Research Reports

Articles

Mattcomp - sustainable technologies in mattress design

The bedding market has been less affected by imports than other sectors in the furniture industry, protected by the UK's tough fire regulations and the bulkiness of the product. But for how long? New research aims to give UK manufacturers a strong technical lead, improve competitiveness through lower costs and make for more environmentally friendly products.

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Virtual furniture could make real money

The concept of virtual worlds is becoming an increasing reality. Many large commercial organisations are becoming actively involved in virtual communities such as "Second Life". They are not doing this for fun, but feel that these worlds present real business opportunities, an issue recently debated on the BBC's Money Programme. This article summarises virtual worlds and identifies some of the potential opportunities - if only we are brave enough to embrace what, on the surface, seems slightly ridiculous.

Standardisation of electronic communications within the furniture manufacturing industry

Electronic communication software is more prevalent than ever within today’s increasingly global furniture supply chain. Without doubt, these systems enhance efficiency and improve competitiveness. They can however, create confusion as different systems attempt to “talk to each other” whilst not necessarily using the exact same language. INNOVAFUN, a European wide collaborative project, aims to advance the use of the new FunStep standard (ISO 10303-236) for electronic communications in the furniture industry so that these problems can be eradicated.

UV Pine - lacquer free coloration

Adding colour to pine the natural way

‘Hi Fibre’ research – improving the quality and performance of fibre filled cushions

There has been considerable concern in the UK furniture market in recent years over the quality and performance of loose, fibre filled cushions for upholstery applications. This had become a siginifcant competitiveness issue which needed to be addressed for UK manufacturers to maintain their well-earned reputation for high quality upholstery products.

'Furnitureweld' research – the laser welding of furniture textile seams

Laser welded textile and upholstery seams can perform as well as, if not better than, traditionally stitched seams. There are, according to FIRA, other potential benefits of this technology.

Furnishing the benefits of workplace noise reduction

By researching the use of acoustically advanced composite technology in the design and manufacture of office furniture, a consortium led by FIRA International Ltd (Furniture Industry Research Association) hopes to help reduce noise in the working environment. The work is designed to identify materials suitable for use in office partitions, desks, cupboards, drawers and filing cabinets, to build prototypes and test their structural and acoustic performance.

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