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Herman Miller Flexible Foam Substitute
- 1. Herman Miller Foam Alternative Group4 Shira Bergman • Brian Della Mora Boning Qu • Teresa Vasievich
- 2. Overview 1. Who isHerman Miller? 2. Prioritization of Factors 3. Polyurethane: Gold Standard 4. How Foam Works 5. Our Solution 6. The Program 7. Shortcomings 2
- 3. 1. Who isHerman Miller? 3
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- 5. Herman Miller: TheCustomer ● Ultimate consumer customization ● Suppliers contact Herman Miller ● All outsourced designers ● Six R&D teams involved in materials search 5
- 6. Herman Miller: ValueChain 6
- 7. 2. Prioritization ofFactors 7
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- 9. Prioritization: Performance Properties Matchor outperform polyurethane ● Foam properties of ‘Gold Standard’ ○ Elastic modulus ○ Plateau stress ○ Densification stress ● Comfort properties of ‘Gold Standard’ ○ Foamed solution feels like PUR (IFD) ○ Diverse applications (i.e., arm pads, couches) 9
- 10. Prioritization: Environmental Impacts ●Manufacturing ○ Reduce use of harmful chemicals ○ Consider impacts of ‘natural’ solutions ● Usage ○ Chemically inert ● End-of-life management ○ Recyclable ○ Reusable 10
- 11. Prioritization: Manufacturing &Monetary Costs Manufacturing ● HM does not manufacture furniture components ● Target customer widened to manufacturing companies ● HM has leverage to obtain any material Monetary Costs ● Cost increase must not exceed 20% ● Few foamed alternatives ○ No raw materials comparison ○ Initiation costs not accounted for 11
- 12. 3. Polyurethane: GoldStandard 12
- 13. Polyurethane Foam ● PolyurethaneFoams ○ Open-cell ○ Two main ingredients ■ Isocyanates and polyols ● Flame Retardant Additives Glass Transition (K) Density (g/cm3 ) Elastic Modulus (MPa) Plateau Stress (MPa) IFD (lbs- force) Polyurethane Foam 290-300 0.016 0.34 0.003-0.004 ~3.1 500 μm 13
- 14. 4. How FoamWorks 14
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- 16. How Foams Work ●Material Properties of Solid ○ Young’s Modulus ○ Resin Density ● Microscopic Properties of Foam ○ Relative Density ○ Cell Size ○ Cell Density 16
- 17. How Foams Work ●In-Plane Compression ○ Linear elasticity ○ Plateau ○ Indentation Force Deflection ○ Densification ● Governing Equations 17 stress/strain at IFD
- 18. How Foams Work- Darcy’s Law ● Air flow through foam ○ Permeability of medium ○ Dynamic viscosity of fluid (air) ● Governs recovery time 18
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- 20. Program to PredictFoam ● Inputs ○ Resin options ■ Non-isocyanate involved ■ Thermoplastic elastomer ■ Resin density ■ Resin elastic modulus ○ Relative density ● Outputs ○ Stress-strain curve ○ Recovery time ○ IFD 20
- 21. Factors Affecting Foam ●Relative Density ○ Stress in each region ● Transition Points ○ Strain at buckling ○ Length of plateau ● Darcy’s Law ○ Air velocity ○ Recovery time 21
- 22. Our Solution -Assumptions 22 ● Considered ○ Physical blowing agents ○ Resin properties ○ Uniform cell size ● Overlooked ○ Chemical blowing agents ○ Foam additives ○ Post-foaming processes
- 23. Shortcomings Inaccuracy of Program ●Lack of accurate foaming conditions ● Lack of calibrated constants for each material Problems with Solution ● Environmental problems unresolved ● ‘Ideal’ resin unknown 23
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