With a focus on cutting-edge materials and production, the Leicestershire, UK-based business combines the benefits of modular display systems with the bespoke look and feel of traditional design and build methods.
This fresh approach is due in no small part to the companies’ commitment to digital print and production. As Phormular md Phil Lurcock explains: “We pride ourselves on producing bespoke solutions using innovative materials and manufacturing techniques. Digital fabrication enables us to produce results that would be very difficult to achieve traditionally, while significantly reducing installation times. It also makes it much easier to produce modular designs ideal for re-use and re-deployment”.
The fully digital workflow ensures maximum production speed and accuracy while eliminating production errors. To this end, the EskoArtwork suite of products has proven invaluable. Projects are taken from design to production using the ArtiosCAD software, enabling designers to quickly produce visuals for client approval and making design amendments simple and straightforward. The parametric rebuild design feature allows designs to be resized easily, and is particularly useful when redesigning for different material thicknesses or substrates.
Running the iCut Preflight software enables any problems to be addressed before going to print without having to go back into Illustrator. Text can be edited even if the font isn’t present on the computer, and low-resolution images can be easily identified and substituted. Using cutting keys and production presets using Esko’s iCut Vision Pro software has proven invaluable to achieve the best finishing possible, and the camera system makes accurate registration quick and easy.
A Kongsberg iXL-44 digital cutting table also offers the flexibility to work with large board dimensions – ideal for the production of wall panels and large display features. The automatic barcode identification makes tool changeover easy and eliminates user error – a huge benefit when working with a variety of substrates in a short time period.
Lurcock sees digital fabrication as essential to the continued growth of Phormular: “Not only does it facilitate more creative design with absolute consistency of quality, but also enables us to minimise lead time, production costs and waste.”
www.phormular.com
