Materials/Construction of the packaging

The construction and build of the packaging is a major element of this brief but also for Wye Valley and Legges. Not just from an ecological and environmental perspective. There are many other issues to consider, such as, production, aesthetics, durability and cost. These are just a few key points that must be considered. Obviously the packaging being environmentally friendly is arguably the most important but it's crucial not to lose sight of other factors and issues to consider.

As my chosen material is wood I decided to research firstly, different types of wood that could be used for the packaging. Woods that would be available for me to use, weighing up the strengths and weaknesses of the woods available to me.

Plywood

Advantages

• Relatively cheap wood and readily available.
• Very strong wood. Much more stronger than similar thickness of wood, due to the built up fiber strands forming a cross pattern. Extremely durable.
• Comes in many different sizes.
• Very high strength to weight ratio.
• Doesn't corrode.
• Very easy to use. 

Disadvantages

• Can look quite cheap. This could be an issue with my packaging, especially as i'm going for rustic, traditional aesthetics. Possibly look in environmentally friendly wood finishes to combat this issue.
• Can expand when subject to a lot of moisture/heat.
• Some types of ply can be expensive.

MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard)

Advantages

• Very cheap and readily available
• Usually built from recyclable material.
• Very light and still quite strong.
• Dense and has no knots.
• Versatile wood.

Disadvantages

• Can split quite easily, especially when using nails and joints.
• Urea formaldehyde can be produced when cutting MDF. Which could cause irritation to eyes and lungs.

Ash

Advantages

• Beautiful wood
• Very easy to work with but requires a lot of treatment.
• Very strong wood.
• Versatile wood.

Disadvantages

• Quite expensive. Wouldn't really be practical from a business point of view to use such a wood, despite how beautiful it could look.
• Splinters very easily if not treated well.
• Prone to rotting within damp conditions.

Pine

Advantages

• Cheaper than the majority of softwoods
• As it is a softwood, easy to work with.
• Strength to weight ratio is very high.
• Ascendancy.

Disadvantages

• Seen as quite a low quality wood.
• Scratches and dents very easily.
• Soft nature of the wood is a huge disadvantage.

Redwood

Advantages

• Attractive wood.
• Very strong.
• Beautiful colour. Would look very effective for the packaging. Rich, red colour.
• One of the most durable woods, doesn't decay, expand, become brittle over time.

Disadvantages

• Fairly expensive
• Not the easiest wood to work with.
• Not as readily available as other woods such as plywood, MDF and pine. 
• Soft wood and needs a lot of maintenance. 

Chosen wood

After researching different types of woods i'm looking at crafting my packaging from either plywood or MDF. considering price of production, strength, thickness and weight for my packaging I feel that both these woods, are the most suitable wood to use. Both woods are very easy to work with and readily available. I could even be tempted with these woods to use an environmentally friendly varnish or finish to enhance the rustic appearance of the packaging. I would have loved to have used a wood such as ash or redwood but it was just too expensive and not practical from a business perspective, beautiful woods they may be but not suited to this brief. With plywood and MDF I believe can still deliver a beautiful package, possibly with the use of environmentally friendly wood stains/finishes. Once assessing the wood firsthand i'll then make a decision on whether to go for plywood or MDF.


Now I've made a decision of the type of wood the packaging wiill be made from, what needs to be identified now is how the box (packaging) is going to hold, join together. I've conducted research relating to different methods and techniques of wood joints and will asses what joint, method of construction will be best suited for my packaging. Bearing in mind the ecological consideration of the packaging. Wye would also prefer (not crucial) flat packing for storage and transportation, so a method where Wye would be able to easily construct the packaging themselves i'll certainly take into consideration.

Different Joints

With my packaging it has to be constructed obviously from an ecological perspective so bearing that in mind here are a couple of techniques I've researched in regard to assembling the packaging from an ecological standpoint.

Really interesting stuff I found here, regarding wood joints using no glue, nails and screws. I've exported the notes into a PDF.




http://www.rona.ca/rona/servlet/ContentServlet?assetId=37628&langId=-1&jspName=print_asset.jsp


Considering in principle that my packaging primarily is a box I feel dowel joints could be a really attractive option for me. I researched dowel joints a little further.

Dowel Joint

A dowel joint is a butt joint that has been reinforced with wooden pegs. A well-made dowel joint is as strong as a mortise and tenon joint. It is often used instead of the mortise and tenon joint if cost is a consideration in the assembly of the work. Dowel holes must be a perfect 90 degrees to the face of the work or the dowel will twist when assembled.

Advantages 

• Strong.
• Eliminates use of glue and nails.
• Cheap.
• Easy to use.
• Simple, easy to make but a very effective joint.
• ECO

Disadvantages

• Holes have to be accurate otherwise the dowels won't fit.

One major downside to using dowels for the assembly of this box is that the wood will have to be around an inch thick. This would bear major issues, to weight and size, along with cost

Nails (Recyclable)

There are nails out there that are 100% recyclable. I think using thin, steel panel pins would be another good choice. They will be 100% recyclable and fit in with the eco demographic of the brief.

They'll be cheap, easy to use and easy to get hold of.