Our Role in Crafting the Fourneau Bread Oven – Hoosier Pattern
Product Development and Prototypes On A Time Constraint
Chicago designers get help with redesign, a prototype, and tooling for a project all in one place.
Client: Strand Design
Product: Fourneau Bread Oven
Batch Size: Prototype
Material Cast: Gray Iron
Traditional Method Timeframe: 2-3 Weeks
HPI’s 3D Sand Printing Method Timeframe: 1 week
Product Overview
The Fourneau Oven is a cast iron container that goes inside of an oven. It is designed to make bread using the “no knead method” made famous by Mark Bittman of The New York Times. The device’s walls heat the dough evenly and the enclosed cooking space traps the steam from the baking bread, creating a crispy golden crust.
Client Challenges
Strand Design came to HPI more than once with multiple oven design molds that weren’t possible due to the way it was designed. The designers asked HPI to re-engineer the molds to add proper gating and risers, allowing it to be completed within a short time span. Once the design was tested, it was noted that it was too heavy as one solid piece.
Our Solution
As designers themselves, Strand Design understandably did not want to hand over the design work to a third party. With that in mind, Hoosier Pattern worked side-by-side with the owners to redesign the oven and make this project a reality. The final design was broken up into parts so the oven was easier to handle—the 3D printed sand molds were printed within a really tight schedule and came out perfectly and ready to be cast.
Results & Conclusion
Ultimately, Strand Design opted to not only have Hoosier Pattern print the prototypes for the Fourneau Oven, but they also decided to have Hoosier Pattern complete the tooling as well for production. Strand Design’s Fourneau Oven is just one of the many projects that prove Hoosier Pattern is the one-stop shop for prototyping projects that will ultimately need tooling in a short amount of time.
Our Competitive Advantage
Hoosier Pattern works very closely with each customer, enabling our designers to make changes on the fly and keep all projects moving forward to meet customers’ needs and deadlines. Hoosier Pattern’s 3D sand printer operation is effective and more practical for quick turnaround times.
“Working with Hoosier was such a pleasure and they were so accommodating that we already knew before the prototypes were done that we would want to work with them to create the production tooling for the project” – Ted Burdett, Co-Owner, Strand Design
If you’d like to see the Fourneau Oven and learn more about how it works, click here!
