An orthodontist came to FUSE with an idea that can speed orthodontia. The problem is an orthodondist will generally guess at the size of the band he or she needs to use on a particular tooth. More experienced orthodontists are more likely to get this right but they often get this wrong as well. This takes time and wastes bands or these wrong ones need to be autoclaved. Our client wanted a way to measure teeth that would work for an unlimited number of patients. This Orthodontist’s plan was to sell the eventual product to a large orthodontic supplier like Ormco.
We came up with what we called the BandIt. The Bandit was a simple one handed electromechanical device that used a consumable stainless steel loop that would wrap around the tooth and provide a measurement and recommend a particular size band on its built in LCD display.
DIY Plumbing in the house of the future.
GE Plastics built a conceptual house utilizing the thermoplastics and their latest thinking in terms of sustainability. GE was way ahead of the game back in the 90’s. They knew thermoplastics could be recycled and reused. Their plan was to have manufacturers use engineering grade thermoplastic in applications that required virgin materials like food and medical and then cascade down into automotive , then finally into building and construction where they could live for a longer period of time before obsolescence
One virgin application FUSE principal Tory worked on straight out of school was this blow molded plumbing panel dubbed the Aquaduct. The idea was this panel replaced all the measuring and cutting of copper. Quick fit connectors would be used so plumbing this sort of common sink installation job could be a snap!
This was a proactive project providing a solution to the problem of bike parking since most bike have lost kickstands. The problem is you lean your bike against paint damaging poles and then your bike suffers more than cosmetic damage. We got this into Wired magazine and sold into REI. The rubber manufacturer who was pressing BIKEBARK bought the product a few months after we premiered at Interbike.
Hybrids are the future.
Furilla had some moderate success in that it was optioned by toy maker and purveyor Kid Robot. FUSE principal, Tory Orzeck, has this ongoing chicken love and had this idea for a line of toys based on the offspring of 4 legged mammals getting together with chickens. Of course, single eyed creatures are also close to heart. This would result in these bipedal animals he dubbed BIPETS. He pitched the idea to KidRobot but got a big “Meh”.
HAND FRIEND
Gerber came back to FUSE to help design a multitool that was designed for a slightly different demographic. A demographic that would appreciate a more hand friendly tool. This group would include maybe an older user and women. This meant easier tool deployment and a reduction of point load on the hand.
Mayan Temple Or Cute Floor Cleaning Friend?
Florbot was created as a market development tool for GE Plastics (now Sabic) to stimulate material sales in the floor cleaning appliance market. FUSE principle, Toren Orzeck, then in the GE Plastics Advanced Design and Development Group worked with world renowned robotics scientist Allan Branch of Branch and Associates to develop this prototype. The product leveraged bleeding edge technology at the time and GE’s portfolio of engineering thermoplastics.
To use, the owner would take Florbot out of the box, charge him up and and set him against a wall. Like an old graphics fill program, Florbot would circumscribe the perimeter, then sweep the interior area and go back to its charging station when done.
Design-wise we knew the product would always be visible so the design was a combination or architectural and companion robot, think R2D2. We especially like that the dust bin’s handle doubles as a mouth. Additionally Florbot’s cap was made from translucent amber ULTEM. At the time, GE was pushing the idea that copper traces could be imaged directly onto heat resistant ULTEM so surface mount components could be attached directly.
Keen came to FUSE wanting to build a lightweight hiking boot. We delivered multiple named concepts and arrived at a design that would ultimately become the design above. By using an eye stay and protective toe bumper elements that reference KEEN’s hallmark Newport sandal we were able to provide a product that feels like a a design sibling.
OTTO came back to FUSE to help them style their brilliant lightweight bike lock. We started with sketches and finished with a complete surface Model to provide photorealistic renderings and ultimately exterior control for engineering.
FUSE named this division of DWFritz and we did the identity design for OTTO.
OTTO came back to FUSE after we helped them with their break-througn iphone app enabled rear deraillieur tuning system. This time they wanted concepts for bike tools. This would certainly complement their tuning system. As you may know, FUSE named this division of automation specialist, DWFritz, and we did the identity for OTTO.
A New Way to Make Shoes
Prior to founding FUSE, Tory worked as an industrial designer within Nike’s Advanced Product Engineering Group or APE. On of the projects was to hunt for new opportunities within the Basketball category. Tory was in a small team that included former Ford Engineer, John Tawney. Tory and John had a dual agenda: Of couse we wanted to uncover a great opportunity for Nike Basketball, but they also wanted to reduce the labor it takes to build a pair of basketball shoes. The team presented a handfull of good ideas including this one that was titled as “Game Day”. The idea was to make a super lightweight shoe that would allow players to practice all week in their heavier training shoes and then jump higher and run faster on Game Day with these lighter kicks. We built the first prototype shoes out of molded EVA only. No heavy outsole, so the shoes were feather light.
The shoes were great but had a too short life span so John put a 4 way stretch fabric skin around the pre-molded form and compressed it. It was amazing. Super light and super strong. A true composite. At a review their boss asked Tory what the technology was called and Tory spouted “FOAMPOSITE”. The name stuck.
Beyond the advantages for better fit, visually Foamposite afforded designers the ability to play with form and really sculpt their products.
Soon after, the project headed to Nike’s Taiwan R and D facility for commercialization. The team there traded compression molding for pour-in- place molding using liquid polyurethane. John and Tory are both on the patent.
