Peter Angus
Technical Director of E3Design
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For this edition of E3Discussions, our very own Technical Director, Peter Angus has seized his moment to shine! He’s taken the time to discuss with us his role, background and thoughts on the future of design and manufacture.
What is your role at E3?
As Technical Director, I am responsible for ensuring products are designed for manufacturing from day one. I am also responsible for Business Development and the commercial side of the business.
Tell us a little bit about your background and what brought you to E3Design
Richard and I set up E3Design in 2007 because we wanted to create a design company that dealt in the real world. We wanted to make products that were designed from concept right the way through to market with manufacturing in mind. As a time served toolmaker, I was working in the rapid tooling industry. Time after time clients would come to us to make physical components that had been designed by outside agencies, only to find that the parts were not suitable for tooling or manufacture. E3D initially bridged that gap, by redesigning the products specifically for tooling and manufacturing, often saving huge sums of money for our clients by practically engineering the parts and considering all aspects of the physical end-result.
So, how do you approach balancing the demands of creative design with the practicalities of manufacturing?
Keeping it simple, it’s an easy statement but needs experienced hands to ensure that’s what happens. For a given manufacturing process a product will generally design itself for that process due to constraints of manufacturing technology. The most important part of product development is the end price point, there is no point in designing a fantastic product if no one can afford to buy it.
Can you share an example where you had to innovate in the toolmaking/manufacturing process?
Cost reduction is key, if by looking at a product or the component parts of an assembly I can reduce the part count, I can often help the client to save a fortune. I can name many products where this has been the case in rigid packaging. In one particular instance, I managed to save a global company 8 million Euros a year on their manufacturing costs by using some simple common sense and an experienced approach to the part design and tooling configuration.
So, it’s safe to say that potential customers of E3Design could benefit from your background, knowledge and experience?
They can take comfort that they are in safe hands, I now sadly have 40 years’ experience in all aspects of manufacturing which is invaluable in the industry!
Prototyping seems to be an important part of E3’s design process. Why is this?
Prototyping is your proof of principal, its your key to success or failure. It is the culmination of the design process and it is absolutely vital. You cannot envisage everything, despite what the CAD and FEA sales guys tell you. Remember ‘A part in the hand is better than 2 million in the bin.’
Speaking of the design process, how do you incorporate sustainable practices in your work?
Sustainability… ah the current watchword, everyone wants sustainability and we do our best to accommodate and factor in the product lifecycle as part of our design process. We work with our clients to source the best material for the product and its intended use.
I am glad to see the reduction in use of thigs like plastic cutlery and cup stirrers, straws etc. Reusability and biodegradability is the way forward for these kind of products!
However, unfortunately it is not always practical. Single use medical mouldings can never be replaced with bio-polymers, bamboo or rice husk. Single use plastic gets a bad rap, but we all need to recognise that it often plays an important part particularly in the medical industry, when it comes to keeping people alive!
With the rise of advanced manufacturing technologies like 3D printing and CNC machining, how do you see manufacturing and toolmaking evolving in the future?
Toolmaking will always have a role, there are no 3D printers that can produce mass volume. I’ve worked on projects with moulds spitting out 96 components out every 5 seconds. That’s over 69,000 parts an hour! In mould assembly and cube mould advancements are simply awe inspiring and that type of mass production absolutely cannot be replaced. Advancements in materials technology and component integrity is where 3D printing and CNC machining are making advances. Specialised low volume supply in exotic materials is a huge opportunity especially in the military or advanced medical market, or a scenario where an expensive mould cannot be justified.
Can you tell us about a project that you have been involved in that you are most proud of?
Probably the lifesaver systems water bottle, providing nano filtered water for disaster relief, it saved hundreds of thousands of lives globally. You can take a look at the project in our portfolio and on our website.
What is the most rewarding part of your role?
Apart from playing a part in producing life saving/quality of living products, I love a breakthrough in manufacturing. Finding a small change that saves money and time as well as having an idea about something that then becomes reality.
What are the challenges you face in your role?
Advancements in technology, basically keeping up with developments in processes. I still enjoy episodes of ‘How its made’ on TV to see how some things are made, no one knows everything and every day is a school day in this industry, there is always someone innovating in manufacturing.
Thanks so much Peter! Finally, what E3 is up to at the moment?
Things at E3Design are really exciting at the moment. Unfortunately I cannot reveal too much due to client confidentiality but I can say that we have been innovating in the defence and medical sector. We also have upcoming projects in local wildlife conservation that, as a proud Northumbrian, I am looking forward to. That’s about all I can say on that!
This Blog post is part of E3Design's August 2024 Newsletter
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