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IDC Honoured for Green Designs

Industrial Design Consultancy Ltd. (IDC) was awarded two Honorable Mentions at the Green Dot Awards for sustainable product designs that hold great benefits for consumers and manufacturers alike.

One such product design singled out for its eco-friendly credentials was the SolarStore. Costing under £100, the SolarStore is an inflatable solar collector that harnesses the sun’s natural energy to warm domestic water, heating up to three full tanks per day at temperatures close to 80°C.

A product development team including designing, engineering and rapid prototyping created the green design in-house at IDC. The product saves nearly 0.2 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year. Compared to conventional solar hot water systems costing roughly £2000-3000 with payback over 10-20 years, the SolarStore has attracted much attention as it pays for itself within a six month period. There are also plans to use the product design in developing countries where electricity supplies can be erratic.

Continue reading 17 May 2009

IDC Designs Key to Safer Prison Cells for Less

With prisoner suicide and violence a very real problem for the prison service, high-risk prisoners are housed in special cells which are safer for the occupants. Currently, these cells are custom built. But with customisation comes prohibitively high costs. IDC was tasked with finding a solution to this problem by developing a range of furniture that would effectively redesign prison cells for a safer environment without the extreme cost.

Stephen Knowles, managing director of IDC, explains, “Developing furniture for a safer cell has been a great challenge, not just in terms of design but also engineering, prototyping and from a project management point of view. IDC integrated all these activities to achieve a major redesign of HMPS cells for around half the usual costs.”

Continue reading 2 March 2009

IDC Wins Global Awards for Life-Improving Product

IDC was delighted to receive an AsiaStar and WorldStar award for its role in designing and engineering a self-injector insulin pen that looks set to improve the lives of many diabetes sufferers.

Developed for Indian healthcare giant, Wockhardt, the insulin pen is a first in both design and functionality for the Indian market. Disposable, reusable and affordable, the pen is expected to dramatically advance diabetes treatment in India by offering a portable, quick and easy insulin dosage system for people on the move.

Continue reading 2 March 2009

UK Customers Benefit as IDC Hong Kong Opens

Industrial Design Consultancy Ltd. (IDC) has recently consolidated its international strengths by opening an office in Hong Kong.

With new clients already on its books, Chinese businesses are welcoming the company’s proven product design and innovation skills to make their own products world class. But in these testing times, UK customers designing and developing high quality products in China can also take advantage to stay one step ahead of the game by accessing valuable local support and knowledge through IDC.

IDC has a long history of working internationally with UK clients, from sourcing materials and manufacturers, to project managing the complete development of a product from design to manufacture. The Hong Kong office will provide a permanent presence in China, increasing the company’s local knowledge and access to all-important networks which aid in the process of design and manufacture.

Continue reading 12 January 2009

Outsourcing: Reducing the Risks in Difficult Times

With the Design Council’s latest findings that 54% of businesses are looking to design to ride out the recession, the importance and value of design is clear. But when projects come up that demand a broader skill set than you can access inhouse and budgets are tight, is outsourcing the solution? Or do the risks outweigh the ultimate gains?

Over the last 35 years, IDC has worked with clients when markets have been both buoyant and struggling. With experience on his side, managing director, Stephen Knowles, firmly believes that outsourcing can work for everyone as a stop-gap or project-by-project resource during difficult times. “The trick is understanding the risks involved with outsourcing, and putting in place several easy measures to ensure a swift route to success,” says Stephen.

IDC project’s director Brian Gough identifies trusting people offsite as one of the biggest fears faced by prospective outsourcers, “Getting a product just right goes a long way to boosting your sales, so entrusting part or all of its development to a new team can be a leap of faith.”

Continue reading 10 January 2009

IDC Showcases Designs Set to Advance Medical Industry (MEDTEC)

One such award-winning product design is a revolutionary new type of insulin pen. Commissioned by Wockhardt for the Indian market, IDC’s design promises to help transform diabetes care.

With virtually all elements of the conventional insulin pens patented, IDC’s in house team of designers and engineers devised an exceptionally improved alternative design. The result was a disposable and reusable pen that is significantly affordable, highly functional and easy to use for Indian consumers. The product’s innovative design also caught the eye of the judges at this year’s iDEA, who awarded IDC best ‘Product Design Innovation’ and ‘Design Collaboration’. The product has also been widely praised by the medical industry.

Continue reading 2 December 2008

20% Off with Instant Online Viper SLA Quotation Service

The Viper SLA quotation service, devised by Industrial Design Consultancy Ltd. (IDC), provides users with an immediate costing for a near-perfect rapid prototype, taking away the time-consuming task of sourcing a quote. For the month of November only, IDC is offering users a fantastic 20% discount.

Where traditionally companies have had to send CAD files to a prototyping specialist and wait for a manual response, users can now log on to IDC Models Instant SLA Quote, fill in the product’s dimensions and their own email address, and within seconds a formal quote will appear in their inbox.

Managing director, Stephen Knowles, explained, “This will provide people with an instant competitive quote for a very high accuracy prototype, without any obligation. As soon as they hit ‘submit’, the quote is issued. The whole process takes a matter of minutes. Once given the go ahead, we can get working on it straightaway, cutting down on turnaround time too. This service combined with the SLA means that potentially we could produce a prototype within a day.”

As one of just a handful of UK companies to own a Viper SLA machine, users can access SLA (stereolithography) prototyping, sometimes known as 3D printing. CAD files can be converted into high quality, solid plastic parts in a matter of hours.

The Viper SLA system also allows companies to choose between standard resolution mode for the best balance of build speed and part resolution, and high resolution mode for ultra-detailed small parts and features. The resin used is also higher quality than most, creating extremely durable parts that can form the basis for a wide range of solid imaging applications, including casting and moulding.

17 October 2008

IDC Scoops iDEA Innovation Awards

Industrial Design Consultancy (IDC), based in Datchet, had cause for celebration this week after scooping several much sought-after design innovation awards. Judges chose IDC over other major players in the iDEA (Innovation & Design Excellence Awards) for ‘Product Design Innovation’ and ‘Design Collaboration’, as well as awarding highly commended in the ‘Best Design Consultancy’ category.

IDC’s managing director, Stephen Knowles, was delighted with the news, “These awards recognise some of the ground breaking products that IDC has designed over the year and the work that has gone in to make the ideas become a reality.”

Continue reading 30 September 2008

IDC Designed Shower Head Makes Little Splash for Big Savings

Working for Challis Water Controls, Industrial Design Consultancy (IDC) has been involved in a ground-breaking project to develop a new shower head which saves precious water resources and heating costs. The new Challis shower head is so effective that it can save up to 30% of hot water while still providing the same flow strength of a full flowing conventional shower head.

Continue reading 2 September 2008

Mobility Solutions for Robot Inspection Arm

Award winning product designer, Industrial Design Consultancy (IDC) has achieved a new level of machine mobility and casing design; bringing multi-axis manoeuvrability to a robot CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine). This latest industrial project required the development of mobility casing solutions for the Metris Robot CMM Arm (RCA); an innovative new measurement system designed for 3D laser scanning inspections on the production line.

Continue reading 25 June 2008

 

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