styrocut machine. The machine has two spatial axes and a rotary axis and uses a hot wire to cut geometric shapes out of solid foam blocks. The materials to be processed include Styrofoam (EPS), Styrodur as well …
Introduction: DIY particle foaming
Introduction: DIY particle foaming Particle foaming of EPS (expanded polystyrene) is a widely used process in the industry and is used to manufacture lightweight and robust products such as packaging, insulation and other applications.In the introduction to particle foaming in the pressure cooker, we first illustrated the production of molded parts and the industrial process …
Excursion: Kurtz Ersa
Excursion: Kurtz Ersa On Friday, we made a final stop on our three-day excursion at Kurtz Ersa in Kreuzwertheim near Würzburg, a mechanical engineering company that is now in its 7th generation of family management. The company, which was founded in 1779 as a hammer forge and later merged with the soldering machine manufacturer Ersa, …
Excursion: BASF
Excursion: BASF On the second day of the excursion, we were guests at BASF in Ludwigshafen. We were welcomed at the BASF Creation Center. This is where customers are normally advised and supported. We were given an insight into BASF’s various products, but the focus for us was on particle foams and the product “Infinergy” …
Excursion: Fraunhofer ICT
Excursion: Fraunhofer ICT The first day of the excursion took us, the students of the “Precious Particle” project, to the Fraunhofer ICT in Pfinztal. Before we went into the research rooms of the institute, Mr. Schmidt first gave a brief introduction to particle foams in general and their manufacturing processes. A basic distinction is made …
Getting Started: Sustainability
Getting Started: Sustainability To kick off our semester, we explored scientific methods and issues relating to sustainability in the SustainLab. As a theoretical object, we dealt with a bicycle helmet made of EPS. From the cradle to the grave. We explored the following aspects and methods in greater depth: Life cycle inventoryQuantification and compilation of …