Scale It
Sustainability
ArtCenter College of Design
Semester 6
14 week project
Powering the evolution of indoor climbing through a sustainable climbing hold alternative made 100% from fish scales in a circular, closed loop system.
*This is a school project with no association to Scalite
WHAT IS SCALE IT ?
Scale It is a sustainable climbing holds alternative made from 100% fish scales that is fully recyclable, and completely circular in its process
WHY THIS MATTERS
-
Climbing is a sport that is rapidly growing in popularity, particularly in indoor climbing gyms where the US alone saw an 8% growth in climbing gyms, and with more climbing gyms comes more holds.
-
Holds are made of polyurethane resin, a thermoset plastic that cannot be recycled, which means after their end of life holds usually end up in landfills.
UNDERSTANDING CLIMBING CULTURE
Primary and Secondary Research
To better understand the changing culture of climbing I conducted interviews with climbers of different levels and disciplines as well as listened to interviews to pro climbers as part of secondary research.
Overall I found out that climbing is changing, not only is climbing transitioning to becoming a competitive and more mainstream sport, but the culture as a whole is also changing, from a very adventurous culture centered around outdoor exploration to a more accessible and comfortable experience due to climbing gyms, with this change also comes the separation from outdoor and indoor climbing.
Takeaways
-
Olympics and the rise of competition climbing
-
Separation from outdoor climbing
-
Creative route setting incorporating gymnastics and parkour into the moves
UNDERSTANDING THE PRODUCT
Product pack out using a benchmark product that would serve as a starting point for analyzing the impact of the materials used in the creation, manufacturing and packaging of this product.
Metolius Greatest Hits (Benchmark)
-
PU Holds
-
Stainless steel hardware
-
ABS packaging
Functional Unit- 4 years of continuous use in gym.
BILL OF MATERIALS
Impact Score
Total Impact - 50.46
Lifespan - 4 years
Impact per Year - 12.62
These numbers represent Okala Impact Points and serve as a benchmark score for future reference.
Highest Impact
Polyurethane
Silicone
Stainless Steel
IMPACT SCORE
Sustainable Minds Impact Score
2.4mPts per 1 year of use
Greatest Impact - Exposure to carcinogens during manufacturing process of polyurethane elements.
Like the Okala score, this life cycle analysis allowed me to learn what were the most harmful processes and materials in this product as well as set a benchmark to compare against the redesign solution
PROCESS TREE
Even for a seemingly simple product such as climbing holds the process turned out to be incredibly complicated, from the sourcing of the materials to the the manufacturing processes for each one, and even the transportation and use after the product has been manufactured.
By creating this process tree I was able to break down the process which climbing holds go through, identifying problematic areas, and opportunities to streamline the system.
SIMPLIFIED PROCESS TREE
After analyzing the process tree I created I was able to uncover 4 main problems, which also meant I found 4 big areas of opportunities.
Problems
-
Lack of circularity
-
Harmful material extraction
-
Cradle to gate system
-
Waste
What can we do to address sustainability in this changing indoor climbing culture?
GOALS AND STRATEGIES
Form
Develop a variety of routes and climbing styles
Material
Eliminate/Reduce the impact of carcinogens
System
Achieve product and process circularity
FORM
Develop a variety of routes and climbing styles
I explored a variety of shapes and 3D forms with the idea of versatility in mind, creating different ways that the same hold could be used both by the climber while solving a problem on the wall or by the routesetter when creating a unique boulder including movement from modern bouldering.
The final shape direction included a variety of organic speedforms that created a problem solving aspect when climbing by not making the ideal holding position or area obvious at first sight.
The collection also includes a variety of different type of holds for more variety of positions, styles and dificulties.
HOLDS
Crimp
-
Small edge for the tip of your fingers
-
Curved surface for multi directional holding possibility
PHYSICAL EXPLORATION
I created several physical mockups, looking for the most effective shape that would provide the required function and ergonomic grip style. This allowed me to always have tactile feedback and thus be constantly testing the functionality of the design.
To completely understand how holds are made I knew I had to start by creating some holds using the traditional process.
I attempted to carve foam and create a silicone mold out of the shape to later pour PU resin unto it, unfortunately this did not work as expected, yet it was a great experience from which I extracted valuable insights.
After settling on the right shapes I drew them in scale to better envision the proportions relative to one another. I then carved them out in smaller scales and painted them to serve as appearance models.
I then created 3D scans of the forms and moved them to a digital space.
APPEARANCE MODELS
MATERIAL
Eliminate/reduce the impact of carcinogens
SCALITE
Made exclusively from fish scales, an abundant by product of the fishing industry. Scalite uses natural biopolymers extracted from the scales and mixes them with the mineral part of the scales to create a material that resembles the properties of MDF.
By using Scalite material as the main material, the hold becomes fully recyclable creating zero waste at the end of life, the bio-based polyester coating also adds an advantage to the hold design by giving it a texture that maximizes friction and extends the products lifespan by separating the main material from the texture as it opens up the possibility of recoating.
MATERIAL EXPLORATION
Before deciding on a final material direction, I conducted a variety or sustainable material explorations with natural and waste materials such as milk plastic, agar silicone, and coffee.
Although none of these explorations were viable for application on the final design, It was a revealing and educational research stage in understanding how some of these sustainable composites and materials act and perform.
COLORWAYS
With a clear gel coating the natural look of the scalite material remains visible exposing the textured and speckled look of the scale composite, additionally died with completely natural pigments.
SYSTEM
Achieve product and process circularity.
MANUFACTURING
-
Waste and by product raw materials as bases for all parts of the product.
-
Fully recyclable or biodegradable parts and materials used in manufacturing process.
-
Replacement of silicone mold making through 3D scanning and CNC milling.
-
Elimination of carcinogens in PU resin.
-
Recycled packaging solution.
-
Separate coating layer for recoating process at end of life.
END OF LIFE
At the end of its 3 year lifespan, Scale It holds are able to go through a recoating process by sanding down old coating and applying a new one over the scalite material, this extends their lifespan about 3x.
When the hold can no longer be recoated all the materials are gathered by the company, broken down and reused to make new holds.
CREDIT SYSTEM
How is this beneficial to the costumer?
1-Gym purchases Scale It holds.
2- Sends back holds when in need of a recoat.
3- Gym gets back credits to spend on new holds.
4- In the meantime Scale It re-coats or recycles holds and brings it back to market.
5- Repeat.
With this credit system the gym is able to both save money thanks to the credit system, and to have a constant changing variety of holds.
From Scale It's perspective, this system allows the to have full control of all materials and reduce manufacturing costs as well retain customer loyalty.
So How well do these solutions accomplish their goals?
BILL OF MATERIALS
Scale It
Impact Score
Total Impact - 28.08
Lifespan - 9 years
Impact per Year - 3.12
Highest Impact
Stainless Steel remains the highest impact material, however it was necessary to be able to safely attach the holds.
Although This solution now uses recycled steel, the energy usage for doing this is still very high.
BENCHMARK
REDESIGN
IMPACT SCORE
Scale It
Sustainable Minds Impact Score
0.27 mPts per 1 year of use
Greatest Impact - while carcinogenic where still the most impactful category, the new material and process choices made it so that they had a much lower impact overall.
COMPARISON
BENCHMARK
REDESIGN
89% IMPROVEMENT
When comparing the metolius benchmark product and the Scale It holds redesign we can observe a great improvement in the impact score of the redesign, this is due not only to the better material alternatives found in Scale It holds but also thanks to the system redesign that allows the products lifespan to increase from 4 to 9 years of use.
Although the highest percentage of the impact is still carcinogens, it is by a much lower quantity.
CONCLUSION
Overall this project shows a successful redesign of climbing holds by addressing the sustainability issues related to the current industry as well as the changing trends and directions of the sport.
GOALS MET
Form
Form
Form
-
Unique shapes
-
Aesthetic Routesetting
-
Problem Solving
-
Biodegradable materials
-
100% recyclable
-
No fosil fuels
-
Take back system
-
Extended lifespan
-
Circular design
