Innovative joining methods and

materials in TRIZ

@creaxnv  

This  Slidedeck  was  presented  on  the  event:  Shaping  Ma9er,  July  2013,  Kortrijk,  Belgium.  CREAX  shared  the  stage  with  Chris  LeMeri,  Voka  &  DoDesign.  

Genrich Altshuller, a Russian inventor and science fiction writer, spent more than 20 years analyzing patents in order to discover a system behind innovation. He created a theory called ‘TRIZ’ to describe the systematic patterns he discovered.

He discovered that innovation is often about solving contradictions. The contradiction matrix in TRIZ helps to lead you to the right solution. Suppose you want to create a strong material, that has to be lightweight at the same time. A solution offered by the matrix to solve this contradiction is to make composite materials.

“Where a system is uniform or

Homogenous, make it non-uniform”

PRINCIPLE 3: LOCAL QUALITY

Sounds simple, no? However, the challenge is to translate the abstract principles offered by the TRIZ contradiction matrix to tangible solutions.

Therefore we use a list of properties derived from the TRIZ methodology. There are 20 universal properties. By varying these properties according to a predetermined pattern, new functionalities can be achieved. And these new functionalities can help to solve contradictions.

Method by AULIVE

14. opposites

The nut and bolt are a classic among connection tools. You would think they can’t possibly be changed, but still they are quite easily improved. The TWIN NUT is a bolt for hard to reach places. It’s very useful in situations where the rod is damaged and it saves assembly time. You just click the two halves onto the rod and after only a few rotations the bolt is tightened.

Method by AULIVE www.twinnut.com

03. fragmentation

Shear bolts are made to crack at a certain amount of torque. Therefore the bolt cannot be unscrewed anymore. These bolts are mainly used in public places or for security applications (vaults, bunkers, etc…).

Method by AULIVE http://www.securityfastenersandfixings.co.uk/

10. coordination

Explosive bolts are also made to break. They are used to fix fuel tanks onto the main rocket of space shuttles. When the tanks are empty, the bolts explode and the tanks fall back to earth. Explosive bolts are a solution to the problem “I want to fix something onto another thing but the moment it has no function anymore it needs to be gone”

Method by AULIVE www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions

Apparently the bolts worked.

www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions

A Ferrari is not made in one piece. It’s actually made of two halves bolted together. These bolts shear on a heavy impact, causing the separation of the heavier engine part from the passenger compartment and thus dissipating the energy of the crash, making Ferraris safer.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/03/ask-the-best-and-brightest-why-do-ferraris-break-in-two/

03. fragmentation

Another inventive solution from the automotive industry is this ‘broken’ connecting rod. The rod is made in one piece and then broken in a controlled fashion to generate two pieces. The rough surface on the fault plane makes sure the fit between the 2 parts is optimal and that the connecting rod can sustain higher forces than a conventional one.

http://www.bestinnovativesource.com/2012/11/30/fracture-split-process-for-connecting-rod/

Method by AULIVE

Most people have already broken a vase or plate and have glued it back together, amazed by how well the pieces interlocked in each other. Same principle, different application!

http://nmscarcheologylab.wordpress.com/

01. state

The glue you used to mend the broken plate was probably superglue. This kind of adhesive reacts with moisture in the air and turns from a liquid to a solid in a matter of seconds.

Method by AULIVE

Superglue has known some unorthodox uses. In the Vietnam war it was used to close wounds on the battlefield. Superglue, a lifesaver?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate

07. shape

Gluing wounds is strange, but stapling them is even stranger. Yet it is a highly effective method, used broadly in the medical world.

Method by AULIVE http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Skin_stapler_closeup.jpg

10. coordination

There’s even a stapler that doesn’t need any staples. Instead it perforates the pages and folds them together to lock them too each other.

Method by AULIVE http://www.unfinishedman.com/the-staple-less-stapler/

17. symmetry

The ‘stapless stapler’ principle inspired CREAX to do the same with cardboard so there would be no need for glue or staples in the packaging industry.

Method by AULIVE

13. integration

Even simple packaging tape can be improved. Just adding a simple piece of rope eliminates the need of a cutter and allows easy opening.

Method by AULIVE http://www.quirky.com/products/252-Rip-cord-string-packaging-tape

04. surface

Inspired by the gecko’s ability to scale even the steepest and smoothest surface, scientists are now making tape and sheets based on gecko toes. These tapes can adhere to any surface without using glue and are at the same time very easily released. (yes, that’s a contradiction)

http://www.pitchengine.com/cosi/geckostailstotoepadsexhibitsticksatcosi

No magnetic field Magnetic Field present

Top View

Side View

10. coordination

One step further, some scientists even developed a switchable gecko-surface. Under the influence of a magnetic field the surface can switch between stick and non-stick.

Method by AULIVE

http://robotics.eecs.berkeley.edu/~ronf/Gecko/

01. state

Magnetic fields are also used to fix invisible screws inside furniture and other wood work. In this way the screw can be fixed from a distance, using the magnetic field.

Method by AULIVE http://swissinvis.com/

14. opposites

It is not always necessary to use fixtures. Sometimes the parts themselves function as the fixture.

Method by AULIVE http://www.designboom.com/design/luis-arrivillaga-infinite-table-top-frame/

17. symmetry

And if you do think everything has been optimized to perfection, think again.

Method by AULIVE http://www.antonia-roth.de/Objekte.html

www.creax.com @creaxnv

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