Tag Archives: Manufacturing

This collection of everyday items is 3D printed from disused wheat bran to create zero waste

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Greenfill3d is a Polish home goods and furniture company that uses wheat bran waste to 3D print home goods items like storage compartments and advertising racks.

One of the easiest ways we can reduce our personal carbon footprint is by taking a look at the build of items we use on a daily basis. A closer look reveals that many of the products we surround ourselves with are made from materials that aren’t so great for the landfill. Designed for obsolescence, most of these plastic-based products end up in landfills where they might remain for years to come.

Hoping to change the way we consume home goods and everyday products, the Polish company Greenfill3d produces items that are made from biodegradable or bio-compostable materials in accordance with the ideas of zero-waste and the circular economy.

Designer: Greenfill3d

Each item that comprises Greenfill3d’s home goods collection is composed of multiple parts that are 3D-printed individually. The advertising stand, for instance, consists of 34 individual elements, each of which are 3D-printed separately and then pieced together for an easy assembly.

Each product from Greenfill3d’s collection is made from one of three sustainable materials: GF3D Branfill3d (wheat bran material), BioWOOD (wood powdered material), and BioCREATE (compostable material). In collaboration with one of Europe’s largest food producers, Greenfill3d collects wheat bran waste from pasta.

From there, the waste is measured for production before it’s combined with polylactic acid (PLA) to develop a filament used in 3D printing. This mixture of PLA and wheat bran waste, what Greenfill3d calls GF3D, is then fed into 40 3D printers to create everyday items like storage cabinets and advertising racks.

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This plant-based bike is made from natural fibers and glued together with plant resin

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The Astan Bike is a plant-based bike made from natural fibers and glued together with plant resin.

You’ve heard of plant-based meat, but what about a plant-based bike? As society confronts the issue of overconsumption in light of climate change, the destructive aspect of manufacturing is coming to light. Mining for aluminum to make the bicycles we know and love requires a whole ton of energy and a lot of land.

Designers: Guilherme Pella and Nicolas Rutzen

Using heavy machinery, swaths of forests are cleared and pits of dirt are dug to mine for Bauxite, an ore that commonly contains aluminum. With hopes of changing the face of bicycle manufacturing, two designers, Guilherme Pella and Nicolas Rutzen got together to create Astan Bike, “a bike made of natural fibers that is lighter and stronger than aluminum bikes,” as the duo puts it.

Made using plant resin to glue each part together, the natural fibers that make the Astan Bike are measured and fit using laser-cutting technology. To achieve a stronger build than aluminum bikes, Pella and Rutzen developed a patented frame that is strengthened by its lattice structural pattern.

The lattice frame essentially follows the natural grain of the wood used to create each component of the bike, increasing the bike’s resistance. The lattice frame also allows the bike to absorb more impact and vibrations, which ultimately leads to an overall more comfortable ride.

While the bike’s engineering aspect is certainly impressive, the finished look of Astan Bike’s wooden frame exudes sophistication and timelessness. Deciding on the look of Astan Bike’s frame brought Pella and Rutzen back to the bicycle’s roots. The asymmetrical pattern of Astan Bike’s chassis resembles the organic network of tree roots in ode to the natural fibers that entirely make up the bike’s build.

Honing in on the bike’s biomimetic design, Pella and Rutzen also wanted to mimic the look of butterfly wings through the bike frame’s triangular pattern. In weight, the Astan Bike also resembles a light butterfly, amounting to a feathery weight of only 4.5kg. Towards the rear of the bike, two narrow triangles are also meant to emulate the look of human lungs.

Handing off the first prototype to leave Brazil, famed British architect Sir Norman Foster received the first Astan Bike from Pella and Rutzen. Known for his innovative, modernist designs of steel and glass, Foster is a key figure in the modern movement towards space management.

It seems fitting that Pella and Rutzen gifted Foster with the sustainable bike as they explain, “According to researchers from universities in Santa Catarina in Brazil, and São Carlos in São Paulo, ASTAN proved to be a 95% more sustainable production process than aluminum and carbon fiber.”

Famed English architect Sir Norman Foster was gifted the first Astan Bike to leave Brazil.

The natural grain of the wood gives the bike a unique look.

Different gradients of wood give Astan Bike a different look from each side.

The Astan Bike can be taken on any commute, from the pavement to the sand.

Lightweight and stronger than an aluminum frame, the Astan Bike is entirely made from natural plant fibers.

Reliable metal ware is integrated into the build of the Astan Bike to ensure a smooth, safe ride.

The Astan Bike is also built to absorb more pressure than aluminum bikes, leading to a more comfortable ride.

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Designed at Caltech, this bipedal, hybrid robot can walk and fly to showcase the future of locomotive robotics

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Researchers at Caltech designed LEO, a hybrid, bipedal robot, that combines flying and walking to experiment with the future of locomotive robotics.

If you’ve ever seen a heron take flight or land afterward, you’ve probably admired how gracefully they move. Like cats, they seem to always stick the landing. Inspired by the flight and movement of birds like herons, researchers at Caltech created a clever, bipedal robot with a small stature and uncanny knack for balance. In its current form, LEONARDO, as they. call the robot, is strictly experimental. However, future applications could find LEONARDO tactfully sticking the landing on a solo mission to Mars or leading the way to adaptive landing systems for other robots on Earth.

Designer: Caltech

LEONARDO, or LEO for short, stands for LEgs ONboARD drOne and is equipped with a pair of multi-joint legs and propeller thrusters to stabilize its walking gait and allow the robot to hop and jump. Standing only 2.5 feet tall, LEO is lanky in proportions, with long legs and the main body measuring only half the length of them. These proportions aid in LEO’s varied locomotive capabilities, from flying to walking. The researchers at Caltech explain, “The point of LEO is to give unprecedented walking ability and to solve problems posed by hybrid locomotion. LEO is capable of many tricks: tight-rope walking, stair flying, and skateboard riding. LEO is helping engineers rethink how robots could move in the future and could open difficult environments to robotic exploration.”

While LEO is more or less a passion project that serves to experiment with the potential of locomotive robotics future applications could find LEO revolutionizing adaptive landing gear systems, not only for Earth-bound robotic exploration missions but for rotorcraft on Mars. Caltech researcher Soon-Jo Chung, Bren Professor of Aerospace and Control and Dynamical Systems explains, “By using a hybrid movement that is somewhere between walking and flying, the researchers get the best of both worlds in terms of locomotion. LEO’s lightweight legs take the stress off of its thrusters by supporting the bulk of the weight, but because the thrusters are controlled synchronously with leg joints, LEO has uncanny balance.”

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This collection of acrylic furniture aims to blur the boundary between public and private spaces

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The Displacement Collection from Cometabolism is a series of furniture pieces designed to blur the boundary between public infrastructure and private interior design.

Despite the integral role they play in keeping our society functioning, everyday design items like street signs and other public notices often go unnoticed. While our private living spaces are filled with design pieces of our choosing, public spaces differ in that a unified design language is required to define their purpose and function. With that, the nuances of public infrastructural design are often lost.

Designer: Cometabolism

In an effort to give notice to these essential everyday objects and industrial designs, Beijing-based design studio Cometabolism continues to roll out new additions to their Displacement Collection, a long-term art project that attempts to blur the boundary between private and public spaces.

Comprised of conventional household furniture pieces that are constructed using unconventional building methods, the collection gives rise to benches, mirrors, and chairs that are built with integrated stainless steel connectors that piece together sheets of blue and orange acrylic sheets. Chosen for their close relation to public infrastructural products, the orange and blue polycarbonate sheets give each furniture item a unique look and silhouette.

The team of designers from Cometabolism note, “The concept of this new collection aims to discuss how objects exist, statically or dynamically in spaces,” explaining that, “[It] amalgamates the dimension of time into space, creating a series of new art pieces to fit in a world filled with varieties and uncertainties.”

Taking close to two months to reach completion, the Displacement Collection from Cosmetabolism required the use of unconventional manufacturing techniques such as laser cutting sand-mold casting. The colorful polycarbonate sheets were laser-cut into various shapes, like rhombi to create seats for the Displacement Bench.

Stainless steel elements were put through sand-mold casting to offer support for larger items, like a shelf that doubles as a side table. Perhaps the most involved manufacturing technique was allotted to the Displacement Mirror which uses wonky, asymmetrical orange acrylic rods to frame a reflective rectangular centerpiece.

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Sustainable waterfront infrastructure uses unique concrete technology to replace traditional rock ripraps

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ECOncrete’s patented technology is used to replace inorganic concrete rock ripraps with durable and sustainable infrastructure to provide long-lasting protection for vulnerable shorelines.

While ripraps are familiar sights, their structural formation and the effects they have on the environment are largely left unknown by the general public. Used to armor, stabilize, and protect the shoreline of bodies of water, like lakes, rivers, and oceans, rock ripraps are human-placed revetments that form protective barriers along vulnerable shorelines.

Accounting for vegetation suppression, thermal pollution, and synthetic waste, it seems rock riprap has become an antiquated solution to a lasting problem. Reinterpreting the conventional rock riprap through biomimicry to fit modern environmental needs, ECOncrete developed Coastalock, a new type of durable and sustainable infrastructure to replace rock ripraps. In San Diego, ECOncrete’s patented technology is being used to create a durable and sustainable infrastructure for the Port of San Diego. To replace traditional riprap, ECOncrete set out to create effective, efficient, and climate-adapted armor to protect the Port of San Diego for continued use.

In addition to offering lasting protection for the port, ECOncrete’s patented technology creates sustainable pools for marine species to inhabit and rehabilitates those habitats for fish to enjoy cooler temperatures and organic living surfaces, while generating an expansive carbon sink in the process. Explaining the process behind the Port of San Diego’s new protective barrier, ECOncrete describes, “74 interlocking single-layer armor units were deployed in two pilot sections…The units were rotated to mimic tidepool and cave habitats for local marine life. After a successful 3-day installation, the Port is working with ECOncrete to install 1,000 additional feet of coastal protection.”

Co-founded by marine biologists and innovators, ECOncrete was started to help mitigate the harmful effects of concrete on marine life and ecosystems. Established in 2012, ECOncrete is an interdisciplinary science-backed company with a team made up of many different professionals, from creative designers to technology specialists. Developing a new standard for marine-centered concrete, ECOncrete’s patented technology helps build stronger marine infrastructure which can be used for various functions.

Designer: ECOncrete

The grooves of ECOncrete’s infrastructure provide safe inhabitation zones for marine life. 

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UK McDonald’s net-zero carbon restaurant tries to make the environment a bit healthier

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You might have guilty feelings when chowing down on that hamburger, but one McDonald’s restaurant in the UK might at least let you feel good about staying green while you’re there.

Fast-food and health are two words that never really got along well with one another, and it isn’t just about humans’ bodily health either. Sometimes worse than other restaurants because of their nature and their processes, fast-food chains have also become perilous to the health of the planet, particularly through their net carbon emissions. As one of the world’s biggest culprits, McDonald’s is trying to set an example and opened the first net-zero restaurant in the UK, though it still comes up short of being net-zero in the true sense of the word.

Designers: Scurr Architects and AEW Architects for McDonald’s

It’s no longer enough to just say that you’re using recycled materials for cups or utensils these days. Those are important first steps, of course, but not enough to earn you a “net-zero” badge for your building. For that, you’ll need to significantly reduce your carbon emissions in almost every aspect, including the construction, operation, and demolition of the establishment.

McDonald’s Market Drayton branch in the UK tries to check off a few of those boxes, particularly in the materials they used. Wall insulation is made from sheep’s wool, while parking lot kerbstones are each made from 182 recycled plastic bottles. Even the signage is made from McDonald’s own coffee beans as part of the company’s “circular waste solution.” All of these while retaining the same familiar design of McDonald’s restaurants around the world, or at least in the UK.

The day-to-day operations of the restaurant are also almost zero, with power being provided by two on-site wind turbines and 92 square meters (990 square feet) of solar panels. Strictly speaking, however, the restaurant can’t be considered truly net-zero because it doesn’t take into account consumption-based emissions, according to Dezeen.

It’s still an important step forward for the company as well as the UK’s net-zero carbon buildings thrust, especially considering how much foot traffic and how many customers a single McDonald’s branch gets on a single day. That said, it’s also just one in tens of thousands of McDonald’s locations around the world that still have to adopt the fast-food chain’s sustainable programs. It’s just the first step, of course, and McDonald’s plans to move forward in the years to come, including vegan, plant-based menus by 2025.

Photos courtesy of Anthony Devlin/PA.

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DIY the NASA-inspired airless bike tires using PVC pipes, bolts and nuts. Watch the video!

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Popular DIY and science YouTube channel, The Q took his viewers through the process of replacing his bicycle’s traditional rubber tires with a set of airless ones put together with an old PVC pipe and some nuts and bolts.

We’ve seen airless tires on construction vehicles, like backhoes and skid steers, and smaller vehicles like golf carts and lawnmowers. No one wants a flat tire while mowing the lawn or playing golf and the chance for a flat tire is far higher in places like construction zones and building demolition sites. It makes sense that some vehicles prioritize airless tires and some don’t, but what about bicycles?

The Q, popular science and DIY YouTube channel, asked the same question and looked no further than an old PVC pipe and some nuts and bolts to answer it. Before constructing his airless tires, The Q was sure to pick a PVC pipe that had enough density to support a rider and ride well on different terrain. Settling on a ½” thick PVC pipe, The Q then sliced the PVC pipe into two-inch wide rings. From there, the DIY YouTuber connected all of the rings into a single link after drilling three holes into each and joining them together with nuts and bolts.

The Q then drilled corresponding holes into the rim of the bike, linking those holes with the ones previously drilled into the PVC rings. Reinforcing that layering with nuts and bolts, The Q repeated the process for two more rows, resulting in a triple overlay of PVC rings. With the main job complete, The Q finalized the project by carving the top layer of rubber from the bike’s original tire before laying it over the rows of PVC rings and gorilla gluing all of the pieces together. From there, the airless tires were ready to hit the road.

While The Q admits that the overall construction could benefit from slight modifications, the bike’s airless tires are fully functional and can ride smoothly over varying terrains, from sand to grass, and from pavement to gravel.

Designer: The Q

Bosnian man builds a spinning home for his wife that can complete a full rotation in only 22 seconds!

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In the town of Srbac, Bosnia, a 72-year-old man transformed his family home into a rotating duplex for his son, daughter-in-law, and beloved wife.

We do what we can for the ones we love. Some might surprise their partner with a romantic holiday, let a friend borrow their car, or cover the tab at a boozy brunch. In Bosnia, a 72-year-old man named Vojin Kusic built a rotating home for his wife, ljubica, following her wish for both their bedroom and living room to face the sun. Some of us do what we can, and then some.

From inside their rotating home, the couple is gently woken up by the sun over fertile grasslands in the morning. Then, come high afternoon while sitting in the living room, the Kusic’s are warmed by natural sunlight and positioned in the ideal spot to keep an eye on who’s coming to visit them. Borrowing electric motors and wheels from an old military transport vehicle, Vojin Kusic built the rotating home with his own two hands.

When Vojin built his family’s first home, he oriented it so that his and his wife’s bedroom faced the sun, but as the years went by, the Vusics realized their need to supervise the driveway from their living room. This realization gave way to their spinning house. Spinning on a 7-meter axis, at its slowest speed, Vojin’s home completes a rotation in 24 hours and at its fastest, the home can turn around in 22 seconds.

Remodeling their family home served more than the purpose of fulfilling ljubica’s wish, as Vojin transformed the home’s topmost level into a loft for his son and wife to live, while the downstairs remained reserved for the parents. While the renovation required a lot of manual labor and electrical rewiring, the rotating feature was inspired and designed all by Vojin’s natural wit.

Designer: Vojin Kusic

This sustainable material made from shell waste is cheaper & eco-friendly alternative to concrete!

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Each year over 7 million tons of seashells are thrown away by the seafood industry into landfills. Shells are not biodegradable and have a very high disposal cost which harms the environment as well as the restaurant owners. So this innovative, women-run,  material lab called Newtab-22 created Sea Stone – a natural product made from seashell waste that was salvaged from the seafood and aquaculture industries. It is a sustainable alternative to using concrete – one of the biggest producers of carbon emissions – in the making of smaller products.

Sea Stone is made by grinding down shells that are destined for landfills before combining them with natural, non-toxic binders. This grants the material a terrazzo-like aesthetic. The aim is to make it a sustainable alternative to concrete in the design of small-scale products, as the two materials share similar properties. Seashells are rich in calcium carbonate aka limestone, which is used to make cement – a key ingredient of concrete.

The process involves grinding down the shells and mixing them with natural binders. They are then added to a mould and left to solidify into concrete-like tiles. This method is currently carried out manually to avoid the use of heat, electricity and chemical treatments and ensure the process is as sustainable and affordable as possible. It results in variations in the sizes, textures and colours of the shell fragments and means that each piece of Sea Stone is unique. You can get different textures by altering the number of shells, binders, or adding coloured dyes for aesthetics.

“Even though some of the seashells have been recycled and used as fertilisers, the majority of them are being thrown into landfills or by the seaside. The discarded seashells, which are uncleaned or rotten, have not been cleared away at all and they have been piling up near the beach for a long time, thus causing odour pollution and polluting the surrounding land in the long run. Sea Stone proposes the use of discarded seashells to create environmentally and economically sustainable material rather than contributing to the world’s rubbish problem,” explained Newtab-22.

Newtab-22 has experimented with an array of natural binders in the development of Sea Stone, including sugar and agar. It is now reliant on two undisclosed and patent-pending sources. The material is currently being developed for commercial purposes and has so far been used to make products such as decorative tiles, tabletops, plinths and vases.

While the properties of the concrete and Sea Stone are similar, to truly replicate the strength of traditional concrete required in large-scale projects like buildings, an energy-intensive heating process would be required. This would be comparable to the method used to make cement, which accounts for half of all the CO2 emissions that result from using concrete. “The power of the material is different, we do not want to harm the environment in the process or the outcome,” said Hyein Choi, co-founder of the studio.

Sea Stone is versatile, durable and a lightweight alternative to not only concrete but also plastic – it can be used to produce several objects while repurposing waste, reducing carbon emissions of the toxic counterpart materials and keeping the costs low. Time to find that girl who sells sea shells by the sea shore, eh?

Designer: Newtab-22

The viral Xiaomi robotic dog posed to be an affordable challenge to Boston Dynamic’s Spot just released new images + sketches!

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Quadruped robots hit the scene in 1976 and since then, they’ve been used for everything from unsafe forensic and governmental tasks such as bomb-sniffing and mine surveying to clinical tasks like connecting with patients to provide remote medical attention.

Quadruped technology is the talk of the robotics world. Four-legged robots are relied on by industries across the world for tasks that require a stable walking gait and agile mobility. Xiaomi, a Chinese tech company, recently unveiled more 3D renders of their own Quadruped robotic creation, CyberDog.

Currently, the bio-inspired, four-legged robot has been engineered as a robotic companion whose future technical capabilities are still in development. In a recent press release from Xiaomi, it’s said that CyberDog comes complete with “AI interactive cameras [and sensors], binocular ultra-wide-angle fisheye cameras, and Intel ® RealSense™ D450 Depth module, and can be trained with its computer vision algorithm.”

CyberDog’s external interface features an array of camera sensors. CyberDog’s involved vision sensor system allows the robot to carve out its own navigational map and analyze its surrounding environment in real-time, allowing it to look toward a destination and avoid physical barriers on the way. Currently, CyberDog’s integrated software allows the quadruped robotic companion to operate like a real dog.

Inspired by the pet-like nature of canines, CyberDog also features built-in smart technology that allows posture and facial recognition, which means CyberDog can even follow its owner around like a real dog. Xiaomi filled CyberDog with 11 high-precision sensors that allow the robot to register, analyze, and interact with its surrounding environment. With a maximum torque output and rotation speed up to 32N·m/220Rpm, CyberDog can move at speeds up to 3.2 m/s.

Syberdog also comes with 3 type-C ports and 1 HDMI port so users can attach hardware add-ons, Xiaomi describes, “be it a search light, panoramic camera, motion camera, LiDAR, or more.” In addition to its integrated biometric technology, CyberDog responds to voice commands like assigning tasks or operation control. Alternatively, users can manage CyberDog’s movement and direction via accompanying remote control or smartphone applications.

Expanding on CyberDog’s technical and managerial potential, a “rich external interface” includes 3 type-C ports and 1 HDMI port, allowing users to attach hardware add-ons or software systems to make acute improvements to CyberDog’s existing technology. On CyberDog’s ability to register commands, Xiaomi notes, “CyberDog can be called on for the most unique tasks, and the ways in which it can be interacted with holds unforetold possibilities.”

Designer: Xiaomi

Rubber bottomed feet allow CyberDog to move around rugged terrain and indoor settings alike.

Hinged limbs allow CyberDog to move just like a canine animal.

CyberDog can even do push-ups. Only half-kidding. It can do push-ups, thanks to its 220 rpm32N-m maximum torque.

Soft rubber bottoms allow for soft and nimble treading.

11 high-precision sensors fill out CyberDog’s internal wiring that give CyberDog the power to understand, analyze, and interact with its environment.

CyberDog comes equipped with voice command technology and facial recognition software so it can follow humans around and respond to tasks like a real canine might.

CyberDog can conduct high-speed movements up to 3.2 m/s.