Young  Furniture  makers  

Industry  tour  2017  

 

The  Furniture  Makers  Industry  Tour  is  a  great  experience  that  offers  an  interesting  insight  into  design  and  manufacture  within  the  companies,  as  well  as  offering  a  trip  with  like  minded  design  students.  Before  going  I  was  interested  in  the  process  of  how  a  large  company  starts  a  brand  new  design  and  how  they  implement  this  into  their  production.  I  was  also  curious  about  machinery  and  

techniques  used  within  the  furniture  industry.    

Day  1  Festool:  Tradition  is  good.  Tradition  plus  Innovation  is  better.  

 Our  first  visit  was  to  Festool.  After  a  short  introduction，we  got  a  better  understanding  of  how  Festool  has  become  one  of  the  power  tool  leaders  and  how  it  brings  quality  and  innovation  to  the  market.    We  were  guided  by  the  knowledgeable  technical  trainer  Phil  Beckley.  He  showed  us  the  difference  between  Festool’s  own  and  another  edge  bander.  While  using  the  edge  bander,  the  advantages  of  flexibility  and  easy  control  design  of  Festool  are  obvious.  Compared  to  the  traditional  edge  bender,  Festool’s  one  looks  neater  and  feels  safer  when  using  it.  

 The  most  impressive  thing  for  me  is  how  the  Festool  brand  applied  color.  When  I  asked  Phil  how  Festool  arranges  the  green  of  the  buttons,  he  pointed  out  that  the  designers  actually  arrange  the  green  really  carefully.  With  other  products,    green  buttons  are  generally  only  for  power  switches,  whereas  Festool’s  buttons  are  for  adjusting/instruction,  the  green  buttons  not  only  represent  the  meaning  of  the  brand  but  also  as  the  tool’s  instructions  and  bring  the  user  efficiency  and  safety.          

Day2  Harrison  Spinks:  Comfort  from  Nature  

 Harrison  Spinks  is  a  great  factory  to  visit.  When  entering  their  storage  house,  the  massive  mountains  of  different  wool  were  fascinating.    

      Unlike   the   other   mattress   manufacturers,   Harrison   Spinks’s   mattress   wool  comes  form  their  own  farms,  and  yet,  to  ensure  the  quality  of  its’  products,  the  mattress  company  does  not  only  produce  its’  own  wool  but  also  provides  most  of  the  components  for  their  beds,  such  as  springs  and  the  bed  rests.    

   

    Most   of   the   company’s   ideas   are   innovative   and   interesting,   such   as   folding  mattresses   into   small   boxes   to   save   the   transport   space,   and   double   use  mattresses  designed  for  babies  according  to  their  age.              

   It’s   also   interesting   that  when  we  walked  passed  a  machine  which  puts   springs  into  sheets,  I  saw  some  springs  were  not  arranged  properly  and  asked  our  guide  how  they  would  deal  with  this  problem.  She  told  us  that  if  the  machines  just  made  some  small  mistakes,  the  workers  will  adjust  them  by  hand,  but   if   there   is  a  big  mistake,   the   wrong   products   will   be   recycled.   From   this,   I   got   a   better  understanding  of  how  this  company  care  for  both  quality  and  sustainability.    

   

   

 Day2  

CD  (UK)  Ltd:  Make  creative  vision  real    

 CDUK  provided  a  great  insight  into  the  properties  and  applications  of  Corian.  A  very  welcoming  presentation  at   the   start   really  got  everyone  thinking  about  the  potential  uses  and  projects  we  could  create.    We  were  shown   the  many  potential   applications  of   the  material  from  interior  design  within  retail,  uses  within  the  medical  industry,  kitchen  design  and  more  product  design  by  various  students  such  as  lighting  and  tiling.    We  were  then  shown  some  of  the  properties  Corian  has  to  offer  in  person  with  a  strip  heated  up  and  shaped,  as  well  as  the  amazing  repair  jobs  within  a  counter  top.  This  really  showed  how  seamless  a  join  could  be  between  two  Corian  pieces  if  done  correctly.  It  was  interesting  to  know  that  when  a  Corian  countertop  is  fitted  any  offcuts/leftover  pieces  are  saved  and  made  into  a  chopping   board   for   the   owners.   This   is   incase   a   repair   is  ever  needed  the  exact  material  is  available  to  use.  

 We   were   then   shown   a   demonstration   that   involved  heating  and  folding  a  large  section  around  a  former  that  will  go  into  a  bar/nightclub  interior.  This  was  great  to  see  how  a  large  piece  of  the  material  being  worked.  Corian   were   extremely   generous   with   providing   free  samples  for  everyone  to  experiment  within  our  own  time,  as  well  as  offering  a  training  program  for  those  seriously  interested   in   working   with   the   material   for   a   future  project.      CDUK   explained   how   they   keep   their   Corian  material  exclusive.  They  believe  they  only  want  their  material  used  to  a  high  standard.  They  also  said  they  have  a  large  range  of  100  colours  which  I  would  like  to  see  extended  further.    I  was  very  interested  in  how  they  cast  the  material  and   make   the   colours/veins   within   it.   They  explained   this   was   done   in   their   other   factories,   I  think   it   would   have   been   great   to   see   footage   of   this   process   perhaps   in   the  presentation  at  the  start.    Overall,  a  welcoming  and  generous  visit  that  I  think  has  inspired  a  lot  of  us  to  work  with  the  material  in  the  future.  

   

 Day3  

Knightsbridge:    

The   Knightsbridge   furniture   tour   was   very   insightful,   we   were  shown  each  stage  of  the  process  from  the  initial  wood  they  used,  through   to   the   shaping   of   each   component   and   final   assembly.   I  found  it  particularly  interesting  to  see  how  their  CAD  department  is  on   site.  When   talking   to   the  designers   they   informed  us  of   their  typical   working   day   and   how   a   project   is   started.   It   must   be  incredibly    satisfying  to  go  from  a  digital  design  to  seeing  the  final   finished  product  out  on  the  factory  floor.       I  was  curious  how  much  of  their  production  would  be  by  hand  and  what  would   be   automated.   It  was   very   interesting   to   see   how   they   achieved  these  complex  shapes  through  the  use  of  formers  and  jigs,  that  allowed  for  easy  repeatability  and  also  created  a  high  quality  component.  The  layout  of  the  building  works  very  well  for  each  stage  of  production.  It  was  clear  to  

see  the  shaping  of  each  component,  to  assembly  through  the  finishing  processes  that  used  large  drying  conveyor  belts  that  carried  each  work  piece  to  the  next  location.  The   tour   through   the   large   factory  was   very   thorough   and  informative.   I   did   not   expect   to   see   their   prototyping  department  where  they  were  developing  the  practical  models  of   their   furniture   from   various   sketches   and   technical  drawings.      We  saw  a  lot  of  handwork  especially  in  the  upholstery    stage  of  production,  they  explained  they  have  a  very  good  apprenticeship  scheme  at  the  factory.    Everyone   was   extremely   kind   and   welcoming,   the  factory  tour  was  amazing  to  see  the   initial  piece  of  wood   go   through   each   stage   and   transform   into   a  well   designed   finished   piece   of   furniture.   The  manufacturing  techniques  have  really  made  me  think  about  batch  manufacture  and  how  my  designs  can  be  made  to  aid  this  step  in  efficiency.  

   We  would  like  to  thank  everyone  at  the  Young  Furniture  Makers  Guild  as  well  as  the  sponsors  we  were  able  to  visit.  The  entire  trip  has  been  very  inspiring  for  us  all.    -­‐By  LuYao  Chen  and  Heath  Townsend.