Innovation and sustainability are two tangents to a circle. If there was the slightest doubt about them being driving forces behind constant development in furniture and lighting, 2023 Salone del Mobile.Milano has cues for us to pick. While we are at it; outside of Milan, a leading polymer producer and a manufacturer of custom polyurethane parts have collaborated for a special type of polyurethane – that can be reaction injection molded – and realized a chair from it.
The chair has been idolized and designed by Cologne-based German carpenter turned industrial designer, Thomas Schnur. He used the breakthrough Arfinio material, collectively created by Covestro and Arcesso Dynamics, to reaction injection mold the ergonomic Arfinio Chair based on the design of his wooden chair.
Covestro’s Arfinio is a new type of polyurethane material that intends to open horizons for comfortable, repairable, and recyclable furniture alternatives to solid-surface furniture. To this end, a chair made from a special type of polyurethane can be a starting point for several advantages over other types of chairs.
When reaction injection molding aromatic polyurethane, while working with traditional solid-surface materials, furniture designers toil with the labor-intensive and longer manufacturing processes. Moreover, the procedure makes complex shapes impossible and repairability is an issue. With Arfinio – a special type of reaction injection molding aliphatic polyurethane – creating complex shapes and lightweight furniture with a high degree of precision, ease of repairability, and sustainability is possible.
“This design chair, we (Covestro) hope, shows designers the possibilities that this technology (Arfinio material) can bring to furniture,” an elated Senior Project Manager Covestro, Joan Miquel García Martinez, notes.
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The first utilization of the material in the Arfinio chair demonstrates its usage, which will ideally progress through time. For now, the seamless chair with clean lines and smooth finish comes in two variants: with an Arfinio base or a wooden base.
“Covestro and Arcesso’s new material opens extensive new furniture design possibilities,” designer Thomas Schnur said. Arfinio “is lighter and stronger than traditional solid-surface materials,” the chair maker adds.
The chair is lightweight and easy to transport; and being injection molded, it is made from lesser material per piece, without compromising durability or comfort. At the end of life, the Arfinio chair can be milled and converted into a new product, reducing industrial waste and helping avert the vicious circle of plastic pollution.
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