The days of a drawing board in a design studio are long gone. Products are designed in 3-D on computer, and the data sent to a prototyping machine to produce a one-off for testing. Once the design is finalised the 3-D data is sent to the toolmaker and manufacturer for production.

Designers at Housewares International create all their products this way. 3-D computer files are used to quickly generate prototypes, and sent to manufacturers in Asia for testing and production.

The Breville Citrus Press was modelled and tested using a combination of 3-D computer modelling, sketching and hand-made models. Simple cardboard cut-outs were used to test the handle mechanism.

The 3-D computer data was used to make more than 20 prototypes of the juicing cone. These were tested and modified by hand to obtain the perfect shape for juicing all types of citrus fruit. Each prototype was made by a rapid prototyping machine overnight, ready for the designer to test and modify the next day.

'I suppose the start was we wanted to design the best juicer in the world ... I wanted it to say - you know how to use me straight away without even thinking - and that was critical as part of the design process for the form.'
- Keith Hensel, Senior Designer, Breville, 2005


Angelique Hutchison
Curator
October 2005

+ Australian Design Award
+ Australian product design

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