Granta Design Ltd., England, offers university educators and students the new CES EduPack, “Products, Materials, and Processes Database,” which includes both the Designer’s View and the Engineer’s View of materials information. This approach allows both to learn how to create products that are functional and aesthetically pleasing, such as this “hedgehog” cheese grater. The database was inspired by ASM International’s MTRL/database and contains many of the same beautiful and informative images by Chris Lefteri.
It runs inside the CES EduPack 2016 software, and opens with a gallery of colorful, innovative products, some chosen because of their new materials, others because existing materials are used in new ways, or because they tell a story. Students who are intrigued by a cool product can see how successful designs create wealth for companies and satisfaction for consumers. They can then click on an image, which will open more details on the product, its design, its designer, how it was made, and its materials.
In the Designer’s View, an image illustrating a typical use of the material is shown along with a description, density, and price data. This is followed by aesthetic attributes, such as tactile warmth, touch, and flex. These are related to things students can feel for themselves – glass in a window pane is cold to the touch, an aluminum drink can is light but strong – and the attributes are presented objectively rather than being subjective.
In the Engineer’s View, students quickly access reliable mechanical, thermal, electrical, and eco properties of materials. Design guidelines and typical uses offer them more context.
Granta asked industrial design experts to help develop the database. One said, “This link from products to materials is really important. This is really beautiful, because it is providing easy ways of doing it. Designers are always doing this, trying to find out for themselves: ‘What kind of material is this product made of?'”
Students can connect with the design of the iMac, the iconic computer that required designer Jonathan Ive and Apple to explore different polymers and molding technologies. Or with the Smart city-coupe, the car with polymer body panels that can be colored, eliminating the need for paint.
Granta Design is a spin-out of the University of Cambridge Engineering Department; which specializes in Materials Information Management in industry and education. CES EduPack is used at about a thousand Universities and Colleges worldwide.
www.grantadesign.com/education
CES EduPack ‘Products, Materials and Processes’ Database
