Case study: Lumieres – Tube Lights
Our customer approached us to design and manufacture tube lumieres. They produced an architect’s view of what they wanted it to look like.
We were not given any drawings, just a rough sketch and an indication of the gaps required between each of the lumieres. The customer required a high-quality finish and lights of different sizes.
We experienced a large range of challenges which we worked to overcome in order to successfully meet our client’s brief:
- We only had a rough sketch to work with which gave a limited overview of what the customer required. An architect’s render showed the overall design intent. We were also given a list of light sizes and needed to design and manufacture lumieres to fit each of those different sizes.
- The material and thickness for the tubing required was initially unclear as the ultimate decision was dependent on the final ‘look’ of the lumiere. This required us to work flexibly throughout. We started fabrication of the largest tube lumiere first on the basis that this would help to address the key issues of stability and design. The material and thickness for the tubing was 2mm aluminium as this proved both lightweight and strong.
- The spigot at the bottom of the lumiere needed to be invisible and able to screw into the ceiling. This was achieved by changing the fixing method between the fixing plate and the internal spigot.
- Three samples were produced to achieve the final outcome, with adjustments being made to improve the cosmetic appeal and ease of bulb fitting. We addressed this by using a different tube thickness for the different sizes of lumiere. In addition, the internal spigot was adjusted to suit each lumiere.
- The accepted prototype produced a more streamlined outcome, and the design was able to be used for all the various sizes.
Our metal fabricators worked carefully to ensure the outcome produced tube lights that worked in different sizes. The internal spigot was not visible from the outside and after three iterations of lumieres, the customer was pleased with the final look. Each of the various signs were checked and the customer was delighted by the high-quality outcome.