Students accelerate product development – PDP courses at Design Factory for 25 years

Foamheads – wood-based foam faster than before

• Partner/sponsor: Foamwood – later Woamy Ltd 
• Product: Foamwood, a biodegradable and recyclable wood-based foam 
• Student group: Juan Gil Escribano, Yulia Kulkova, Jēkabs Ozols, Susanna Partanen, Artis Rušiņš, Marika Taipalus, Akseli Vuorilehto

A group of researchers had developed an entirely new foam material – the biodegradable Foamwood – as part of Aalto University’s Smart Foams research project. Wood-based foam could replace styrofoam, bubble wrap, polyurethane and other oil-based packaging materials. But that require getting the foam out of the laboratory and into the world.

The challenge presented to the students was exceptionally broad.

Susanna Partanen, the leader of the Foamheads student project, highlights the importance of sustainability. The group was brought together by the notion of designing a product that would serve as an ecological and sustainable solution to a real problem. 

‘It’s an incredibly rewarding addition to your studies to have your project actually accelerate an industry,’ says Juan Gil Escribano.

The Foamheads group was quickly divided into two parts; some students focused on mechanical engineering, while others explored the applications of the material, mapping out the market and how the company could launch its product. 

The further along the project got, the more important it became to achieve a common outcome even though the work was done in smaller groups.

So what was the outcome? 

Nine months had passed, and the budget had totalled 10,000 euros.

First, the group was grateful for the sponsor’s collaboration. Working closely with Foamwood researchers made it easy to ask questions and get additional materials when needed.

‘We could ask them anything,’ Partanen says. 

‘And the sponsor always reminded us that they were giving us a free hand,’ Gil Escribano adds. 

At the PDP gala, the Foamheads presented the results of the project. The ambitious idea of dividing the project in two parts, technical and applied, had succeeded.

With Akseli Vuorilehto and Juan Gil Escribano in the lead, the group that had focused on the technical side had boosted the production of Foamwood foam.

‘We figured out how the manufacturing and production of foam could be increased from lab conditions to meet real needs,’ the engineering students recall.

During the course, the group managed to multiply the foam’s production speed 50-fold by using the equipment they had developed and built on their own.

In addition to the device, the group also presented a prototype. A beautiful envelope which could easily be used to mail a breakable item was on display at the gala. The envelope had been padded with foam patterning – Foamwood becomes a light and durable material once it hardens. The material is suitable for packaging and is easily recyclable because it is a bioproduct. At the gala, the Foamheads demonstrated its non-toxicity by offering it to guests to eat.

Elwood – new steering system for electric boats

• Partner/sponsor: Elwood Boats Ltd
• Product: Handmade wooden electric boats
• Group of students: Oona Linna, Mattias Nystrand, Valtteri Rantanen, Andreas Rosas, Priya Singh

‘It was the greatest boat trip of my life,’ recalls Priva Singh, a master’s student in mechanical engineering. Wooden-boat manufacturer Elwood Boats began its work with the PDP group by taking them on a boat trip near Otaniemi. The group leader frequently uses superlatives when describing the handmade Elwood boats.

‘They are the world’s most beautiful boats: elegant, ecological and completely wooden. They are manufactured in Kuopio as sustainably as possible.’

Sustainability was also at the core of the company’s assignment. Elwood boats are electric boats, and only their steering system was not yet entirely electric. The group was assigned the task of developing a replacement for the hydraulic steering system.

In typical PDP fashion, the Elwood group was multidisciplinary, multinational and multilingual. But mechanical engineering was the common denominator: four of the group’s five members study the field, while the fifth, Oona Linna, is a student of economics. 

The group not only developed an electric steering system for the boats but also redesigned the steering system entirely. The electric steering system is modular and can be easily adjusted to suit the user’s needs. It can be attached with a few cords and doesn’t use hydraulic oils which might leak.

After the PDP treatment, the electric boat can be steered in several ways. At the spring gala, the group displayed a box-like prototype in which the rudder could be moved with the wheel, autopilot and joystick controller. With Oona Linna as the lead, the sponsor also received new marketing and brand strategies, and the Kuopio-based company’s website was renewed.