Volumes of production
This is limited to batch production from a single company. Oskar Zieta’s creative process involves a hands-on approach where a great amount of experimentation and prototyping is carried out with different shapes to test the behavior and possibilities of the steel. Therefore this is a process that is suited to one-off or large-scale batch production.
Unit price vs. capital investment
Laser technology is still expensive but the difference between price of the material per pound and laser generator has changed dramatically in the past five years. Cheaper lasers will mean that this technology will be used more frequently in future. The numerous prototyping and product test steps require a lot of setup time to develop a design, so both lead times and costs are increased; however, in many cases tooling is kept to a minimum.
Speed
It takes 21 minutes to make one of the stools.
Surface
All of the common surface treatments—polishing, powder-coating, lacquering, enamel-coating, gumming—can be used to treat the surface.
Scale
Steel-sheet coils are up to 2½ miles long, the largest nonstandard sheets are 10 x 100 feet. One of Oskar’s projects for London’s Victoria and Albert Museum was 100 feet long.
Tolerances
The tolerance is dependent on the complexity and the geometry of the shape.
Relevant materials
Sheet steel and plastics.
Typical products
The process had predominantly been used to produce furniture, including stools, chairs, and benches. However, this innovative technique has now found its way into the development of wind turbine rotor fins, structural forms such as bridges, exhibition pieces, and even bike frames.
Similar methods
Superforming aluminum (p.70), impact extrusion (p.146), press forming (p.59).
Sustainability
Material consumption is low as the steel structures are hollow yet stable and strong. Apart from the sealing of the metal edges no heat is required.
Further information
www.zieta.pl
www.nadente.com
www.blech.arch.ethz.ch
Inflating Metal
Product |
inflated stainless steel pillows |
Designer |
Stephen Newby |
Materials |
stainless steel |
Manufacturer |
Full Blown Metals |
Country |
UK |
Date |
2002 |
The indentations in these pillow shapes are the natural result of the metal creasing when it is inflated from the two sheets of steel that are sandwiched together.
From its extraction when creating vacuums to its sudden introduction into a pre-form to create plastic bottles, air is often a key material in production methods. In terms of blow forming, it is thousands of years old, and its earliest use was in the forming of glass. British designer Stephen Newby, however, has recently introduced a way of inflating stainless steel sheet to create new possibilities in visual language for this hard metal.
The soft appearance of the inflated shapes contrasts with the tough, hard quality of the steel. The process literally involves inflating two sheets of metal that have been sandwiched together and sealed at the edges, without using molds. Each inflated piece, therefore, responds in a different way, producing a unique piece. In terms of size, the pieces are only limited by the original sheet size. A variety of textured and colored stainless steels can be used—these are not damaged in the process because the metal is formed from the inside.
– Ability to form unique shapes in metal.
– High strength-to-weight ratio.
– The process can be used to form high-tensile strength materials.
– Factory-applied finishes are preserved in the forming process.
– Specific dimensions are easily achieved without the need for molds or jigs.
– Offered only by a single manufacturer.