Robot- The Brightness of Energy

Materials: Liuli, ash wood

Dimensions: Diameter 38cm, Height 53cm

 

This robot embodies the childlike innocence that the artist hopes we can all retain.

 

The table utilizes a myriad of tints and residual liuli blocks to form a robot. Each block contains a distinct color pattern. Intricate details are added using cold work practices to enhance the handmade texture and exude a sense of childlike wonder.

The character "亮" (liàng), meaning bright, is gleaned from the shape of the robot, which literally resembles the character itself. It brims with a warm-hearted radiance that accompanies viewers through each day.

Make every day shine!

In Loretta Yang’s heart of hearts, it is not only a table, but also a robot whose function is to bring you joy.

Sustainable Energy Sparkles

Upcycling previously cast liuli to make coffee tables was our first experiment. Liuligongfang’s sustainable expectations span not only to reuse what was formerly styled as “waste liuli”, but also to develop a new green design process for investment casting through this series. It aims to calculate the carbon reduction benefits obtained from green design works. Based on this, it will provide reference data for wider applications of materials in the future.

The expectations of LIULI’s sustainability action plan go beyond simply reusing liuli that was formerly styled as “waste”. We aspire to develop a new eco-friendly process for wax casting with this series as a blueprint. Using this as a foundation, we aim to calculate the carbon reduction benefits obtained from green design works as a reference data for broader future material applications.

Circular economy expert REnato Lab, quantifies the emissions from the twelve steps of the LIULI’s lost-wax casting process, using carbon as the benchmark. The assessment focuses on two stages: “raw material acquisition” and “product manufacturing”. They calculate the environmental benefits generated after implementing green processes.

1) “Sprues” and other gating residuals replace fresh liuli as the raw material when upcycling

2) Manufacturing optimization and reduction of steps

 

The project is divided into two points: raw supplies and energy resource usage. Utilizing recycled sprues as the raw material gave us on average an emission coefficient of zero. Energy resource usage includes electricity, water, and diesel consumption.

 

Differences before and after implementing the plan

The green design production process eliminated or reduced the time needed for 8 steps:

Mold Making & Casting Process: Reduction of 3 Steps

Using 3D printing to replicate silicone molds instead of wax molds reduces the use of wax and diesel fuel as raw supplies, and removes three steps: wax pouring, wax refining, and steam dewaxing. This elimination also reduces electricity and water consumption.

Not Generating New Crystal Glass Tailings: Reduction of 1 Step.

Precisely calculating the weight of the glass material and the flow of casting pressure, striving to complete the tabletop close to finished quality, without generating new casting materials, thereby reducing the process of cutting casting materials.

Cold Work: Reduction of 4 Steps

Experimental correction of the temperature control sequence obtained ensures that the glass tabletop after casting is flat, allowing the elimination of the grinding stages of coarse, medium, and fine iron with different coefficients, and reducing the time-consuming fine finishing in the polishing process.

*The total carbon emissions of all differences are the carbon reduction benefits of "per kilogram of glass product.

*Emission coefficient: The amount of greenhouse gas emissions relative to the amount of energy or fuel used per unit.