INDUSTRIAL MACHINE BODYWORK
A tailor-made suit
A large and bulky machine, but with gentle and delicate manners because it is designed to paint small pieces such as screws, buttons, zippers, and caps.
IMEL asked me to "dress" this giant to enhance its appearance and improve its user experience.
It is a complex device, with moving parts and the need to make many of its components quickly accessible to the operator.
Therefore, before proposing any solutions, I focused on understanding the machine’s operation and its operational challenges, with the support of IMEL's technical managers.
The design of the new shell, made of sheet metal, is angled forward to give more aesthetic dynamism to an object that would otherwise appear static.
The use of two colors (light gray and dark gray) is a strategy that reduces the perceived aesthetic weight of the whole.
The eye “reads” only the lighter parts, which stand out against the darker ones, lightening and hollowing out the volume of the shell.
"Clothes do not make the monk," as the Italian proverb goes, but in this case, it made all the difference!
Client
- IMEL Spa - Codroipo (UD) - Italy
Objectives
- Design a shell that enhances the machine both aesthetically and technologically
- Protect the mechanical and electronic components from dust
- Design a shell that is easily removable and repositionable by a single operator
- Construction technologies, materials, and finishes that ensure both robustness and lightness
- Control production costs
Materials
- Steel sheet
Technologies
- Laser cutting and CNC bending with powder coating
THE STORY OF THE PROJECT
From sketch to prototype
Some images to tell how an idea becomes a real product:
- Project presentation boards
- The new ROTOVER logo
- Images of the first prototype produced
- Comparison between the bare machine and the "dressed" machine
