California-based industrial designer Kebei Li is currently pursuing a Master’s degree through the Stanford Design Impact Program, but he has been designing unique objects for years now. We have already featured the Sublimation speaker which he designed for B&O in 2013. Vacuum bench is another one-of-a-kind furniture piece designed by him. To make it different from other products in the market, he uses vacuum-powered pneumatic fixtures that hold all the parts of the glass bench together.
The desired strength and structural stability for the Vacuum bench are arduously achieved through the on-board complex pneumatic system, without which the bench structure can collapse anytime. In addition, the entire setup can be also disassembled to take the furniture unit to its initial state. Vacuum lifting systems used for moving and installing over-sized sheet stock materials such as glass, granite, sheet metal, and plywood provide the required stability and strength to the Vacuum bench.
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There are separate suction cups powered through respective air hoses get power from the mechanical pump and vacuum reservoir. If once the system is cut-off from the vacuum source, the suction cups release themselves gradually. The built-in microprocessor monitors negative pressure, and as its value drops below a certain level, the pump is turned on immediately to restore the vacuum level.
The idea of holding panels of tempered glass bench together with special vacuum fixtures is surely innovative, but along with the integration of technology, there should also be improvements in the design. After analyzing its pictures, it’s clear that unorganized clutter of wire makes it an unsightly furniture object for homes, so the designer should have taken better care of the wires.
Glass bench with pneumatic fixtures to hold together the glass panels
Stability and strength of the bench is achieved through vacuum-powered suction cups
Mechanical pump and vacuum reservoir is needed to power the Vacuum bench
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