The components had already been selected. Compared with current models on the market, there were two main areas for improvement:

1. Be more compact. Space on a laboratory bench is precious, so a compact model is a real advantage for buyers, and for shipping.

2. Be simple. Pumps were overdesigned to give a false impression of technical mastery. A simpler approach was needed. (This project dates from 2012; many better designs have appeared since.)

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IDSYS follows a classic industrial design process, with extensive sketching to explore different design directions. Shown here is a small selection of sketches from the end of the research phase, but more than 200 pages of sketches were produced per project.

The final volume was 40% smaller than the previous model. Reducing volume isn’t just a matter of packing components tightly; the product still has to be assembled and handled by factory workers. What you save in shipping, you could lose in assembly time.

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