Platinum Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design · 2020
FinaMill Smart Kitchen Mill
by Alex Liu
- A' Design Award 2020 Platinum Winner in Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: Elemex Limited
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 856,204
- Verification code 4743C8503A · Verify this award
About FinaMill Smart Kitchen Mill
FinaMill is a powerful kitchen mill with interchangeable and refillable spice pods. FinaMill is the easy way to elevate cooking with the bold flavor of freshly ground spices. Just fill the reusable pods with dried spices or herbs, snap a pod in place, and grind the exact amount of spice you need with the push of a button. Swap out spice pods with just a few clicks and keep cooking. It’s the one grinder for all your spices.
Within the evolving landscape of contemporary kitchen design, Elemex's FinaMill Smart Kitchen Mill emerges as a thoughtful meditation on the intersection of culinary ritual and technological refinement, representing a notable contribution to the ongoing conversation between form and function that has characterized domestic product design since the mid-twentieth century modernist revolution. The system appears to draw upon multiple design lineages—the organic sculptural forms championed by Scandinavian masters, the transparent materiality celebrated in postwar Italian design, and the intuitive interface philosophy that has defined the most successful consumer electronics of recent decades. What distinguishes this work is its embrace of modularity as both practical innovation and visual poetry; the interchangeable grinding pods transform the utilitarian act of seasoning into a curated display of culinary ingredients, their warm organic contents providing chromatic counterpoint to the cool technological precision of the motor housing. The formal resolution achieves remarkable sophistication in its apparent simplicity—the gentle taper of the main unit, the considered proportions of the pods, the minimal control interface all speak to extensive iterative refinement. One observes how the design celebrates transparency not merely as functional communication (allowing users to identify contents and monitor quantities) but as aesthetic strategy, the crystalline chambers becoming vessels that elevate humble spices to the status of precious materials worthy of display. The work invites consideration of how contemporary design might dignify everyday domestic rituals, transforming the mundane act of grinding seasonings into a moment of sensory appreciation and visual pleasure.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- FinaMill is a powerful kitchen mill with interchangeable and refillable spice pods. FinaMill is the easy way to elevate your cooking with the bold flavor of freshly ground spices. Just fill the reusable pods with dried spices or herbs, snap a pod in place, and grind the exact amount of spice you need with the push of a button. Switching to another spice is easy, press FinaMill down to release the pod, and press down again to engage with another pod. It is the one grinder for all your spices.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- FinaMill is 85x85x220mm, power by 3 AA batteries or recharge by mini USB. Our goal is to create an efficient electric mill so the users can grind many pods of spice with just a set of fresh batteries. For example, 3 AA batteries our FinaMill grinds over 1 Kg of Salt. Reliability is another area of our concerns, FinaMill has circuitry to protect the motor and gearbox, so it provides years of reliable service. Our quick release mechanism can engage and disengage the pods over 250,000 times.m
- Tags
- Kitchen, cooking, food, mill, grinder, pod, spice, spice mill, spice grinder
- Production Technology
- Electric mills existed for years but failed to extend the benefits beyond milling pepper and salt. The reason is that most come with a tiny cup that is difficult to fill and, there is no way to overcome the cross contamination problem. Our interchangeable pod solves that problem, one spice one pod. Once we extend the usefulness of FinaMill beyond pepper and salt, we developed a quick release mechanism so a user can swap spice pod single handedly, while leaving the other hand to cook.
- Design Challenge
- The biggest challenge was finding a way to make the two rotating pieces work together in harmony. The mill has to turn the pod, and the pod must also be secured firmly into the mill. The mechanical energy must transfer well in order to grind hard materials.
- Project Duration
- The project started over 10 years ago as an idea, and was tinkered with off and on until March 2019. At that time, full dedication was put into the product as a few technical hurtles were finally surmounted.
- Operation Flow
- Fill a FinaPods with your favorite spices, bring the FinaMill above the pod and press down to click it into position. Press the button and the electric motor grinds your spices. Press the pod down against your surface again to release. Then repeat the process for the next pod: select click grind savor.
This is a big improvement over traditional electric mills as they must be dedicated to one spice alone. If it is filled with pepper, it is a forever pepper mill. FinaMill and FinaPods allow you to have any number of spice pods to use with just one mill. - Research
- Our focuses were in reliability, efficiency and functionalities. Robotic arms were used to determine the life expectancy of the button and quick release. We analyze sound wave during operation to find abnormally in our motors and gearboxes. We measure current loading and heat spots to identify inefficiency. We have developed 6 different pods to find 6 different characteristics of spice.
- Inspiration
- Years ago, I wanted to correct the flaws of an imperfect spice mill, flaws so deep they had become the norm, and then build from the ground up a brand new mill nobody had ever seen. A defense against the cross-contamination of flavors. A quicker, more efficient way of changing spices. Single-handed operation. These features were unheard of within the spice grinding industry. The key to our invention came one day when I was working my power tool, and I knew my answer is: interchangeable pod.
- Patents
- Patent no. PTC/CN2019/107332
Colors of FinaMill Smart Kitchen Mill
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Design Interview about FinaMill Smart Kitchen Mill
Years ago, I wanted to correct the flaws of an imperfect spice grinder, flaws so deep they had become the norm, and then build from the ground up a brand new grinder nobody had ever seen. A defense against the cross-contamination of flavors. A quicker, more efficient way of changing spices. Single-handed operation. These features were unheard of within the spice grinding industry. The key to our invention came one day when I was working my power tool, and I knew my answer is: interchangeable pod.
Easy to use and easy to change spices, interchangeable pod has to be refillable.
Our goal is to distribute this product to every market that uses dry spices and herbs.
2008 was the year the idea first conceptualized, it didn't began to take shape until 2017 and in 2018 things were kicked into high gear.
We had several iterations until we reached this concepts, single handed operation was something we insisted early on. I breakthrough design came to us in 2018.
We are currently producing this item, however we need to expand our distribution.
I have been making spice grinders since 2006, naturally this design fall into my line of work.
The target customer for this design is home chefs. We are considering to make a more powerful version for professional chefs.
There is nothing like this.
It came from the word finale - we want to create the ultimate kitchen tools hence the word "finale."
We use CAD, 3D printing and other prototyping technique.
Interchangeable pod.
My own engineering team.
No special technology
Market research and patent search.
Going from a wish list to reality can be challenges, after many trials and errors and finally we reach a
We thought our design was good, however we trust a prestigious panel like A'Design would give us their unbiased opinion. The market trusts A'Design.
We are still learning how to improve our grinding mechanism to outperform our current model.