FLAT PACKING SYSTEM
Design:super robot
production:super robot/KYOEI SEIKI


“FLAT PACKING SYSTEM” (FPS) is an attempt to uncover the hidden properties of steel and to explore new ways of thinking about furniture and its production.

The process is quite simple. We simply cut, drill, or perforate a thin sheet of steel, 1.6mm thick, with laser.
At first, we were surprised at how easily a sheet of steel could be bent along a perforated line…just like Origami, the traditional Japanese paper craft.
We began to call the perforated line to be bent as “live hinge”.

We have confirmed that if it’s not bent repeatedly, the live hinge performs with sufficient strength. By attaching the parts together made out of the same sheet aluminum rivets.
Most FPS uses steel sheet of 919mmX1829mm, which is the most common size one can buy. The perforated steel sheet is a fun-to-see object in itself.
One would enjoy its ornamental quality even before it is transformed into a product.

What we have found in FPS is a process of design which begins by scrutinizing
the properties of a material, and the technology it requires to take advantage of
such properties.
We are expecting that this process would result in many different adaptations.

The idea of flat packing was established by super robot in 2002.