Abstract
Materials now have the ability to transform energy, to adapt to the environment and to mimic effects only previously possible for nature. They change their properties with external stimuli and provide different perceptions depending on environmental conditions. This dynamism then converts the materials into pure mechanism, pure machine, pure image and pure feeling. The relationship of the person who works with the material, engineers, designers, etc. is no longer so direct. This connection based on experience, on a physical and perceptive knowledge of the materials is today mainly abstract. This fact hinders material selection, as it focuses on the technical characteristics, missing their sensorial inherence. Considering this, a working methodology has been created combining the selection based on technical and sensorial properties. For the selection based on technical property, databases such as CES Selector, MatWeb, CAMPUS, etc. are used. While for the selection based on sensorial properties have been worked with Materfad, Materials Centre of Barcelona and its physical database that permits to know, touch and feel 4000 innovative materials samples. These have allowed the proposal of a convergence between both criteria and introducing the material selection in the beginning of the product design and development project and thus prevent the student from postponing the selection to the final phase.
Keywords
Materials Selection; Functional Materials; Sensorial Properties
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/learnxdesign.2013.059
Citation
González, M.,and Peña, J.(2013) Materials Selection: from technical to emotional material properties, in Reitan, J.B., Lloyd, P., Bohemia, E., Nielsen, L.M., Digranes, I., & Lutnæs, E. (eds.), DRS // Cumulus: Design Learning for Tomorrow, 14-17 May, Oslo, Norway. https://doi.org/10.21606/learnxdesign.2013.059
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Materials Selection: from technical to emotional material properties
Materials now have the ability to transform energy, to adapt to the environment and to mimic effects only previously possible for nature. They change their properties with external stimuli and provide different perceptions depending on environmental conditions. This dynamism then converts the materials into pure mechanism, pure machine, pure image and pure feeling. The relationship of the person who works with the material, engineers, designers, etc. is no longer so direct. This connection based on experience, on a physical and perceptive knowledge of the materials is today mainly abstract. This fact hinders material selection, as it focuses on the technical characteristics, missing their sensorial inherence. Considering this, a working methodology has been created combining the selection based on technical and sensorial properties. For the selection based on technical property, databases such as CES Selector, MatWeb, CAMPUS, etc. are used. While for the selection based on sensorial properties have been worked with Materfad, Materials Centre of Barcelona and its physical database that permits to know, touch and feel 4000 innovative materials samples. These have allowed the proposal of a convergence between both criteria and introducing the material selection in the beginning of the product design and development project and thus prevent the student from postponing the selection to the final phase.