Monday, 4/30/2018
The Marspicks project counts on the collaboration
of the Institute for Polymers and Composites (IPC) and the Pole for Innovation
in Polymer Engineering (PIEP), the interface unit of the University of Minho
(UMinho).
Producing picks
for string instruments is one of the main objectives of the Marspicks project,
which is being developed by a team of five researchers from the School of
Engineering of the University of Minho (EEUM). These picks are produced of
various polymers with different types of rigidity and flexibility, depending on
the type of musical instrument, but with a competitive advantage: the ergonomic
component. “In addition to having a format that does not slip from the users’
fingers, the picks can be produced with mixtures of polymers, tailoring
rigidity/flexibility to the instrument and user characteristics”, Fernando
Duarte, coordinator of the project and Assistant Professor from the Department
of Polymer Engineering of the EEUM, clarified.
The picks that
currently exist on the market gather various flexibilities with different
thicknesses, but the Marspicks ensures that users can buy this product always with
the same thickness, in order to maintain the ergonomic characteristics, which
is only possible if different types and mixtures of polymers are used in the
design of the picks. “This project is innovative because the picks have a
central positioning system, where we have created a different design from the current
picks that exist in the market. We believe that this will be a product of
success also by these differentiating characteristics”, Mário Nadais, one of
the researchers of the project, explained.
Combining
research with the practical application of the project, researchers foresee –
in the short term – to replace existing polymers with biopolymers obtained from
renewable sources, with the aim and the advantage of obtaining a sustainable
product, while minimising the environmental concerns that are present at the
end of the useful life of the picks. “The Marspicks is the evidence that the
ideas developed during the academic path of the EEUM’s students can be put into
practice and result in real projects”, Fernando Duarte reinforced.
The Marspicks
has two years of duration – 2016 to 2018 –, and counts on a funding of five
thousand euros from the IPC, one of the EEUM research centres.
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info: http://www.ipc.uminho.pt/