London, United Kingdom
PearsonLloyd, founded by Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd, collaborates with print startup design and 3D-manufacturing studio Batch.Works to create the new bFRIENDS accessories collection consisting of pen pots, trays, and a mobile-phone stand made from discarded food packaging for office brand Bene.
Bene bFRIENDS Collection’s project recently won a 2022 Green Good Design Award from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Using 100% recycled PLA, a cornstarch-derived bioplastic, diverted from landfill recycled bioplastics, Bene bFRIENDS Collection is the first of its kind to deliver well-priced accessories using 3D printing technology for the workplace.
Comprising of 20 objects in 10 different colors which would be impossible using traditional tools production, all products can be returned directly to Bene to be recycled into material for reprinting and reuse.
An ambitious project to develop legitimate and deliverable circular design principles in the workplace, the collection perfectly reflects the additive nature of 3D printing.
A single line traces the silhouette of each design, and the print nozzle slowly builds up the form of the object without changing, stopping, and restarting; efficiency in design is at its most effective.
The process of printing in layers leaves tactile horizontal ridging on the vertical surfaces.
Pearson Lloyd is determined that this should be a key design feature and has decided to use a larger nozzle on the printer to emphasize the ridges as each layer was formed.
This also has the effect of making the products stronger and more durable, thus extending their longevity.
As a result, these objects wear the story of their manufacture with pride—reminding the user of why they were made this way.
3D printing offers huge advantages over traditional injection molding processes.
Digital tooling eliminates the need for molds, print on demand eliminates the need for stock and warehousing, and localized production reduces transport costs and carbon.
A compelling demonstration of the viability of 3D printing as a means of manufacturing mass-appeal consumer products, the launch marks a small but significant step forward in the global drive to shift manufacturing from linear production methods to sustainable, closed-loop systems.
Project: BENE bFRIENDS Collection
Designers: PearsonLloyd Design Ltd.
Manufacturers: Batch.Works and Bene GmbH