Kemppi shared its TIG welding know-how with Nikolo Kerimov in translating his originally wooden design into an aluminum prototype for an exhibition in Paris. With MasterTig MLS 2300ACDC and Kemppi's welding instructors, the welding challenge was tackled with great results.
Shelfie
Bringing art and industrial production together
Innovative wood-aluminum shelf designed and welded by Nikolo Kerimov
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Design and usability have always been emphasized in Kemppi’s product development. These aspects are shared by Nikolo Kerimov, a Finnish designer and entrepreneur. Kerimov and Kemppi joined forces in order to produce a prototype of Kerimov’s design shelf, Shelfie, for the Meet My Project exhibition held in conjunction with the Maison & Objet fair and Paris Design Week in 2014.
Shelfie was originally designed out of wood for an experimental product design course at the Aalto University School of Arts, Design, and Architecture with the task of creating a collapsible product for the home environment. As Kerimov continued working on Shelfie with aluminum, it became obvious that all of the individually crafted shelf components required special attention: without industrial production, each part would end up slightly different. This being his first time in manufacturing metal prototypes and welding aluminum, Kerimov turned to Kemppi professionals for guidance on the challenging project.
Website
Industry
Art and design
Location
Helsinki, Finland
Kemppi's solution
Base material
Al
Without an extensive welding background, it was very interesting to get tutored by Kemppi professionals right from the start. My experiences on welding with Kemppi are really good – the equipment functioned properly and was perfectly suited for the project. All in all, it was great to practice with the best welding machines in business.
Nikolo Kerimov, Designer, Entrepreneur
Main challenge
Aluminum is often regarded as one of the trickiest materials to master. However, it was a perfect choice for the project due to its light composition and post-surface treatment elegance, harmonizing well with the wooden parts of Shelfie. The challenge was to create beautiful welds parallel to the aluminum pipes under strict appearance requirements without any spare parts available – everything had to be welded correctly with the right parameters on the very first try.
Olli Keskinen, Hannu Saarivirta, and Nikolo Kerimov inspecting one of the aluminum pipes.
TIG welding in progress.
Spirits were high throughout the welding project.
Time to compile the shelf into its final form.
Shelfie was presented at the Meet My Project exhibition in Paris in September, 2014.
Kerimov's innovative design challenges the conventional.
Kemppi's solution
With years of welding experience, Kemppi welding instructors Hannu Saarivirta and Olli Keskinen were up for the task, providing Kerimov with the tools, settings, and expertise required. The welding was successfully conducted with Kemppi’s MasterTig MLS 2300ACDC with excellent end results, exactly how Kerimov had hoped. With neat welds, the aluminum would require less time spent on surface treatment.
Overall, Kerimov commended Kemppi equipment for its ease of use and suitability for such a specific project. In addition, he was very pleased with the positive response and help that he got from Kemppi to his project. Working with an industrial partner on the project gave a new perspective on the design process and the need to take into account how the product can be industrially manufactured and commercialized to a larger audience.
As for the future, Kerimov will continue with his Master of Arts degree studies at Aalto University while setting up a multidisciplinary company that operates on different fields of art.
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