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German design student builds electricity-free kitchen appliance

German design student builds electricity-free kitchen appliance
The masters project was designed to help reverse the negative impact commercial production has on the planet
The masters project was designed to help reverse the negative impact commercial production has on the planet
View 14 Images
The masters project was designed to help reverse the negative impact commercial production has on the planet
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The masters project was designed to help reverse the negative impact commercial production has on the planet
German eco-social design student, Manuel Immler has constructed an electricity-free kitchen appliance prototype
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German eco-social design student, Manuel Immler has constructed an electricity-free kitchen appliance prototype
The electricity-free kitchen appliance prototype features a hand-powered crank drive
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The electricity-free kitchen appliance prototype features a hand-powered crank drive
Pino is a simple yet effective kitchen appliance designed to perform common kitchen tasks
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Pino is a simple yet effective kitchen appliance designed to perform common kitchen tasks
The Pino kitchen appliance incorporates a traditional crank drive and flywheel
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The Pino kitchen appliance incorporates a traditional crank drive and flywheel
The Pino kitchen appliance is built using a series of locally sourced CNC cut wooden panels
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The Pino kitchen appliance is built using a series of locally sourced CNC cut wooden panels
Three different gears allows the machine to achieve smooth, fast speeds
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Three different gears allows the machine to achieve smooth, fast speeds
The appliance is powered by the user simply turning the handle
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The appliance is powered by the user simply turning the handle
The Pino appliance is capable of completing a variety of tasks
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The Pino appliance is capable of completing a variety of tasks
Pino is a master thesis project by eco-design student Manuel Immler
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Pino is a master thesis project by eco-design student Manuel Immler
Pino built using CNC cut wooden panels, a cast iron base, brass gears, and sheet steel used to complete the inner construction elements
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Pino built using CNC cut wooden panels, a cast iron base, brass gears, and sheet steel used to complete the inner construction elements
The Pino prototype and technical components were constructed in the campus workshops at the University of Bolzano, Italy
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The Pino prototype and technical components were constructed in the campus workshops at the University of Bolzano, Italy
Pino can achieve speeds of 50 to 1,000 revolutions per minute
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Pino can achieve speeds of 50 to 1,000 revolutions per minute
Pino is designed for grinding, stirring, mixing, beating, squeezing, grating and whisking
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Pino is designed for grinding, stirring, mixing, beating, squeezing, grating and whisking
View gallery - 14 images

German eco-social design student Manuel Immler has recently completed an electricity-free kitchen appliance prototype that features a hand-powered crank drive. Dubbed Pino, the simple yet effective kitchen appliance is designed to enable electricity-free, human-powered kitchen tasks, such as whisking, beating, mixing and grinding.

The masters project was inspired by Immler's desire to create a sustainable and responsible design that helps reverse the negative impact commercial production has on the planet.

“Today we are experiencing faster than ever before how human action destroys the livelihoods of animals, plants and therefore also of humans,” says Immler. “Our growth-oriented economy has produced an incredible production machinery that consumes more resources annually than our planet can provide. For this project in eco-social design, I have chosen to answer the question; how can I, as a designer contribute to a sustainable world?”

The electricity-free kitchen appliance prototype features a hand-powered crank drive
The electricity-free kitchen appliance prototype features a hand-powered crank drive

Committing to this project for his master's thesis, Immler came up with his kitchen appliance concept, with the goal of illustrating how eco-design can help minimize energy consumption, transportation, waste and consequential negative environmental effects.

The Pino device is built using a series of locally sourced CNC cut wooden panels, a cast iron base, brass gears, and sheet steel used to complete the inner construction elements. Incorporating a traditional crank drive and flywheel, the appliance is powered by the user simply turning the handle.

The Pino kitchen appliance incorporates a traditional crank drive and flywheel
The Pino kitchen appliance incorporates a traditional crank drive and flywheel

The inclusion of three different gears allows the machine to achieve smooth, fast speeds, within a range of 50 to 1,000 revolutions per minute, with gear modes able to be changed by turning the wooden dial located on the top of the unit. The Pino appliance is therefore capable of completing a variety of tasks, such as grinding, stirring, mixing, beating, squeezing, grating and whisking, in a short amount of time.

“Examining eco-design strategies shows many possible ways to reduce the impact of consumer goods,” says Immler. “The Pino concept bundles these approaches and is thus a particularly long-lasting mechanical kitchen tool, that is locally produced. The raw materials are also taken from the local region or from existing material cycles.”

The Pino prototype and technical components were constructed in the campus workshops at the University of Bolzano, Italy, and the following video shows it in action.

Pino Model

Source: Manuel Immler Design (German)

View gallery - 14 images
4 comments
4 comments
Knut
Keep it up, soon you will get rechargeable batteries that can power it and a simple electric motor will replace the crank. The elegant design should survive.
Nelson Hyde Chick
Knut, are you being sarcastic? Not having an electric motor is what makes this thing great.
paul314
Because cranked eggbeaters, hand whisks and mixing spoons never existed? If you're going to go human-powered, it would be nice to figure out the most ergonomically sustainable motion to do it -- probably a pedal or one of those lever drives rather than a crank.
Tom Lee Mullins
It is a very retro design; the took something that was old and updated it but still making it mechanical instead of being powered by an electric motor. I think there is a market for this in third world countries, camping, emergency situations, etc. I think it is a very clean and simple design. It seems that it won't take much to make this; which makes it very affordable.