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Nature Inspired Redesign of the Visual Appearance of an Industrial Product

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Design Tools and Methods in Industrial Engineering (ADM 2019)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering ((LNME))

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Abstract

One of the specific characteristics of design is shaping the visual appearance of products, but this feature is not valued in the same way as the functional aspect in some industrial areas. In this sense, this paper describes the real case of an industrial product (a filter housing) that was initially designed considering only functional and technical aspects. Over the years this product became a reference product in the agronomic field and also one of the most copied filters in the world. The company then opted for a new strategy: redesigning the external shape of the filter without losing any functional characteristics. The process of redesigning this new product was based on the use of analogies with nature as source of inspiration. As a result, an helicoidal shape describing the movement of the water inside the filter was the innovative and creative element that permitted to offer a new identity for this product, achieving an industrial design registration in some of the most influential countries in the world.

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Acknowledgment

We thank Sistema AZUD S.A. company for all the provided data and information that enabled to write this manuscript. Special thanks go to Manuel García, Marta García, Pablo Jumilla, María Teresa Munuera, José Miguel López and Yusimí Rodríguez for their contributions and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Graphical Expression, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Cartagena, Spain

    Dolores Parras-Burgos, Francisco J. F. Cañavate, Francisco Cavas-Martínez & Daniel G. Fernández-Pacheco

Authors
  1. Dolores Parras-Burgos
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  2. Francisco J. F. Cañavate
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  3. Francisco Cavas-Martínez
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  4. Daniel G. Fernández-Pacheco
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dolores Parras-Burgos .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Ingegneria Gestionale, dell‘Informazione e della Produzione, Università di Bergamo, Dalmine, Italy

    Caterina Rizzi

  2. Dipartimento Di Ingegneria “Enzo Ferrari”, Università Di Modena E Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

    Angelo Oreste Andrisano

  3. Dipartimento Di Ingegneria “Enzo Ferrari”, Università Di Modena E Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

    Francesco Leali

  4. Dipartimento Di Ingegneria “Enzo Ferrari”, Università Di Modena E Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

    Francesco Gherardini

  5. Dipartimento Di Ingegneria “Enzo Ferrari”, Università Di Modena E Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

    Fabio Pini

  6. Dipartimento Di Ingegneria “Enzo Ferrari”, Università Di Modena E Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

    Alberto Vergnano

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Parras-Burgos, D., Cañavate, F.J.F., Cavas-Martínez, F., Fernández-Pacheco, D.G. (2020). Nature Inspired Redesign of the Visual Appearance of an Industrial Product. In: Rizzi, C., Andrisano, A.O., Leali, F., Gherardini, F., Pini, F., Vergnano, A. (eds) Design Tools and Methods in Industrial Engineering. ADM 2019. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31154-4_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31154-4_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-31153-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-31154-4

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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