Manufacture of an Ora-ïto – HI-MACS® creation

Last September, Ora-ïto, the famous iconoclastic designer, presented his new creation at 100% Design: a majestic 4-metre high sculpture. But how on Earth do you go about creating something that size? “The greatest challenge was engineering work to decide how best to build it”, explained Juan Carlos Dominguez, New Materials Manager at Candido Hermida, HI-MACS® strategic partner in Spain.

The preliminary Study

The sculpture was built in a very short time on a limited budget. For this, Candido Hermida spent a lot of time solving the problems the exhibit posed: how to move a piece weighing more than 3 tonnes on an exhibition stand? How to optimise installation time and only use a selection of tools which could be moved to the exhibition centre? How to save design time? How to stay within the customer’s tight budget? Many essential questions which occupied the whole of the creation team. Here is a report on it.

Developing the structure

Choice of material and tools

For matters concerning flexibility and resistance as well as the quality/price ratio, Candido Hermida chose to use wood to build the structure. The tools used would be those found in a conventional carpenter’s workshop, such as sanders, circular saws and cramps. For certain work, the builder also used a digital control machine (DCM), which made it easier to adjust certain components. The interest in this machine is that it especially makes for greater accuracy in cutting measurements.

The template

“Using the structure as a template is not common”, said Juan Carlos Dominguez. “In general, a template separate from the structure is used to prevent expansion problems.”

In this particular case, however, Candido Hermida did need to save time and make considerable savings on manufacturing costs. Accordingly, they decided to opt for a more suitable strategy: use the structure as a template. A gap of 2 to 3 cm was left between the wooden structure and the HI-MACS® to allow for material expansion. “This technique does not leave any margin for error”, continued Mr Dominguez. “The structure must be absolutely perfect, otherwise it will not go to plan. The time spent on initial engineering is therefore vital”. Although Candido Hermida has this skill in-house, just like other members of Quality Club HI-MACS®, it also outsources this resource to specialist companies.

Assembly

Candido Hermida inserted a framework between the wooden structure and the HI-MACS®. This framework is made from HI-MACS® platforms fixed within the structure using wedges and bonded to the HI-MACS® plate.

The different HI-MACS® components were then bonded to one another on the structure, and held with cramps.

Finally, the sculpture was sanded, to render any joints invisible and leave a semi-matt finish.

Installation

The sculpture was built in two parts for easy handling and transport. This strategy was the determining factor for reducing logistic costs: road transport, and movement of components using a crane and forklift.