INNOVATION STARTS WITH A PROBLEM TO SOLVE
MY QUEST FOR A MICRO-PUNCTURE RESISTANT MATERIAL
I moved from California to Arizona three years ago when my husband Darren and I purchased our house in Carefree sitting on 2 acres of some pretty bad bush. As a desert gardener and xeriscaping fanatic, I saw a magnum opus. It wasn't long before it also called upon my skills as a materials designer.
Arizona's unique combination of terrain, climate and plant fauna is demanding of one's footwear and gloves. I keep a pair of pliers handy to remove jack shaped cactus quill clusters from the soles of me Teeva's every afternoon and I've tried every work glove on the market even snake handling gloves, but nothing could avert the infuriating twinge of an aptly placed cactus quill plunging down to the bone.
And so began my quest to create a sustainable, affordable puncture resistant material that is flexible, light weight, breathable and allows for movement and dexterity of both feet and hands.
BOOBY TRAPS
The thoughtfully curated design above is just today's nasty surprise the resident family of packrats had in store for me. Every night they rig a new trap on the stepping stone outside my back gate. They choose a variety of sizes and shapes for every type of footwear.
Alycore®
Dyneema® and Spectra®
SuperFabric®
Metal mesh technology. It is used in combination (sandwiched in) with leather and other wearable materials.
Gripster® Cut and Hypodermic Needle Resistant Gloves
$50
PROS:
• semi affordable
• allows some dexterity
CONS:
• metal of undisclosed origin
SuperFabric®
Dyneema® and Spectra®
SuperFabric®
Small guard plate patterns attached to a variety of fabrics. These fabrics are layered for specific applications.
HexArmor ThornArmor® 3092
Thorn-resistant gloves
$124 for a pair that lasts 3 months
PROS:
• Works
• allows some dexterity
CONS:
• Expensive
• undisclosed contents
Dyneema® and Spectra®
Dyneema® and Spectra®
Dyneema® and Spectra®
One of the world's strongest and lightest fibers, this is a manufactured fiber made from gel-spun, multi-filament fiber that is created from ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. It's used for bullet-resistant vests and helmets and on occasion shoes.
Most products on the market are cut resistant but not puncture resistant.
212 Performance Needle Puncture Resistant and Impact Protective Work Gloves
$40
PROS:
• Affordable in yarn form
• light weight
• heat and fire resistant
CONS:
• Petroleum based
• hard to add color
An Abundant Source
Pictured above: my husband's cardboard recycling pile
When planting and repotting large cactus, cardboard is a trick of the trade and can be shaped into slings and protective tubes that don't puncture across the slicker surfaces without creases but bend and deflect the quills. The slicker outer surface deflects punctures however creases and folds from wear and tear become penetrable. Like SuperFabric®, the surface structure is key.
OBEJECTIVE:
Use cardboard waste to create a flexible lightweight non-porous membrane that deflects needle puncture.
a PRESSED FIBER membrane
Forged Carbon Fiber
Forged Carbon Fiber
Forged Carbon Fiber
Invented in the Lamborghini Advanced Composite Structure Laboratory in order to create a light weight more voluminous option to woven carbon fiber. Forged fibers are not oriented in any particular direction, and strong in different directions.
Recycled Wood Waste
Forged Carbon Fiber
Forged Carbon Fiber
More on this later, but a Texas A&M study found the use of recycled wood pulp derivates in the construction of composites increased the composite’s resistance to bending by 33 percent and its inter-laminar strength by 40 percent.
Chipped Card
Forged Carbon Fiber
Chipped Card
Like the Forged Carbon Fiber and wood waste, this content, in larger pieces could create a plate like resistance to puncture when reconsider
LOFTED centerS
SANDWICH MESH TECHNIQUES
SANDWICH MESH TECHNIQUES
SANDWICH MESH TECHNIQUES
CORRUGATION
SANDWICH MESH TECHNIQUES
SANDWICH MESH TECHNIQUES