Have you seen the size of water bottles and travel mugs today? Absolute units. Just like the size of people’s bladders that are walking around with these fifty gallon tubs of water like they haven’t had a drink in two weeks. Is that you? And you like to take those big ol’ jugs with you in the car but your car’s puny cupholders can’t handle bottles holding half a lake? Get this Cup Holder Expander and fit almost any size into your vehicle.
Yeah it fits most of the common reusable bottles you probably spent too much money on- Yeti, Hydroflask, Nalgene all the big players. It’d be a shame to have such a fancy water bottle and then have to *gasp* leave in on your passenger seat. What if you actually have a passenger? Put it in the cupholder where it belongs. There’s even a slot cut out that you can use if you have a wide mug with a handle- see the handle fits right in there nicely:
You spin the base to expand or contract it so it can fit snuggly into your tiny little cupholder. Clickthrough for the exact measurements, to be sure your bottle and car are both a good fit. Otherwise you may have to buy a new car just to fit the cup holder and your drink, and that would be a shame.
Tag Archives: expandable
Orbital is an expanding dining table that shows off its beautiful complexity
When we buy dining tables, we often take into account how many people there are in the household, plus two more people just in case. That said, while we have more control over the size of our own family, we can’t always predict how many people might be coming over for a meal or a party. Expanding dining tables are pretty much the only flexible solution for that problem, but most designs for this kind of table are either cumbersome or unattractive. This elegant dining table, in contrast, is already beautiful on its own, especially with its class transparent tabletop. It also uses a seemingly smooth yet nontrivial mechanism to expand itself, and it’s not ashamed to put that on display, especially since it only adds to its appeal.
Designer: Pininfarina
Most expanding tables, whether for dining or for work, are made of wood, probably because it’s a material that lends itself well to moving parts. The most common designs involve either flap on one or both ends that can be raised to expand the available surface or sliding panels that may or may not involve moving the table’s legs as well. Either way, these tables require a bit of effort to expand or contract, making them inconvenient and discouraging to set up unless absolutely necessary.
The Orbital dining table makes that process effortless and even has some level of finesse that matches the table’s appearance. The tabletop and its extensions are made from clear tempered glass, which makes the aforementioned mechanisms impossible to use. Instead, the table has an automatic mechanism that moves the extensions from under the table using a smooth, circular movement. You don’t have to worry about lifting or pushing fragile glass since the complex mechanism takes care of that for you.
Better yet, the table makes this mechanism the visual centerpiece of the design as well; its metallic body and arms can be clearly seen from the top as well as the sides. It doesn’t hurt that this part of the table is as well-made as the rest, making it as much a work of art as a product of engineering. It definitely adds to the table’s charm, making it a great conversation starter for guests and friends alike.
The tabletop and mechanism are supported by a rigid polyurethane column that has a large central opening that makes it feel like the table is defying physics. It helps emphasize the Orbital’s character of transparency, both in the way it works as well as the way it looks. It is a minimalist design that belies the sophisticated mechanism that makes it work, yet at the same time, is unabashed in revealing its guts, albeit in a very classy way.
The post Orbital is an expanding dining table that shows off its beautiful complexity first appeared on Yanko Design.
Jollying Pebble makes suitcases less stressful and less wasteful when not in use
Most people have dreams of traveling places for pleasure, enjoying the sights and sounds of a bustling foreign city, or catching the sun at some beach. Those fantasies often come crashing down when it comes time to actually start packing, turning preparations into one of the most stressful parts of any travel that requires more than a few days of clothing. Fortunately, the fun starts after, but the stress returns the moment you’re returned as well. Unpacking and cleaning up is already tiring, but putting away an unused suitcase can be a hassle if you don’t have spacious storage for it. The Jollying Pebble eases part of that burden by offering a suitcase you can almost stow away anywhere, and it looks pretty jolly to boot!
Designer: Andrea Ponti
Choosing a suitcase to buy can be a bit stressful already. You have to choose the perfect compromise between size and portability, having to mind where you’d keep the suitcase when it’s not in use. If you could have all of those, it would definitely be grand. Fortunately, you can, at least with this design whose simplicity belies its ingenuity.
The Jollying Pebble uses a collapsible structure to make the suitcase body more flexible in how much it can carry and how flat it can be when empty. Two hard shells form the front and back (or top and bottom, if you will) that sandwich a layer of durable textile that can expand or fold down as the case may be. The idea is that the suitcase simply collapses and flattens itself to more than half its size, allowing you to keep it in narrow spaces like under the bed or even inside a closet. There have been expandable suitcase designs before, but the Jollying Pebble takes it further in both size and build.
Being collapsible doesn’t mean that the design skimps on quality and durability. In addition to the extra-tough shells and water and tear-resistant textiles, the Jollying Pebble also comes with smooth, noiseless wheels, a zipper that goes all around the body, durable pull and carry handles, and a standard TSA combination lock. There are also straps on each side that hold the suitcase in its collapsed state so that it doesn’t suddenly expand just because the two sides start rolling away from each other. Even better, there’s also a stand that keeps the suitcase itself in place and can be used to proudly display the suitcase.
The Jollying Pebble is more than just convenient and easy to use, it also looks fun as well. Available in a variety of pastel colors, the suitcases truly look like jolly pebbles. Almost all parts are color matched as well, including the included stand, though the black zippers, wheels, and handles provide a pleasant contrast as well. With such a design, the Jollying Pebble creates an atmosphere of fun and play that makes even the act of packing and unpacking more enjoyable.
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This prefabricated home unfolds from a fully-enclosed cubic structure into a multi-layered dream home
The Folding Dream House is an expandable modern home that transforms from a fully-enclosed cubic structure into a multi-layered dreamhouse that combines indoor and outdoor living.
Shapes have always been a source of inspiration for designers. Shapes make up the structure of our world and reveal endless configurations when combined together. Games like Tetris and structures like the Egyptian pyramids haven’t gone out of style for a reason. Playing with shapes is addictive and flexible.
Designer: Michael Jantzen
Michael Jantzen, a multidisciplinary artist based in New Mexico, is one artist who seems endlessly inspired by geometry. Merging sustainability, architecture, and technology, Jantzen developed an adaptable modern home called The Folding Dream House that expands from an enclosed, cubic structure into a multi-layered, dream home.
From its initial conception, the Folding Dream House was designed as a place to sleep. Amounting to the size of a conventional hotel room, the Folding Dream House consists of two prefabricated, portable modules. Each rectangular module is envisioned mounted atop an elevated, triangular foundation that connects the home’s expandable support beams to its frame. On each facade of the Folding Dream House, Jantzen envisioned triangular overhangs and partitions as foldable panels that expand from the home’s frame.
Explaining the expandable structure of the home, Jantzen describes, “These panels can be folded open or closed in many different ways around the modules in order to accommodate various functional and/or aesthetic requirements. The slotted panels can be moved and secured in ways that shade some or all of the sliding glass doors and skylights. They can also be folded completely around the modules in order to safeguard all of the glass when no one is occupying the house.”
The Folding Dream House is currently in its conceptual phase, Jantzen envisions each wooden module painted in optic white. In addition to the expandable panels, each facade also supports six large sliding glass doors around the perimeter, and two large glass skylights in the roof. Inside the modules, Jantzen configured a queen-sized bed, a large closet, a shower, toilet, sink, combo pod, a dining table with four chairs, and two small portable food prep and storage units.
From each facade, the panels halve into triangles and fold out to provide shading with overhangs and privacy with partitions.
Then, the panels can fold back down to fully enclose the modular structure.
The post This prefabricated home unfolds from a fully-enclosed cubic structure into a multi-layered dream home first appeared on Yanko Design.
This flexible vase expands in size (like an accordion) as your plant grows bigger
Only 3% of plants survive being repotted when they grow too big for their old, smaller planter. I’m making that statistic up, it’s absolute nonsense… but here’s something that’s absolutely, undeniably true – Repotting plants as they grow bigger is a headache. You need to be incredibly gentle to avoid damaging the root system, and once you introduce a plant into a new, bigger pot, you need to hope and pray that the plant adapts to that shift. Repotting plants is a painstaking (and frankly messy task), although Lidia Gómez has a pretty clever solution.
The FlexVase by Gómez is an expandable vase made from hard-silicone. It uses an accordion-shaped profile to expand vertically in size, allowing you to simply stretch the planter as the plant inside it grows. As the planter expands in size, it creates more space for the roots to grow, as well as breaks the soil up, aerating it so the roots get more oxygen.
The FlexVase sports a set of folds that run along its width from top to bottom (looking sort of like pottery lines but much more uniform). Tug on the upper lip of the FlexVase and the folds open one by one. This allows you to increase the vase’s height in increments, making it taller as the plant grows. A similar design detail even exists in the Que Bottle, which uses a silicone construction and a spiral-shaped accordion detail to expand and collapse, making it easier to carry around while in its compact size.
While the vase’s innovative detail is functional in nature, it does lend a unique form to it too. When closed, the FlexVase looks like a normal vase, but expand it and it takes on this interesting wavy, fluted appearance… something that looks even more eye-catching when combined with the vase’s wonderful color palette!
Designer: Lidia Gómez
This innovative skateboard uses a clever collapsible-gate inspired design to expand to full size!
Inspiration is fleeting, unpredictable, and can often come from the unlikeliest of spaces. Take for instance The Board, an award-winning collapsible skateboard that uses the same mechanical linkage system seen in collapsing gates, in scissors, and in those expandable grabber toys you’re probably familiar with. It’s hard to think of how skateboards and gates have any design-process overlap, but The Board makes it clear that a detail found in one product can easily and effectively be ported onto another product with stunning results.
The Board uses a collapsible linkage system to make itself more portable. Machined metal components are arranged, sandwiched, and connected to each other with multiple pivot points to make The Board’s body. These linkages allow The Board to expand and collapse just by pulling or pushing it, taking it from a long, skateboard shape to a much more compact and carryable circular shape that easily fits right into backpacks. The metal construction gives The Board its signature strength (so the pieces don’t bend or flex when you stand on the skateboard), while also imparting a unique appearance to it, whether open or closed!
The Board is a winner of the Golden Pin Design Award for the year 2020.
Designer: Chia-Wei Chen
This 3D-printed foam expands up to 40 times its original size
Battery Expansion
We have seen some really creative solutions and approach towards battery design. Add to the list this TransX, which is a battery module made with recycled card and copper. The beauty of the design is that it can transform a AAA battery into a larger battery.
Since many differently sized batteries all use a nominal voltage of 1.5V, we can try our hand at one design that fits them all.
Here is how it works:
- The battery and its casing can be used in appliances, with the copper ends conducting electricity.
- The module series has been designed in combination with packaging that also holds a manual and a rechargeable AAA battery.
- The module is pre-cut and can be easily removed from the packaging and folded.
Steps:
- Choose the size you need and fold the Trans X to fix the battery.
- Put the battery with Trans X into the battery Holder.
TransX is a 2013 red dot award: design concept winner.
Designers: Chen Yi-An & Chen Yi-Ying
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(Battery Expansion was originally posted on Yanko Design)
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The Expandable Wider Yacht: Transformer of the Sea
Ever wanted a yacht? How about one that works like a Transformer? This new yacht expands so that you can enjoy it even more. Once fully-deployed, this yacht ends up with a walkable surface of 193.5 square feet with a width of 21.6 feet, which was apparently unthinkable a couple of years ago for a 42 foot yacht.
The Wider Yacht’s transformable cockpit was designed by Tilli Antonelli, and its automatic operation makes it possible to have a large surface area without having a very big boat. It’s fast and luxurious as well. Super yachts beware! The Wider Yacht is lightweight and was built using new vacuum infusion molding techniques for carbon, something that’s also used in aerospace and Formula 1 racing.
The Wider Yacht sells for $1.12 million, so you’d better start saving now.
[via If It's Hip It's Here]