Mongolian Nomads

This presentation was very interesting, seeing a completely foreign culture and how they create their homes with the little supplies that they possess. It was fascinating how people who didn’t know each other would help another family to build their home, and the relationships that this built within the community. I enjoyed how resourceful the people were, and how they took advantage of the supplies and space that they had, making a weather proof home out of tarps and sheets that could fit an entire family. 

Rapid Prototyping

SL- stereolithography is the process where a liquid vat of plastic resin is used in an ultraviolet laser that builds a part’s pieces one at a time.

SLS- Selective Laser Sintering uses a laser to sinter powder based materials together in layers that come to form a solid model.

FDM- Fused Deposition Modeling is the process in which a plastic filmet or metal wire is unwound from a coil that goes in to an extrusion nozzle, which is heater to melt the material. This nozzle can move vertically and horizontally, and is operated by a CAD system

LOM- Laminated object manufacturing in which layers of adhesive-coated paper, plastic, or metal laminated are glued together one by one, and then cut with a knife or laser cutter.

Berry Plastics

Berry plastics in Lawrence KS was a manufacturing plant that made plastic cups and containers for companies such as Taco Bell, McDonalds, and Starbucks. They formed their cups and containers using both injection molding and thermoforming technologies. The thermoforming was far more interesting, based on the fact that at the start of the machine, the plastic was made and developed into plastic sheets, and then stretched over and over again before being almost hole punched into the shape of the desired cup. At the end of the machine, the product was almost ready for shipment, only needing its paint. I found it interesting how the workers could work there week in and week out with the quality of the air, which seemed to be pretty poor. Another thing that was neat was the fact that the building was constructed around the railroad track, making it easier to receive shipments and export their products.

Manufactured Landscapes

This film was very eye opening in the fact that there are places in the world that are completely changed by our electronic waste, and the vast majority of people have no idea that these places even exist. Another thing I find astonishing is that the people that live in these areas completely accept their condition, which is actually very sad, them having to live and work in such terrible conditions, and they have no idea exactly how bad they have it, suggesting the term “ignorance is bliss”. The part that I found most intriguing was the part about the worlds largest dam, and the fact that its opening caused the earth to actually be knocked off its rotation. 

Lawrence Paper Company

The Lawrence paper company was interesting in that the paper was made there, and the mass quantity of the paper, being more than I can even wrap my head around. This trip and Huhtamaki were very similar in that they were doing the same sort of thing. I enjoyed the precision cutting machine that was controlled by CAD, and that it had the technology to cut, but also to indent the paper/cardboard so that the customer knew were to fold the product. They made products for companies such as Taco Bell and other dog food companies, making the new Dorito’s locos taco containers for Taco Bell, and making dog food displays for the other companies. 

Huhtamaki

Huhtamaki made many different paper items, ranging from cups to ice cream containers to frozen meal packaging. The first thing that struck me about their warehouse was the overall cleanliness of the place, something I was not quite expecting. Their processes were mostly just injection molding, and the part I found most interesting was the fact that they made and rented out their own machines to other companies.