Web Shaping Bay - Platform to aid the production of ecofriendly surfboards
Due to concerns regarding the sustainability of the surfing industry due in large part to the use of plastics, the eco-friendly boards industry has seen a rebirth over the past decade. Web Shaping Bay is a web-based, user-friendly and accessible platform developed in order for the eco-boards industry to overcome the obstacles hindering it from competing with mass-produced boards - namely high costs and performance concerns - by incorporating technology into more traditional production processes.
Cross-border/international
Portugal
Austria
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Located in Portugal and working closely with Shapediver (Austrian company) to provide the web platform.
Barreiro/Portugal is the main location for surfboard production and workshops, kits are produced in Sintra/Portugal and other partners in Lüneburg/Germany, in the UK and Brazil also produce kits locally.
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-12-15
As an individual
First name: Rodrigo Last name: Lopes Gender: Male Nationality: Italy If relevant, please select your other nationality: Brazil Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Rua Outeiros do Vale 18 Town: Caldas da Rainha Postal code: 2500-434 Country: Portugal Direct Tel:+351 918 806 530 E-mail:rodrigoaranhalopes@gmail.com Website:http://webshapingbay.com
Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): https://www.instagram.com/aranha_shapes/
URL:https://www.webshapingbay.com/ Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): https://www.instagram.com/webshapingbay/
Ocean waste and plastic pollution are at the top of the sustainability agenda and one industry that can positively contribute to the associated objectives is the surfing industry. Despite its innate connection with nature, it is an industry in which the production chain is characterised by toxicity, greenhouse gases and non-biodegradable materials. The main source of pollution and waste is the surfboards themselves, which are made generally from foam, epoxy or polyester resin and fiberglass.
In response to this recognition, as well as the increasing awareness concerning responsible consumerism, there has been a rebirth in the surfing world of riding wooden and other eco-friendly materials boards; according to Sustainable Surf, approximately 70,000 verified ECOBOARDS were made in 2018 (as opposed to 1,400 in 2012). Two main issues encountered by the nascent eco-board movement relate to cost and performance, which result to a large extent from adopting more traditional methods of production as opposed to mass production.
Web Shaping Bay (“WSB”) is a web-based, user-friendly and accessible platform developed in order for the eco-surfboard industry to overcome the obstacles mentioned above by incorporating technology into more traditional production processes. It enables users to effortlessly generate surfboard models and export files for the production of surfboards using eco-friendly materials in an optimised way, thus wasting less material.
The platform is versatile in its use: customers can take on the end-to-end production of their boards using the tutorials provided as well as their own experience; parts of the process can be outsourced to local CNC (Computerized Numerical Control) machine owners (for the production for example of DIY kits using a computerised manufacturing process) or glassers (thanks to the WSB community and network), and companies can use the tool to reshape and adapt their production processes.
Sustainability
Responsible consumption
Computational Design
Co-design
Digital Fabrication
1) Develop a solution for shapers to produce eco-boards that are competitive from a cost and performance perspective, so contributing towards sustainability in the surfboard industry: WSB as mentioned previously facilitates the generation of plans using parametric modelling in order to produce lower-cost and high-performance boards. It contributes towards this objective in several different ways: Plans are generated in order to use the least amount of materials and eliminate waste; Experimentation using several types of materials whose characteristics (thickness, weight, flexibility) can be taken into account during the design phase. This allows for producers to reduce time spent on testing as they can model outcomes in the platform; Given that it is an online tool with an associated community and in partnership with Shapediver (an online platform that simplifies hosting and sharing Grasshopper* files online), the users benefit from a large network of shapers that can share best practices, respond to queries and even collaborate for outsourcing of parts of the production chain (*Grasshopper is a visual programming language and environment that runs within the Rhinoceros 3D computer-aided design (CAD) application); The platform was developed using Grasshopper, which allows for collaboration with other platforms and softwares for performance testing (such as fluid dynamics and hydrodynamics simulations).
2) Raising awareness of surfers regarding their consumption patterns, in particular with regards to their surfboard choice: This objective is obtained in several different key ways: Fostering inclusion of the consumer in the design and production process using a user-friendly tool with support from a large community of shapers and grasshopper/ parametric modelling experts; Hosting workshops for learning with local communities and individuals who are keen to learn how to build their own eco-boards either for personal or commercial purposes.
1) Co-design
Having a platform of co-design is the main example of positive emotions through design. People can share their file, change the aspect of their design and produce their surfboards according to the material available. Many wooden surfboard shapers build their products in unique ways and the project embraces that diversity by being a parametric tool, which is always evolving and adapting. This user- centric model allows users to give feedback in turn allowing for the implementation of new features based on user demand.
2) Possibility for innovative design
Using the example of the board built for the World Surf League (“WSL”) Unwanted Shapes competition, the WSB platform allows both for the production of classic, and also innovative and ground-breaking designs. Users will not only be able to boast that they participated in the construction of their board, that it is eco friendly and that the cost was comparable to a foam board, but they will also receive positive feedback from fellow surfers on the designs of their boards!
3) Warm and User-friendly Design
The website has been designed in order to simplify and make attractive what is quite a complex and overwhelming formula (for users without Grasshopper experience). Customers using the site will feel it is a relaxing and fun experience due to the warm colours, friendly tutorials and pre-set models to work with.
1) Explore new forms of production and materials that could be applied in order to achieve greater sustainability within the surf industry: Over the past years, the rapid pace of the advances witnessed in the areas of information technology and digital fabrication have given way to new approaches to design projects. As the tools available become more powerful and sophisticated, working methods must evolve. In particular they need to remain more flexible as production techniques are getting less rigid with the advance of digital fabrication tools. WSB uses Grasshopper, a visual programming interface, to easily accommodate new production methods which can improve affordability at the design phase (subscriptions are about half the price of similar design softwares) as well as the production phase (by reducing waste and providing scope for decentralisation and local outsourcing of phases of production).
2) Give producers and/or consumers of eco-boards full control over the production process: Computational design, ranging from parametric- algorithmic modelling to digital fabrication allows for a means of production that is more accessible and globalised. Consumers and producers can be fully in control of all stages of their eco-board production process with the support from WSB staff as well as useful links provided to forums and community pages where they can have access to experienced shapers for advice on production methods and sourcing and use of materials. In addition to this, the WSB community can connect service providers (CNCs, glassers, suppliers of eco materials) with consumer demand at a local level creating decentralised networks.
We participated in the 2020 edition of Rise for Impact at Casa do Impacto in Lisbon/ Portugal with an embryonic project. After the event, an Austrian company called SHAPEDIVER contacted us and provided guidance and the service to create a web application of our code. We received a micro-initiative voucher from the Cascais council, and with that we put the Beta version of the site in operation and made three prototypes of boards with different materials. One of them, made with waste generated by COVID-19 (masks and gloves) was selected for “The Unwanted Shapes” competition, and was exhibited and surfed by leading international surfers at a World Surf League event in Ericeira.
In addition to the online application, we ourselves use WSB to produce and sell eco-friendly hollow wooden surfboards in our workshop in Barreiro - Portugal, and offer workshops to help local communities build their own surfcraft. We are also currently expanding our network with shapers and CNC owners across Europe to produce surfboard kits locally, which is already the case of Brettskelett, a small German company that is producing and shipping kits to Germany, Denmark and Netherlands.
Having mentioned a series of collaborations at local, regional, national and European level in the above question, we would like to focus on the Unwanted Shapes initiative, which is part of the "ZERO IMPACT - FULL PERFORMANCE by 2028" strategy supported by the partnership between WSL, MEO and Portugal Tourism in order to raise awareness regarding the need for sustainability in the surfboard industry. By participating in this event, WSB was able to share the platform's potential on an international scale as well as come into contact with fellow eco-board shapers, professionals from the surf industry and local associations from both the surf and sustainability sectors. The recognition obtained by WSB as part of this initiative was pivotal in strengthening the partnership with SHAPEDIVER and in obtaining further funding from Cascais municipality. In addition to this the learnings obtained from the contacts made during this event paved the way for greater experimentation with other materials, which in turn allowed for improvements in the algorithm, which is WSB’s unique selling point.
This project was born out of the marriage of a Post-graduate Degree in "Computational Design applied to Architecture" and a Master's Degree (Product Design) Thesis aimed at responding to the following questions:
1) How can Algorithmic modelling combined with both new digital fabrication processes and traditional production processes, contribute to alternative design solutions?
2) Can the application of computational strategies to the building of a surfboard, lead to better performance and freedom of creativity, as well as presenting new possible materials to the surf industry?
3) Can Designers provide a workflow to involve others in the process of design and production of objects and therefore contribute towards a societal shift from “consumers” to “producers”?
Consequently, the foundations of the project were supported by professors/experts in the fields of both computational and product design. In addition to this the project founder has 15 years of experience surfing as well as with product design, carpentry architecture and computer programming. This mix of knowledge areas and experience have been pivotal in ensuring the provision of an innovative product which can respond in terms of complexity of the algorithm on which the platform is based as well as understanding the main considerations of the end consumer - the surfer.
As the project has evolved and as outlined in previous questions, several collaborations - Shapediver, MEO, WSL, Portugal Tourism, local shapers, Cascais municipality (Fab Labs), Casa do Impacto - have shaped the progress of the project by bringing together members from this mix of communities and knowledge areas: surfing and surfboard shaping, computational design, digital fabrication and product design.
The objective relating to the category we are applying for is to develop a platform allowing for the transformation of the eco-board industrial ecosystem into one that is a sustainable, cost-efficient, inclusive and performance- and design-based.
The key results obtained in this sense was that the WSB platform was developed using the Shapediver plug-in.
Key outcomes:
1) Board produced using WSB was selected for the open call WSL Unwanted Shapes;
2) Funding received from Cascais Municipality “Vouchers for Experimentation of Microinitiatives”;
3) Sponsored by SHAPEDIVER;
4) Launch of the WSB Pro-Version in December 2022;
5) 2695 site visitors from all over the surfing world (average 5 minutes) recorded over past 365 days.
6) 4042 viewer sessions and 914 files exported over past 365 days.
Impacts:
1) Awareness raised, through visibility in the WSL event on plastic waste and through social media marketing of WSB platform, about the need for sustainability in the surf industry.
2) Consumers can be involved in all stages of the design and production process by means of a co-design platform.
2) Cost-competitive, high performance, eco-board production facilitated by using technology in more traditional production processes.
Currently on the market only a handful of comparable softwares exist to support the exclusive production of eco-boards.
WSB differs from other board modeling software because it is simpler and more intuitive, and the key to its user friendly quality is that the degree of complexity can be defined according to the user.
As for the production of boards, it is distinguished by the use of more ecological materials and by allowing greater interaction with the customer. That's particularly evident for the case of hollow wooden surfboards, where users can generate unique production files to build their wooden surfboards.
Production can be expanded globally, with partners producing kits and boards locally to reduce the impact of transport.
The methodology used for this project best fits into the Design Research Methodology:
1) Measurable success criteria identified: Reduced average cost of production vis-a-vis traditional methods of eco-board production; Increased performance and reduced waste.
2) Analysis of the traditional eco-board production process and identification of areas for improvement: Potential for modelling during the design phase of the board according to different dimensions and specifications as well as access to a worldwide community sharing best-practices, allowing for lower scope for error and waste as well as increased performance (namely in relation to board weight).
3) Creation of a storyboard (in this case, a master's degree thesis) outlining the proposal for improvement of the design process as well as the envisaged tool to obtain the desired results.
4) Development of the tool was achieved by using Grasshopper with the support from the Shapediver team and platform.
5) Testing of the tool against measurable success criteria: creation of 10 eco-board prototypes (short boards, handplanes and longboards) using the production process to resolve bugs and create improvements in the tool allowing for best results in terms of cost efficiency, waste reduction and performance.
6) Launch of live version of the tool.
The platform can be used on an international scale and as mentioned previously can involve several locations and actors collaborating together in order to achieve the best results. For instance, an individual can design an eco-board model, send the plans to be printed by a CNC partner who can develop kits, a workshop can be organised for mounting the kits as an activity, and finally the mounted boards can then be sent to a glasser to finalise the product.
Several different approaches can be taken by users of the platform like the one outlined above where different parts of the process are outsourced to either local or international partners. On the other hand, producers who would like to be involved in the end-to-end process and benefit from economies of scale and have the infrastructure to do so, can opt for a monthly or yearly plan allowing them to design and download the plans for as many board models as they like and for a larger-scale production.
Finally, the platform not only can be used for the production of surfboards but also for handplanes, stand-up paddle (SUP) boards, bodyboards and eventually snowboards. In case the need to diversify further were to arise, the algorithm can be tweaked allowing customers to design and produce a series of different eco-friendly objects and products (lamp-shades, furniture etc.). This implies entry into mass consumer markets with far greater commercial potential, with the subsequent positive environmental impacts which could be achieved.
In addition WSB facilitates the setting up of eco-board production businesses at a low cost and therefore has the potential to create employment internationally and in the different phases of the production chain.
A 2011 study (International Surf Association) estimated that there were 35 million surfers in the world and that this number would tend to grow with the increase in popularity of the sport. Around 700,000 surfboards are produced annually - this is worrying due to the effects that the materials used in the industry for more than 70 years have on the environment and the health of the people involved in the production chain. They are products that have a large ecological footprint that are not recyclable and therefore end up in landfills and in the oceans. In response to this there has been a rise in the production of eco-boards, however this industry still represents only around 10% of the global market, so still has extraordinary growth potential. Our solution aims to join the movement towards a more sustainable surfboard industry, focusing our support on this nascent industry to become more competitive and to collaborate internally to advance the industrial production processes to a point where the final product will be competitive from both a cost and performance perspective. In addition our solution will allow small-time local producers to expand their businesses using local service and materials providers. Portugal was an ideal location for the birth of this project given the fast-growing surf tourism industry, the access to eco-friendly materials (namely locally sourced wood and cork) as well as the fast growing number of eco-friendly surfboard shapers. Our physical workshop space was crucial in the WSB development phase as it allowed for the constant production and testing with prototypes based on changes made to the algorithm. This said, despite the strong connection of the project’s identity with Portugal, the idea is for WSB to be used by shapers internationally - and we have already been able to see that the demand for the tool has come from all corners of the world - we have so far had hits from 80 countries representing 6 continents!
