Creo Customer Q&A: Concept Design and Direct Modeling

By LINDSEY CHRISTENSEN | Published: JAN 11, 2012

RKS Design is consistently recognized as one of the top 10 industrial design firms in North America. I posted previously that VP and Creative Director, Lance Hussey, was to present in a webinar entitled Top Tips for Selecting Concept Design Software. Lance explains some cool real-world examples of innovative designs from RKS and how they came to be.

At end of the live event we received some great questions from the audience which were fielded to Lance as well as Creo’s Technical Sales Manager, Paul Hamilton.  For your reading enjoyment, the live Q&A transcript:

Q&A with Lance Hussey of RKS and Paul Hamilton of PTC

Q: Why do you believe direct modeling is a better approach than others duringconcept design?

LH: For our process, when we need to have the flexibility to change and go in different directions while trying to come up with something, direct modeling is fast.  History-based modeling is great, it has its place, it’s just a different type of tool. But because we really move around a lot on the map, in terms of being able to change and modify things, direct modeling is how we’re able to develop fast. It’s been a huge advantage in terms of the overall process.  Designers can come in and be comfortable enough to use it because they don’t have to understand the knowledge of how everything fits together and fight processes- they can just go create as they think through it.

Q: Do you use other tools like sketching or rendering during concept design?

LH: Absolutely, there is no replacement for hand sketching, we do that all the time. We also use Illustrator and similar programs that help us visualize before we go to 3D. But when there are tight time cycles or when concepts are hard to understand but simple enough to do in 3D, it’s an advantage to be able to do that.  I find that with direct modeling, you can net out a 3D concept in about the same time as a 2D concept, just depending on the level of detail.

Q: Is it important to also manage and keep track of the designs clients don’t pick?

LH: Yes, I think that is a very good question- What happens to the bandwidth of designs? If only one goes forward, what happens with the others?  Yes, I think that what can happen, especially with product development, is that sometimes those designs need to be looked at when similar challenges occur in the future.  It’s important to reconsider them and understand what might be their benefits and even apply those designs to unrelated products. We usually keep them in the database.

Q: How many design alternatives do you typically explore during concept design?

LH: It varies quite a bit.  For some projects it might be 3 alternatives and other times it could be 20. It depends on the type of project and expectation level of the client.  But typically we do 3-5 and narrow that down to 2 or 1. Sometimes you need to explore more options and whittle that down- so you make more in 3D before you narrow it down and develop further.

Q: Are you following any phase gate design process to design? If so, can you share your process or ideas for faster turnaround design from concept until production?

LH:  Yea, we use the classic design cycle. We do preliminary design with review points then decide how to move forward with selection.  It is a phased approach prior to strategy and research which then gets integrated in. The nice thing about our team is that a number of the designers are involved in the strategy and research.  This is really valuable when we’re translating that knowledge and data into either assets to provide our clients and/or the designs themselves.  We have a nice waterfall flow of what happens in strategy and research then going into the classic design cycles.

Q: Is direct modeling useful beyond concept design?

PH: Good question.  There are a few key characteristics of direct modeling that lend it very useful in a variety of areas of product development.  Certainly there are companies that use it from art to part. Some characteristics like those Lance mentioned make it especially fast. If you think about geometry and validating that geometry as quickly as possible there’s just nothing faster.

There’s also the flexibility that Lance talked about- the ability to interact with geometry regardless of how it was created or where it was created.  And when we’re working directly with geometry (as with direct modeling) you can interact with it from any source. It doesn’t matter what CAD tool it was created in, doesn’t matter how it was created- it’s geometry.  And geometry is the master document with direct modeling. As such, concept design is a great place to utilize direct modeling.

Direct is also great if you have to go through a bid proposal process. If you need to generate geometry and quickly validate it for proposals, nothing’s faster than direct modeling.

Another area we see companies utilizing direct for is preparing a model for the analysis process, maybe simplification and defeaturing for FEA. Companies may want to extract the negative space for computational fluid dynamics, things like that.  So there are a variety of areas where you can use direct modeling and it will add value in your process.

Check out the recorded webinar which is now on-demand.

Creo Customer: Arc Touch Mouse a Concept Design Winner

By GEOFF HEDGES | Published: OCTOBER 18, 2011

When designers at Microsoft dreamed up the Arc Touch Mouse, they were thinking about form, ergonomics, and portability. The device lies flat for easy storage in your laptop bag, and then pops into a graceful arch when you’re ready to use it.

Physically, it fits comfortably into your hand and provides haptic (that is, a sense of touch) feedback as you scroll and click.

Modeled with Creo Parametric, this new generation of mouse bears virtually no resemblance to its rodent-like predecessors, which, it turns out, is a good thing. Sure, designers at Microsoft started with something like a familiar mouse body in early concept design, but they also explored profiles that looked like speed boats and beach mats. Everything seemed to be up for discussion.

And that’s been our point; it’s the reason we’re placing so much emphasis on concept design with the release of Creo 1.0. When everything is on the table, developers can explore, and product innovation can thrive.  At least it did for Microsoft. The Arc Touch Mouse has won two major design awards so far:

• The jury at RedDot online awarded it 2011 Best of the Best; they praised its symmetric design and well-balanced proportions.
• IDSA presented it the 2011 IDEA Gold award, saying the mouse was “executed superbly,” with “excellent tactile feedback.”

The Arc Touch has been a hit with consumers, too. In the online reviews they’re calling it “sharp” and “stylish.”  And more importantly, they’re saying its aesthetics and form are key in their decision to purchase the device. Or in the words of one online reviewer:

“I bought it because it looked cool.”

Creo Customer: Van Beek Moves it Around with Screw Conveyers

By Geoff Hedges | Published: September 5, 2011 

Do you know what I wonder? Does a guy just wake up one day and say, “I’m going to make my fortune in screw conveyers”? Or is the entrepreneurial process more complicated than that?

I don’t have an answer, but I do know that 70 years ago, Van Beek BV in the Netherlands started just such a business and apparently it’s been a successful endeavor. Today the company advertises itself as “The Standard in Screw Conveyers”  and the eight engineers at Van Beek now manage 1200 customer screw conveyer projects year after year.

Screw conveyers, based on the Archimedes screw pump, carry product from station to station on factory assembly lines, load bulk trucks, move hazardous waste, and more. Van Beek BV says each project is unique, last minute, and fluid. So, engineers at the company custom design orders and have come to expect many last-minute changes until the machinery is installed and in production. At the same time, the company says all that uncertainty is no trouble–at least not since Van Beek BV started using direct modeling software.

“Creo’s direct modeling approach has proven to be very fast for us,” says  Karten Verhoeven. “Even after many iterations of design changes, the models can be handled by anybody in the team. All our unexpected changes could easily be incorporated into the models.” This episode of The Product Design Show is a little bit history lesson, a little bit physics class, and a whole lot screw pumps.  Watch toward the end to get a look at Van Beek’s machinery.

Creo Customer: Salton Europe and Everyday Beauty

By Geoff Hedges | Published: September 7, 2011 

 

I just watched the documentary Objectified again. It’s a couple years old now, but it reminds me that industrial design isn’t all cool motorcycles, mean robots, and big, big tractors. Among Creo customers are those who bring great beauty to modest everyday household objects too.

Salton of Europe, for example, uses Creo Parametric to design its Russell Hobbs kitchen ware. The company offers several lines of appliances,  including this one after Mies van der Rohe–pioneer of modern architecture and key figure in the avant-garde Bauhaus school of design. Like many of his era, Mies van der Rohe believed less is more, less is better, less is beautiful.

At its best, great design is more than just “great looking” or “stylish.” It can embody a legacy and a philosophy. Plus, it can add value for companies that invest in it. But I’m preaching to the choir, aren’t I?

In this episode of The Product Design Show, you’ll hear about the engineering behind bottles and thermoses. But design and style also get some props toward the end too with a quick look at the Russell Hobbs appliances.

Industrial designer says brand loyalty tied to self-esteem

By Geoff Hedges | Published: September 2, 2011 

Industrial designer, Lance Hussey, says that consumers turn into brand evangelists when a product makes them feel good–not just about the product, but about themselves. 

“The moment of truth is really after the purchase, when they bring home the product to loved ones and they get a response like ‘that was a great purchase!’” Hussey said those affirming moments enhance self-esteem and in turn create brand loyalty.

Industrial designers can and should take steps to promote that kind of response with their work, he said. At RKS, for example, designers have adopted a process that integrates research and business strategy into its industrial design.

“The key is really understanding the people and what’s important to them, understanding the brands in the target space, and mapping a particular aesthetic approach back to any product we create.”

If that sounds daunting, the company has written a book on its process, Predictable Magic by RKS CEO Deepa Prahalad.

Besides a string of successful clients, RKS’ process has also earned awards from IDEA, Good Design, Spark! and many others.

During the webinar, Hussey reviewed RKS-designed products, including the popular Zyliss salad spinner, audio devices from JBL and Alpine, and an innovative tattoo machine from Neuma.
While many companies use RKS to fully design their products, some, like LG, reach out to RKS just for research and ideas that it then develops in house.

In later articles, we’ll talk about how Hussey says Creo’s direct modeling approach fits into the RKS process. Until then, why not explore RKS’s award-winning product designs.

RKS Shares Top Tips for Innovation and Concept Design Tools

By lindseychristensen | Published: August 23, 2011

 

The term “innovation” is thrown around a lot when we talk about product design– it’s been a buzz word for some time now. But how do we know it when we see it? Can we measure it? And perhaps more importantly, how do you actually facilitate innovation within your organization?

I’ve learned that behind an innovative product tends to be an effective concept design phase. But can we pinpoint real-life examples to how and why?  To tackle this subject I turned to an expert.  Lance Hussey is VP and Creative Director at RKS Design, one of the top ten Industrial Design firms in North America.  Lance and his team claim to have a “proven, repeatable system for strategy-fueled inspiration” (and have the charts and success stories to back it up!).

Want to know their secret sauce?

Join the live webinar Top Tips for Selecting a Concept Design Tool: How to Facilitate Award-Winning Innovation Like a Best-In-Class Company.

On Thursday, August 25th at 2pm EST.

If anyone knows how to encourage and execute this mystifying notion of “innovative product design,” it’s Lance.  As partner at RKS, he oversees the design of virtually every project that comes in the door. He holds numerous patents and has received multiple design awards including: IDEA(12), Good Design(24), Spark(19), and CES Innovations(9), among many others.

Hope to see you there too! This PTC-sponsored TechBrief’s webinar includes the presentation followed by a Q&A session featuring both Lance and our own concept design guru Paul Hamilton. [Ed- We’ve mentioned Creo customer and innovation-masters RKS in this blog a few times- their products are too cool not to. Check out their customizable guitar and futuristic water bottles.]