Thermosetting injection molding machine, also known as bakelite machine, is a type of injection molding machine equipment mainly used in small household appliances and electrical appliances industries. The products produced by its injection molding have the performance characteristics of high temperature resistance, high strength, and arc resistance. Liusu Kaiyu, formerly known as Liuzhou Plastic Machinery General Factory, has more than 50 years of injection molding machine design and manufacturing history. It is the first batch of state-owned enterprises to enter the injection molding machine industry in China and the first injection molding machine brand to go abroad. The performance of Liusu Kaiyu's Bakelite machines is in a leading position in the country, and it has a very high market share in the production of small household appliances in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. However, because the original product appearance is still the appearance of more than ten years ago, and the grade is low, the product price and sales cannot be increased, and the industry market is homogenized. Liusu Kaiyu hopes to enhance the competitiveness of products through industrial design. After the product appearance is designed, it must reach the current industry-leading level, reflecting brand recognition and family continuity, and at the same time make certain micro-innovations in terms of human-machine experience, practicality, ease of operation, and safety. After the design, a brand new product with Liusu Kaiyu’s exclusive super symbol, enhanced man-machine operation experience, and higher appearance quality was finally created.

This project puts great emphasis on the connection between the product and the brand and the optimized design of the user experience. The relationship between the product and the brand is very close. We have conducted in-depth thinking on the two issues of "whether the brand image is strong enough to attract consumers" and "how does the product itself support the brand", and tried to start from Liusu Yu's logo extracts the "triangular" super symbol exclusive to Liusu Kaiyu, and applies the super symbol to the product to clearly and continuously provide a differentiated vision for the brand. In terms of user experience, we in-depth factory research, observe and experience the use process of operators, and observe the assembly and maintenance processes of installation and maintenance personnel. For example, we found that workers need to repeat hundreds of times a day to open the door during the use of the product. Therefore, we moved the handle design of the sliding door down and closer to the stress point, reducing the difficulty of the worker’s operation and improving the worker’s ability to open and close the door. Portability, thereby improving work efficiency. In addition, we have added and adjusted the handle position, spray gun bracket, power strip and other components according to the workers' usage habits. The humanized design is more in line with the workers' usage habits.

In the past, for function-oriented mechanical equipment such as injection molding machines, many manufacturers only paid attention to the realization of functions, and the appearance and use of the equipment were relatively cold and rigid. Liusu Kaiyu’s thermosetting injection molding machine is a new upgraded product. Because the customer’s product performance is already in the leading position, product performance is not the primary research and development direction in the project design. We focus on appearance, user experience, and humanity. This product has been upgraded in the four dimensions of humanized care and safety. Liuzhou is a traditional heavy industry city. There are many companies that do machinery and equipment like Liusu Kaiyu. Their relative equipment also has relatively traditional and old problems. As an old brand with a certain influence in Liuzhou's industrial field, Liusu Kaiyu's innovative and upgraded products are passing the future industry development direction to Liuzhou industry and setting a good example. In the current social development, many function-oriented machinery and equipment should pay more attention to the development of humanization and safety.

The project is a joint collaboration between the two parties, with a total of 8 people in the team. Sunpeng Yang, the design director of LKKER, as the big project manager, coordinated the whole process. Kaiyu’s vice president of sales, Li Yuanhang, led LKKER’s designers to go to factories in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to conduct preliminary site inspections. LKKER's strategic researcher Chen Meichen and industrial design manager Guo Qi are responsible for the preliminary strategic research and design direction definition. Guo Qi led LKKER's industrial designers Jie Guangyuan and Huang Yang to complete the design of the product's appearance very well. Kaiyu’s chief technical engineer Xie Rubin, as the chief technical officer, leads Kaiyu’s structural engineer Hai Min to be responsible for the structural design of the product to ensure the proofing and production of the final product.

In the implementation process, we closely coordinated and coordinated development in different places with the assistance of digital tools. In addition, I participated in exhibitions with customers and entered many factories on the spot to understand the pain points of users in depth, and obtained first-hand detailed and reliable user feedback materials for the preliminary research. The project took a total of 6 months, from research to design to landing. When we sorted out the plan in the early stage, we took the margin of risk into account. During the birth of the product, many risks occurred one after another. When we encountered risks, we communicated effectively, dealt with and made decisions urgently, and made this The products can be delivered in quality and quantity.

As one of the few companies that stick to the injection molding machine industry, the customer has never forgotten its original intention. The product performance belongs to the leading position in the country, but the appearance grade is low, which causes the product price and sales to fail to rise. In order to comply with the situation of my country's industrial upgrading and transformation, customers insist on improving their independent innovation capabilities, taking a new path to industrialization, and improving the level of industrialization development. And expect to use the power of industrial design to promote the upgrading of the industrial structure, enhance the competitiveness of enterprises, enhance the brand's influence in the market and the product's market share in market segments. After the completion of the project, the products we have created have a strong connection with the brand's visual symbols and strong recognizable modeling characteristics, which have been greatly recognized by customers.