Modo Snap Hinge Primary Function: Brëllegestell by Modo Design Team is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award an Sëlwer in Schmuckdesign Competition Category.
SëlwerSchmuck· 2022
Modo Snap Hinge Primary Function: Brëllegestell
Client: MODO Eyewear
A' Design Award an Sëlwer Winner in Schmuck Category
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- Verified Award Winner
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The Design
About Modo Snap Hinge Primary Function: Brëllegestell
Modo Snap Hinge ass e Brëllegestell mat engem schrauwenfräie Scharéiersystem. D'Scharéier verbënnt de Front vum Gestell mat de Bigelen eleng duerch Drock, ouni Schrauwen oder Schweessen. Nëmmen dräi Deeler ginn benotzt: e Bigel aus Beta-Titan mat enger Hakeform, e klenge Zylinder aus Edelstol mat bikonesche Käpp, an e Front aus spritzgeformte Polymer mat enger interner Ënnerschnëtt-Kavitéit. De Zylinder gëtt am Front gehalen an erméiglecht eng glat Reibungsrotatioun. De Mechanismus ass bannen am Enndeel verstoppt, wat d'Gestell einfach a propper hält.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award an Sëlwer
Modo Snap Hinge Primary Function: Brëllegestell ass e Gewënner vum A' Design Award an Sëlwer, enger aussergewéinlech prestigiéiser Unerkennung, déi un Designe vun der héchster Qualitéit, prächteg a beandrockend vergi gëtt. Sëlwer-Gewënner si bemierkenswäert brillant a ganz kreativ Wierker, déi d'erausragend Expertise, d'Talent an d'Schaarfsënnegkeet vun hire Designer weisen. Et gëtt erwaart, datt Modo Snap Hinge Primary Function: Brëllegestell e wonnerbart, mustergëlteg, bemierkenswäert professionellt an déif innovatiivt Wierk ass. Dëst mam Sëlwer ausgezeechent Design ass eng bemierkenswäert, bewonnert Erfindung, déi dozou bäidréit, d'Grenze vun der Konscht, der Wëssenschaft, vum Design an der Technologie ze erweideren. Modo Snap Hinge Primary Function: Brëllegestell ass eng Kreatioun, op déi vill neidesch sinn, déi Wënsch erweckt, positiv Gefiller bréngt an Erstaunen a Wonner erweckt.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- Part of MODO eyewear collection uses an innovative "Snap Hinge" system that surpasses current common hinge constructions, which are made up of several components. The snap hinge’s main function is to easily join the front of a pair of glasses to their temples through a very simple method – click, by pressure – without the use of screws or welding, and instead by a reliable connection and smooth friction operation.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 140 mm x Depth 150 mm x Height 45 mm
Weight: 13 g
Specifications of the product:
1. Injected front with snap fastening seat obtained internally with undercut shape;
2. Stainless steel bi-conical and anti-rotation cylinder;
3. Laser cut and spring bent beta-titanium temples;
4. Injected temple-tip - Tags
- Simplicity, reliability, sustainability, clean design, hidden mechanism.
- Production Technology
- The innovation of the snap hinge is its few components:
1. A Beta-titanium temple with a specifically designed hook shape
2. A small metal cylinder that is inserted into the temple hook and acts as the temple’s rotation mechanism. The cylinder heads have a particular bi-conical surface that allows the ‘snap’ attachment to the frame front, for a very resilient one-time-only attachment and unlimited lifespan.
3. An ultra-performing polymer frame front made by a specialised injection molding technique that allows the creation of an internal ‘undercut’ cavity, which serves as the house for the metal cylinder. - Design Challenge
- The seeming simplicity of the final result hides a constructive difficulty that we had to overcome with an advanced molding process. The most difficult part was to make the cavity / house of the cylinder inside the plastic polymer front, since it is to be made with a particular undercut that generally in injected front pieces it is not possible.
- Research
- Eyewear frames generally feature hinges with several disadvantages related to the complexity of production and assembly / disassembly, as well as the actual durability of the coupling between the temple and the spectacle front piece.
In particular, hinges provided with a screw pin and corresponding coupling elements, which can be fixed to the temples and front-piece require long and complex production steps. The use of screw pins and / or screw connections will eventually lead to loosening and wear in the long run, which will reduce the service life of the hinge and of the frame. With regards to the hinges that do not use a screw coupling, they are rather complex. Therefore, a large number of components and their mutual couplings are required, and with their particular shapes they necessitate high production costs.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple screw-less hinge capable of ensuring a robust and reliable coupling between the temples and the front piece of the spectacles in order to simplify the mounting steps.
Advantageously, the spectacle frame of the present invention makes it possible to:
- reduce production costs compared to the existing frames;
- has an high level of reliability due to the reduced number of its components;
- simplify the assembly steps;
In terms of design, this innovation allows the hinge to be completely hidden inside the injected front, creating a minimal and clean and eco-sustainable hidden design as the components and processes used are truly reduced.
However, the extreme reduction of components required a high degree of engineering and precision, both in the realisation of the mold for the production of the front with seat obtained, of the steel cylinder, and a perfect calibration of the temple-hook in bent beta titanium. Industrialising the perfect assembly to have a lasting friction were the final steps of this project. - Inspiration
- The inspiration comes from other connection systems present in nature or in mechanical and handcrafted pieces, with the difference that in this case the various materials and their natural elasticity have been exploited in a way that reduces the number of moving parts and pieces and contributes to the longevity of the product.
- Project Duration
- The project started in 2020 and launched into Spring-Summer 2022.
- Operation Flow
- The assembly process is extremely simple and reduced to only two operations:
1. Insertion of the metal cylinder into the Beta-titanium temple hook
2. Pressure insertion of the cylinder + temple assembly into the injected polymer front’s housing.
This new construction is stable and resilient, and the bi-conical surface processing of the cylinder heads prevents the metal cylinder from rotating inside the front piece. The temple hook surrounds the cylinder and rotates around the cylindrical surface. This particular combination of metallic materials allows fluid motion and frictional rotation, thanks to the particular self-lubricating operation of the two different materials.
In terms of perception and design, the hinge mechanism is completely hidden inside the end-piece of the frame front. Depending on the transparency of the chosen polymer, it is possible to decide to show the mechanism with transparent shades or to hide it completely with opaque colors.
Extreme simplicity, great reliability, maximum production economy, sustainability: for a clean design. - Patents
- European Paten Application:
EP21209782.8 - Team Members
- MODO Design Team
- Image Credits
- MODO Eyewear
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