"We need weight, but we can't get our hands on any wood."
In a consultation regarding product development, the supplier of wood that we had been using for many years became unavailable.
There were reports that production had stopped.
I want to replace it with an alternative material while maintaining its weight and luxurious feel,
She said she was worried it would look like she was just trying to make it look bigger, so she had stopped working on it.
Hiding the weights inside increases the number of seams, making it difficult to achieve a consistent texture.
If you try to compensate for the weight by using wood instead,
This often results in a structure that incorporates weights such as metal inside.
To conceal the weights, it becomes necessary to divide the components and then reassemble them.
The more joints there are, the more likely unevenness and gaps will appear on the surface.
The texture can be interrupted at the boundary between the wood and metal parts, often resulting in an impression that is the opposite of the desired sense of luxury.
Wood has a low density, making it easy to rely on volume to increase weight.
Wood is a material with a lower density compared to metal.
To achieve the same weight while maintaining the same size, using only wood would require increasing its volume.
If the design prevents it from being made extremely large, the idea is to insert a weight made of a different material inside.
Up to this point, everything is progressing naturally.
If you treat the weights as something to "hide," you'll need to tuck them into a position where they won't affect the appearance.
This reduces the degree of freedom in positioning, making the assembly structure more complex.
Compare the textures of woodworking and metalworking side by side.
This time, I considered the matter from the perspective of someone who can interact with technicians in both metalworking and woodworking.
When considering woodworking alone, weights tend to be something you don't want to show.
From a metalworking perspective, brass and stainless steel can not only add weight,
The colors and textures themselves exude a sense of luxury.
Should the weight be hidden behind the structure, or should it be exposed as part of the design?
This was an area where I was able to consider the textures of both woodworking and metalworking side by side.
Place brass and stainless steel in positions where they are visible as design elements.
The idea was to abandon the structure that hides the weight material inside,
This proposal involves using brass or stainless steel for visible parts such as handles and legs.
This approach involves using metal parts to bear weight while simultaneously showcasing them as part of the design.
The joints with the wood should be seen not as a "flaw to be hidden," but as a "transition between different materials."
We incorporate it into the design beforehand.
The number of joints itself doesn't change significantly.
Designing with the intention of showing the finished product makes it easier to decide on the location and finishing method of the seams beforehand.
This makes it easier to maintain a consistent texture.
Differences in material density should be a design element, not a constraint to hide.
Not limited to wood, but also resin and metal, resin and stone, etc.
Combining materials with different specific gravities is a common practice in other product development projects as well.
Should we use a different material as a substitute to make it closer to the original material we want to use, or
Should we make it clear that they are made of different materials?
This approach is a common perspective that can be used in situations where you want to balance weight adjustment with design aesthetics.
When considering how to present the product, the differences in processing precision and finish for each material are also important.
This makes it easier to incorporate it into the design as a prerequisite.
We will work with you to consider everything from the design direction to the selection of the manufacturing facility.
MACHICOCO has partnered with engineers in Higashi-Osaka.
I am involved in project management for product development.
We don't own any large-scale facilities in-house.
In projects like this, we work closely with woodworking and metalworking technicians,
We will consider together how to convey weight and how to showcase texture.
We handle everything from determining the design direction to prototyping and selecting processing partners for mass production.
You can start a consultation even with just a hand-drawn picture or a photograph.
Having the following information will help the consultation proceed more quickly.
- Current product photos or hand-drawn images
- Approximate weight and size, desired weight
- Information that shows the type of wood used and the procurement status.
- Desired quantity and image of future production scale
- If you have a physical sample, that would be great too.
Drawings are not required.
Even at the idea stage, we can work together to consider everything from design and prototyping to manufacturing methods.
You can consult with us even with handwritten drawings or photographs.
