A student project group from the Industrial Design Engineering study at Hogeschool van Amsterdam is currently looking for companies that want to have a product redesigned into plastic or want to scale up and could use help with this. Thirty students will work for you for ten weeks.
The students are working in ten groups of three to develop an integrated design, including detail engineering. They investigate which (plastic) production technique best suits the product in question and, using your technical requirements, look at optimal integrated design, producibility and cost. In doing so, they are coached by a professional team of teachers and product developers. The project is ideal for companies (preferably in the Amsterdam area) looking to scale up, explains lecturer Marc Barends. But companies looking to redesign a product are also eligible. "Perhaps there are companies that already have a plastic injection moulded product but it has had so many modifications over time that it no longer optimally meets demand. It could also be that certain other wishes or requirements have been added and a product 2.0 is needed. That new design would be fine for the students to pick up."
So these are not projects that are in the critical path, Marc clarifies. "At the end of the day, it's still a student project, so it's not like you have the files to produce after ten weeks. But it works very well as an exploration, as we are now seeing with a similar project in metal production. It's not about the projects at the top of the pile, but rather that layer below. Not issues that need immediate answers right now."
It only takes time
All that is asked of you as a company is a little bit of time. Marc: "The students start by thinking about what integrated design actually is. That is one of the learning objectives. If you go from sheet steel housing to plastic production techniques, there are a lot of functions that need to be integrated into that housing. Think of controls, a screen, a click system, a battery holder, a handle on and so on. You pay for that mould anyway, so the more features, the more interesting. That's what we think about in the first week. In week two, we ask the company to visit us to introduce itself and kick off the assignment. In the following weeks, we start working on the design and making a concept. In consultation with the company, the best concept is chosen and worked out in detail, with cad drawings. This is followed by a pitch somewhere, in which the students tell the company what their findings are at its premises. An advantage for the company is that it can invite several people, from management to sales and production. They can all take shots at it. The students then spend another week using that feedback to create an improved report. All we ask from a company is to participate and open its doors for a visit, field trip and pitch and join us once. It doesn't cost any money. It takes you a week's time and gets you two man-years of effort."
In touch with MKB
The students will mainly focus on injection moulding, but are also looking at other plastic manufacturing techniques if required. "They are students who mainly work in serial things during their studies so then you quickly come to extrusion, vacuum forming and, in particular, injection moulding. Not so much laser cutting. That can be done but is more focused on low quantities. That integrated design is particularly interesting for making, for example, an appliance housing, remote control or housing for electronics. Kitchen equipment or analytical equipment for a laboratory are also interesting. For parties like Philips with their large masses, we will not be able to play a role soon, but for SMEs we think we can." Barends is happy to get in touch with interested companies, although the project will start as early as mid-April. "I have already made contact with some companies during ESEF and the Chamber of Commerce is also supporting the project. I really think it is a win-win situation. I don't think a company should step in with the thought of 'go for it' but should be convinced that it will benefit. Otherwise, you will only get in each other's way. And so remember that acute projects are not appropriate. If you design as a company and want continuity, you also have to think about the next five years. Students do that while the core business continues. Moreover, it can be refreshing to have these young people look at it. They think out of the box quicker and are industry aliens, so they often look at things in a very different way."
Want to sign up for the student project? It's still just about possible. Mail to: M.L.Barends@hva.nl.
