Unique uses for extrusions

Junior that’s cool! And clever.

carbon: keep in mind that closed sections add to the tool cost. But perhaps you could add wall thickness and have inclosed screw posts, and close them off with something like this from both ends:
http://www.quickship.com/cli-aluminum-screw-posts-silver-0-25in-length


Do you have a supplier in mind? They have usually seen a ton of solutions and can probably make some suggestions.

All wonderful suggestions. I do wish I could use aluminum. The cost is just too high and would not allow for optimal margins on the product. That being said maybe its a combination of different materials that are assembled together similar to the examples shown. I have considered machining in features to the extrusion for added functionality and attachment purposes. Having a closed wall is not ideal but still cheaper than initial tooling dollars spent on an injection molded product. One of the other concepts I had was to flip the extrusion from vertical to horizontal similar to Juniors post and machined out spacing for the cup and added a thermoformed or wire container that slides out like a drawer. Ill post a few images.

More concepts. Not pretty but you get the idea.

I think the one on the bottom right actually looks like it could be the easiest from a manufacturing standpoint. That part could probably be very easily made from a single piece of sheet metal that was stamped/cut and then rolled into shape. In fact if you made the ends an even radius (pill shape) it would be very easy and the least # of bends to build the part.

Sometimes if you’re thinking about making something like this that really needs to exist at a commodity level, thinking on how to remove some of those additional manufacturing steps is key.

Good points Cyberdemon. Sometimes less is more I guess. Maybe i need to take a look at some of Dieter Rams’s products.

… and at this point we cross over into the realm of Projects.

Thank you Mr. Moderator.

Alright members, any ideas on ways to make this concept better?

Thank you Mr. Moderator.

de nada

I may be nitpicking here, but aluminum conducts heat so it may not be the best material to hold a hot/cold drink.

Yeah, good point. Could potentially act as a heat sink cooling an un insulated hot beverage down faster than someone may like. Im not much worried about the heat transfer causing a burn. You do bring up an interesting idea. Wonder if you could design it in such a way that it keeps a drink cooler for a longer period of time? Not sure if there is something there or not.

I don’t think the material will make much difference in heating/cooling. The material would be pretty thin so not much thermal mass. Plus the mug is an insulator.

One thing to consider is that not everyone uses a mug like that. I think more common would be a take out starbucks cup, so you need to be able to get it out without a handle.

You latest concepts look a bit more interesting, but honestly I can’t really see that point of the whole thing. Is your company really going to tool up and go to market with this? You said it’s not just an exercise, right? Have you questioned the original premise that this product is even wanted/needed? Might there be a better product with same/different materials that is more interesting and has a better opportunity in the market?

R

Cool stuff, Scott.

What keeps the assembled sections from coming apart? Are there some dowels of sorts that each piece slots into?

Wow, this one developed into a great topic. I find extrusion a very promising technology in many aspects and believe that it will find more and more usage in the future. Many lightweight, functional and strong products are being produced. Especially the usage in automotive is a gamechanger. Many aluminium car chassis have large amounts of extrusions. Than there are Lotus cars that are made of large sections of extrusions

. There are very nice examples posted on this topic, thanks to every contributer.

Does anybody know how fine/detailed a small extrusion can be? How complex can it be?

Thanks. Yes, exactly: 1/4" steel dowels that fit into corresponding aluminum inserts in the sides (the keep the holes from ovalizing over time).

PreDesign- I have some some crazy detailed and fine extrusions. I remember one that was about a 1/4" diameter tube, and the inside had maybe 10 tiny little radial fins .010-.020" thick to transfer heat from whatever fluid passed through the tube. It was some sort of spacecraft cooling component. That detail has to be proportional to the surrounding wall thickness though (just like an injection molded part) to prevent distortion problems as the part cools.

The chair and the iPod are really cool.

The LaCie Porsche Design P’9220 mobile hard drive. Any extrusion that says “PORSCHE DESIGN” on it is on my cool list. :wink:

Here are a couple of extruded products that have always inspired me

Cool technology to decorate your extrusions - extremely durable (for indoors and outdoors products) with illimited graphic possibilities!!

Check out their website: http://www.systemeinc.com in the ALTO section

Have fun and let your creativity go wild!!
Sandra



Just noticed this Kickstart page and made me think of this thread. Interesting that they are planning on making such a simple piece to be used in such a wide array of uses.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ttstam/openbeam-an-open-source-miniature-construction-sys

It’s cool that they’re trying to bring down the cost using standard bolts, though I have to admit 80/20 (http://www.8020.net/T-Slot-1.asp) does have a lot of useful accessories (huge catalog) and their stuff is good quality.