The 2009 International Plastics Design Competition (IPDC) took place in
Chicago in June and the 12 winners are absolutely awesome products,
innovators in their respective fields as well as in plastics
engineering. And they were all designed to be sustainable, cost
effective, and to reduce our carbon footprint.
The event, sponsored by the Alliance of Plastic Processors, awarded 12 product designs in categories such as Recreation and Leisure, Furniture, Packaging and Materials, and Retail… but first the People’s Choice Award!
1. People’s Choice Award: Excelec & CIA Prepaid Energy Meter
This innovative device was designed by the Research Institute for Plastics and Rubber at EAFIT University in Columbia, South America. The device is intended for poor people in rural Columbia who can’t afford to pay for a constant supply of energy to power their homes. The Prepaid Energy Meters work a lot like prepaid cell phones. You contract for a specific amount of power for a specific amount of time, and when you are ready for some light, just dial it in. Once US dollar can buy about 2 hours of light.
Not only impressive in concept and ecological design, the product was commended for the ecological choice of materials and technical features. For example, the Prepaid Energy Meter is made from post-consumer recycled PET from soda and water bottles and the batteries are lead-free.
2. Best Recreation & Leisure Award: Durham Boat Competition Aero Oar
Designed by Michael Dreher, the Aero Oar shaft and blade are aerodynamically designed for maximum air resistance. Stiff and lightweight, the Competition Oar is made of high modulus carbon and syntactic foam. The handle is adjustable and removable with a fit under the sleeve of the oar.
3. Best Furniture Award: The Embody® Chair By Herman Miller
The ultimate in ergonomic sitting, Herman Miller’s latest biomechanical desk chair, the Embody, had input from healthcare, ergonomics, and material science professionals, but the design was by Jeff Weber and the late Bill Stumpf. The innovation of the Embody Chair is freedom of movement; that is, both the seat and the back of the chair move with you while while they support you. So lean over, lean back, get comfortable; the Embody’s going with you.
4. Best Packaging & Materials Handling Award:
Sosa Tech-Advisors’ High Impact Plastic Pallet
They
said it couldn’t be done, but industrial engineer Sergio Sosa did the
previously impossible: he made a high impact pallet that was stronger and cheaper
in price than those that were already in use. If at first he didn’t
succeed, he was persistent, and he achieved his goal by inventing a
new hybrid manufacturing process: inside injection foaming (iif). Foam
is injected into the a part while it is being molded, giving greater
strength, higher impact performance, and rigidity to the part. The
processing time of the part was decreased by 50 seconds as a result,
the cost of materials was reduced, and the pallet can resist the weight
of a bundle dropped by a forklift!
5. Best Sustainable Consumer Product: KOR ONE Hydration Vessel
The
Kor One water bottle does much more than meets the eye. First, of
course, it’s sustainable. You’ll note it’s clear as glass (this design
has a nice sea blue tint), and it is made a new copolyester plastic, Tritan
by Eastman, which marries the heat resistant properties of copolyester
with the clarity of polycarbonate. Not only is it perfectly safe to
drink from, it is also very high impact, machine washable, and it looks
great!
The Kor One cap is designed for one-handed operation
with a cap you can flip open with your thumb and that stays open until
you close it. The bottle is easy to refill from a sink, refrigerator,
or water cooler.
6. Best Single Part Award: The Rotomolded Plastic School Desk
Aren’t
these inviting enough to make you wish you were in sixth grade again?
The designer, Investigación y Desarrollo C.A., was commissioned by the
Venezuelan government to create a comfortable, colorful one-piece desk
for Venezuelan schools. Several innovations were created in the design
and rotational molding process to create a plastic chair as sturdy as a
wood chair, and a four part mold needed to be built to accommodate
those needs as well as the very strict dimensions required for final
delivery of the chairs. But done now, all you can say is "Cool!"
7. Best Lawn & Garden Agriculture Award: John Deere Seed Tube
The
John Deere Seed Tube is deceptively simple looking, but apparently
there were many creative and innovative mold making and molding steps
that had to be taken to make it work. If you are a mold maker or an
injection molder, the details should interest you.
8. Best Retail Award: Target All Plastic Shopping Cart
It
looks familiar but it’s not the same, is it? Target substituted the
metal handle and rims with plastic, and achieved a distinctive look
with better handling, lighter weight, and less destructive corners. The
casters even look like they were moved back so perhaps they won’t run
over one’s toes. The plastic shopping carts require less maintenance,
are lighter to ship, and expected to last longer. There’s a safer,
more durable safety seat too, for kids.
9. Judges’ Best Award: Thermoset Food Service Platter
There
are many things which can be learned only by working or living in a
specific environment; otherwise there may not be a motivation to
learn. "Fajita problems" are one of those things. If you don’t work
in a restaurant that serves fajitas in the traditional Mexican
fashion, à la hot iron skillet with plywood under-liner, then you would
not know about the problems with this method of service: plywood does
not protect the underlying table from the heat, it does nothing to
retain the heat of the skillet, and it can even burn the server.
Keith
Nybakke of Nuhill Technologies Inc. designed Hot Solutions as a service
food tray to eliminate fajita problems. Using a thermoset plastic,
actually two different BMC materials molded simultaneously, Hot
Solutions keeps server and patron safely away from the skillet, looses
less heat, and prevents damage to table surfaces. I’d say that is a hot solution!
10. Best Automotive/Transportation Award: BMW Twin Sheet Blow Molded Automotive Fuel System
BMW
of North American developed the twin sheet mold to minimize the problem
of evaporated fuel loss, thereby reducing fuel emissions from 180mg
hydrocarbon/day to just 36mg/day for the complete system in one
automobile. Designed by Inergy Automotive, the innovative details make
my eyes cross, so for you molders out there, here you go.
11. Best Sustainable Industrial/Military Award: Waterbrick
FPM
Tooling & Automation patented this plastic container which is
capable of carrying water, food, and medical supplies to developing
countries. The plastic is extremely durable, as they must be capable
of being dropped in pallets from airplanes or helicopters.
Now,
why are these sustainable you may ask… The interlocking Waterbricks
can be assembled to build safe and durable housing, schools, medical
facilities or defense positions!
12. Best Innovative Plastics Design/Medical Award: The Hospira iSecure Syringe
The
iSecure Syringe has four non-bonding parts which require three
different plastics to manufacture. Additionally, the individual parts
need to meet exact specifications in order to fit together and to do
its job. Production is not difficult, but costly, with four injection
molds running separately. But John Domkowski / Robert Oshgan, who
designed the syringe took a different route, developing one mold to run
the four parts in their different materials at one time — with a cycle
time of 10 seconds! Molders, go for it!
Plastics Design.org
