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FOC CHALLENGES INNOVATION IN DESIGN WITH THE HELP OF SOMOS WATERSHED™ AT THE SPIN OFF FORUM IN COLOGNE
16 February 2004 - DSM Somos
| In the 'Spin Off' forum of the Imm Cologne international furniture fair, Freedom Of Creation (FOC) introduced new concepts for lightweight, yet extremely strong and translucent furniture. |
Their stool, “Honey Bunns”, featuring honeycomb-like architectural structures, was created by FOC using computer aided design, stereolithography construction processes and advanced material technology by DSM Somos®. Created from DSM Somos' WaterShed™ SL resin,'Honey Bunns' met Spin Off organizers' requirements of “ready to produce” and focuses on new methods aimed at increasing the business of manufacturers of innovative new furnishings. FOC founders Jiri Evenhuis and Janne Kyttanen began experimenting with SL technology, traditionally used in industrial design for rapid prototyping, in an ongoing effort to find alternatives to manufacturing processes based on mass production logistics. With the help of advanced materials recently introduced by DSM Somos, a series of products have now been developed which are setting new trends in design evolution. 'We prefer referring to rapid prototyping techniques as '3-dimensional printing', says Evenhuis, 'as we find that this term helps us better communicate the process involved. We have experimented with many rapid prototyping technologies and materials, but in the past only dreamed of being able to create 'easy to clean' translucent end-products. Honey Bunns is a new milestone for us, when it comes to complicated 3D files and large 3D printed end-products. DSM Somos' new material technologies are inspiring us to try design innovations for which other rapid prototyping materials would have been either too flexible, too fragile, or not yet suitable for producing end-products with 3D printing.'
http://www.dsmsomos.com
About: DSM Somos
DSM Somos is an unincorporated division of DSM Desotech—a world leader in the development of UV-curable materials—and a member of the global DSM family.
DSM Somos is currently the world's second largest materials supplier to the rapid prototyping industry, providing stereolithography liquids and
selective laser sintering powders used for the creation of three dimensional models and prototypes directly from digital data. Somos' patented ProtoFunctional materials are used by a variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, medical and telecommunications. DSM Somos has developed a full line of rapid prototyping materials that replicate the performance parameters of production materials, saving both time and money in new product development. From thermoplastic elastomers to polyethylene and polypropylene, DSM Somos has stereolithography and selective laser sintering technologies. The Somos business has been actively involved in the development of rapid prototyping materials since the late 1980s, from the introduction of the first commercial Somos stereolithography resin in 1992. DSM Somos is part of DSM Desotech, a leading innovative formulator and manufacturer of high quality ultraviolet and electron beam (UV/EB) curable materials. DSM Desotech is a business unit of DSM - an international chemicals and materials group headquartered in The Netherlands, with annual sales of EUR 8.1 billion and a work force of approximately 22,000 employees at more than 200 sites worldwide. DSM is active worldwide in life science and nutritional products, performance materials and industrial chemicals. The company specializes in innovative products and services that help improve the quality of life and DSM products are currently used in a wide range of end markets and applications such as human and animal nutrition and health, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, automotive and transport, coatings, housing and electrics & electronics (E&E). The group has annual sales (pro forma including the recent acquisition - renamed DSM Nutritional Products) of approximately EUR 8 billion and employs about 26,000 people around the world. Ranking among the global leaders in many of its fields, DSM is headquartered in the Netherlands, with locations in Europe, Asia and the Americas. |
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