LIGHTWEIGHTING
A render of what the Stilfold trailer would look like in action
INDUSTRIAL ORIGAMI
How can a new origami-inspired manufacturing technology make heavy transportation greener?
A
ccording to recent statistics from the UK Government’s Transport and Environment department, heavy goods
vehicles (HGVs) are responsible for almost a fifth of domestic transport emissions in the UK, while market data provider Statista estimates such vehicles account for over a quarter of transport emissions across the whole of Europe. New research by Swedish technology and design start-up Stilride, however, suggests that constructing HGV semi-trailers using a unique manufacturing technique inspired by origami - the Japanese art of paper folding - could significantly reduce the environmental impact of heavy transportation around the globe. The company’s proprietary
sustainable manufacturing technology, Stilfold, involves the use of robotic arms to fold steel over curves in order to form light and strong new structures while using minimal component parts. If used to build semi-trailers, Stilride estimates the technique could remove the need for around 360,000 HGV journeys to be made each year and
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prevent up to 12,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, by increasing the load capacity of HGVs by 5% and therefore making semi- trailers more efficient. “We are always looking for new ways
to advance our Stilfold technology and reduce the automotive industry’s impact on the planet,” says Jonas Nyvang, CEO and co-founder at Stilride. “Heavy goods transportation accounts for a significant proportion of
transport emissions in Europe – and so it’s an area we’ve long been interested in tackling.”
Stilfold involves the use of robotic arms to fold steel over curves
HOW STILFOLD WORKS Stilfold is built upon sustainable metal manufacturing and fabrication methods, using advanced robotics and proprietary curve folding technology to reduce both component weight and material wastage. The technology’s intelligent Stilware software defines and creates effective and efficient geometries for folding along complex and curved lines in order to utilise the full potential of flat sheet metal. The firm’s Stiltool technology then transforms CAD data into CAM instructions for automated robotic folding and forming, after which its Stilworks tool enables local manufacturing and production within existing ecosystems across the globe, with the ambition to enable fully equipped modular
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