The process at RKS is shown from design engineering to prototype machining on the large Haas VF-8.
A component for a trophy is being machined from aluminum billets on the Haas VF-8 VMC. This is the main component of a polished and painted design award trophy, distributed by IDSA to Catalyst honorees.
The trophy part shown is clamped to the table of the Haas VMC and has been machined, ready to be removed from the table.
Trophy component is now polished, ready for assembly.
Trophy components are now assembled for the completed trophy.
RKS founder and CEO, Ravi K. Sawhney, FIDSA (Fellow of Industrial Designers' Society of America) shown with the Haas VF-8 VMC.
From the moment of conception, prototype and the final product RKS designers, engineers and machinists work together to create solutions that work for their clients. The RKS prototype shop needed flexibility in how they created prototype parts including variability in sizes and variety of materials used. Prototypes of products designed by the engineers at RKS could have been created by 3-D printers or Stereolythography machines using thin layers of resin. However, RKS chose CNC machine tool technology instead. "Because of the use of toxic materials, lack of strength of the materials and material costs we decided that the flexibility and versatility of CNC machines met our needs," said Steve Miczak, Prototype Manager for 13 years at RKS.
RKS develops products and service design solutions for clients. To create a prototype and test the ideas that emerge following the research, strategy and design work, the company chose Haas CNC vertical machining centers. CNC machining was chosen because of the flexibility of the machining envelope size and the wide range of materials that can be machined for different prototyping challenges. "With each different design challenge we found that CNC machining offered the widest variety of possible solutions, which is essential while exploring new designs for our clients," said Mr. Miczak.
The RKS prototype shop first used a small benchtop machine that only held one tool at a time and had a very small (12" x 12") work envelope. As the design business grew RKS moved into a larger facility and purchased a Haas VF-O vertical machining center with a 20" x 16" machining envelope and an automatic tool changer that held 20 tools.
Due to growth RKS then chose to purchase a Haas VF-8 VMC with a large 40" x 64" machining envelope. This allows the prototype shop to machine almost any product solution that is being designed. The VF-8 also provides the flexibility of machining many different parts in a single set up, which can be left to run over night. "This greatly improved our speed and productivity, which is key in the development and prototyping of our design solutions for clients," said Mr. Miczak. "With the Haas machines we also have the ability to machine metal parts, which has sped our ability to do rapid testing of mechanical designs."
The prototypes machined on the two Haas VMCs are usually made of materials such as 12 lb. Eurethane foam board, 45 lb. Ren Shape, tooling board, ABS sheet material, acrylic or aluminum. Occasionally fabricated steel, Delrin copolymer or ultra-high molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) have been machined.
"We machine the foam board, Ren Shape and aluminum at around 4,000 to 5,000 RPM spindle speeds, depending on the end mill used," said Mr. Miczak. "Our machines have been fitted with air cooling systems that help clear away the chips from the parts. This system also helps keep the denser ABS or acrylic materials and the end mills cooler to prevent clogging during machining," explained Mr. Miczak.
In the prototype shop the design engineer's CAD drawing is imported into SURFCAM computer-aided manufacturing software that then builds a machining program for the Haas machines. "Much of what we machine is foam one-offs or two-offs," said Miczak. "Some of our setups are unconventional because we may use double-sided tape or hot glue to hold the material in place. The parts machined have been of a wide variety of sizes from a small cell phone part to a large refrigerator design that was machined on the Haas VF-8. We can set up multiple parts and let them run overnight on the large machine. When we arrive in the morning the parts are finished," said Miczak.
The design process at RKS began with the company founder and CEO, Ravi K. Sawhney, FIDSA (Fellow of Industrial Designers' Society of America). He was an industrial designer in Xerox's Advanced Development Group until 1980 when he started RKS Design.
RKS is a strategic design consultancy that seeks to deliver people-focused solutions with impact. The firm is known for the philosophy of Psycho-Aesthetics (P-A), the process of emotionally connecting consumers to brands through design and a core belief that, "It's not how you feel about the design or experience; it's how it makes you feel about yourself."
"RKS has translated Abraham Maslow's 'Hierarchy of Needs' into thousands of maps charting levels of self-actualization against levels of interactivity and overlaying competitive landscapes, brands and personas," said Ravi Sawhney. "Psycho-Aesthetics(r) is a simple, yet thoroughly repeatable and scalable methodology and is taught at leading design and business schools as well as being used in practice for companies from start-ups to Fortune 50s."
Built over three decades and supported through business and social sciences, the P-A philosophy fosters business success by using design as a dynamic tool to strategically connect consumer's needs and aspirations with rich and memorable experiences. RKS uses P-A to translate customer's aspirations into a visual and actionable direction for management evaluation.
"We believe that discovering the emotional triggers first requires a deep knowledge of behavioral psychology," Mr. Sawhney said. "Rather than focusing exclusively on the product or experience to be designed, we concentrate squarely on the needs, aspirations and emotional desires of the end users."
The prototype shop at RKS develops the true-to-life model of the design in order to assess the interaction between the prototype and humans. "Our prototype shop is important to RKS," said Ravi Sawhney. "I believe that the key to design success is making the design three-dimensional, getting it prototyped, with many iterations, as fast as possible."
"It is satisfying to see products move from design to a painted prototype that we deliver to our clients," said Steve Miczak. "It is great that we can do this within the confines our own building. With the computer-aided design software and the CNC control we can make changes quickly as the design changes."
RKS was recognized as a 2011 National Design Award finalist for product design among its more than 137 global awards, and serves clients such as Life Technologies, Line 6, JBL Professional, Intel, Hewlett Packard, Hamilton Medical, Discus Dental, Medtronic, LG and many others.
For more information contact:
Steve Miczak
Prototype Manager
steve@rksdesign.com
Helsa Chow
Business Development
helsa@rksdesign.com
RKS
350 Conejo Ridge Ave.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91361
805-370-1200
www.rksdesign.com
Haas Automation, Inc.
2800 Sturgis Road
Oxnard, CA 93030
800-331-6746
www.HaasCNC.com
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