Page 13 - Industrial Technology March 2020 issue

DESIGN ENGINEERING

Drive piano design forwards

BEARINGS

PHOENIX PIANOS EXPLORES
INNOVATION TECHNOLOGIES, SO
PIANISTS HEAR AND FEEL THE
DIFFERENCE. NEW MATERIALS IS
ONE OF THE DIFFERENTIATORS

iano maker Richard Dain is, by any measure, an
extraordinary man. To describe him simply as
having an engineering background would be to
Pgloss over a career that has driven significant
developments in numerous fields: he has developed
methods of recovery of copper from impure materials,
designed apparatus for feeding a horizontal continuous
casting mold, driven advances in all types of engines, and
pioneered innovations in agricultural machinery.
He also has a passion for pianos and, as an engineer,
wonders why there has been so little innovation in the
design of the instrument over the last 100 years. Arguing
that the Steinway Centennial Grand, developed in 1876,
represented the last real innovation, he says: “The 20th
Century has all been about marketing. There has been no
real innovation because of fear, but it’s time to review
whether modern materials could improve the instrument.”
When he approached traditional piano makers with his
ideas for replacing wooden components with alternative
materials, all of those companies said no. “That was like
a red rag to a bull,” says Dain. “If you look at a traditional
hammer assembly, for example, being made of wood
means it is subject to temperature and humidity
variations. It can twist and warp. The shank can move left
or right so that it doesn’t strike evenly. And
it’s difficult to look after.”
A desire to buck the traditionalism in the
industry and to re-establish experimentation
has seen Dain found Phoenix Pianos –a
company with innovation at its core. Most
recently, he has incorporated tribopolymer
components from Igus in a unique hammer considerably when under the duress of energetic
system that offers supreme longevity, pianism. The hammer wobbles from side to side, and
climate resistance and improved playability twists chaotically as it is accelerated towards the
and sound performance. strings, causing irregular strikes. This chaos gives
The components from Igus in Phoenix’s rise to unpleasant overtones, when the hammer does
D3D Hammer System are 2mm roller not contact the strings with precision. The D3D
bearings that are used as centre points for Hammer System offers all the advantages of a
the bushless system. The pins offer smooth traditional system in prime condition, as well as
operation and with approximately a 30% increased assemblies.” A piano’s hammer assembly consists of a climate resistance and, designers at Phoenix confidently
diameter, are stronger, smoother and more dimensionally ‘hammer flange’ (the part that is fixed in place within the predict, enormous longevity. “Indeed, we expect these
precise than traditional wire center pins. Extensive design overall action), a hinged shank which defines the assemblies may well exceed the lifespan of the piano
and 3D printing work with Igus allowed Phoenix to create flightpath of the hammer, and the hammer itself. The itself,” comments Dain.
the new hammer system. flange, shank and hinge are traditionally made from The defining spirit of Phoenix Pianos is one of
“These ultra-high-grade pins offer buttery-smooth hornbeam, a type of hardwood that when well finished is recapturing the innovative drive of the 19th century piano
operation, and are stronger, smoother and more very smooth and often compared to ivory. builders, specifically in challenging the numerous now-
dimensionally precise than traditional wire centre pins,’’ No matter how good the regulation of a traditional outmoded design limitations found in traditional
says Dain. “Igus was of the utmost help to us in their wooden hammer assembly, the shanks, which are instruments.
selection and provision of material for our hammer flange typically about 6mm in diameter and 13cm in length, flex MORE INFORMATION: www.igus.co.uk

March 2020 •INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY 13