Need a toast to roast

[jens g.r. benthien]

Toastin' Roastin'
Roller Coaster Toaster
Roasty Toasty

Ah, what the heck. Just a new toaster. For two thick 'n heavy slices of genuin Texas Toast. Or cut monster buns in Europe. Excellent for cold regions on this planet to warm up the fingers as well. The opening is 30 mm high and 260 mm wide (more than 1.25" x 11").

A new toaster wasn't enough. There are gazillion models out there, each copying the other. 100% insert the bread from the top. But a survey disclosed that 98% of the toasters are located in the kitchen below the top cabinets. Result: endless fumbling and hassle.

So I developed this one. Easy to operate with knobs on both sides (if you have it on the breakfast table no one needs to reach across the table to operate it). No instruction manual necessary. I love to keep products simple.

Enjoy your breakfast!

jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de

----------//--
If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
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[jens g.r. benthien]

Toastin' Roastin'
Roller Coaster Toaster
Roasty Toasty

Ah, what the heck. Just a new toaster. For two thick 'n heavy slices of genuin Texas Toast. Or cut monster buns in Europe. Excellent for cold regions on this planet to warm up the fingers as well. The opening is 30 mm high and 260 mm wide (more than 1.25" x 11").

A new toaster wasn't enough. There are gazillion models out there, each copying the other. 100% insert the bread from the top. But a survey disclosed that 98% of the toasters are located in the kitchen below the top cabinets. Result: endless fumbling and hassle.

So I developed this one. Easy to operate with knobs on both sides (if you have it on the breakfast table no one needs to reach across the table to operate it). No instruction manual necessary. I love to keep products simple.

Enjoy your breakfast!

jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de

----------//--
If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
----------//--

[s.winders]

Hiya bud


Thats very cool jens ,nice render,very neat design.


Stu.

[gidgit]

Ya, Jens sure has the render and display part down pat... and the modeling and texturing is first class as per usual [beer chugs]... my only concern with this "slant one" is in how well the top part of the toaster would stay bright and shiny like with all that heat coming up from the angle... any thoughts Jens, or is this in fact possible and the heat factor nothing to be concerned with... ?

any ways, way cool Jens... looks totaly real

[jens g.r. benthien]

Gidgit,

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> how well the top part of the toaster would stay bright and shiny like with all that heat coming up from the angle <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The cover is not plastic, it's a metal sheet, so it's easy to clean. Metal does withstand the heat.

However, cleaning the exterior is not the trick - to keep the inner parts free of crumps is the name of the game. What you see is just the case, the shell. The interior parts are simple as well, but constructed in a different way so that all crumps will fall into the bin at the bottom. And the mechanism for the slider to pull in the bread is a relatively large, flat spring metal beam - no gears. This keeps the production costs down as long as everthing will be manufactured from stainless steel.

I could imagine that this toaster would be a hit in the designer shoppes in the mega cities ;-}. Usually people won't purchase a second or third toaster, but if it's a nice design thingie they will happily fork their wallet to get a rock solid toaster they can pass on to the next generation. (Damn, the whole thing is really heavy).

RollerCoasterEggyToasterManiac

;-}

jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de

----------//--
If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
----------//--

[gnurf]

I don't want to "mock" your design, but in my mind I could almost see this situation (my own "traditional" toaster at home is quite a skeet-shooting equipment too)

-Paul

[jens g.r. benthien]

yeaaah, that's absolutely fantastic! I **love** it. But - the sad news - you are wrong. The traditional toasters feature a relatively large spring (coil type), which catapults the toaster upwards. And if this spring is too strong the result(s) will be as you've illustrated it. However, I didn't intend to develop a toast gun barrel ;-}, so I used a lift system together with a helix or coil type spring.

The bi-metal will - if heated up according to the presets - release the lever for the spring. Now the spring can pull as much as it wants - it can **not** jump up because it has to go through sort of a retarder or clutch. A principle like this one (and as I have investigated it in extremely expensive toasters): place your hand on your deskt and move it forward without pressure = pull down stage. Now apply pressure to your hand (=heated bi-metal with a slightly large size) and pull it back = lift up stage. Bi-metals are wonderful gadgets in mechanical constructions.

There is only one drawback: **if** someone should lubricate the brackets of the bi-metal, the US Army will give me a call to deliver 2.000 of them to bomb Iraq ;-}.

BTW, in most old cars there is a bi-metal to watch the cooler temperature. As soon as the cooler temperature rises above a certain point, the bi-metal will release and open a contact to stop the ignition.

See why I love good ol' mechanics? No electronical gadget is as reliable as a mechanical masterpiece. But the world tends to forget 'ancient' or 'pre historic' inventions in favour of kinky electronics.

The trick in product development is to have a weird brain - otherwise you end up copying existing solutions --sigh--. As long as the price dictates a solution, this is ok. But if the price is of less importance, you can use more parts and new solutions.

Have a great day!

jens

jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de

----------//--
If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
----------//--

[gidgit]

That's one great take off toon there Paul... bravo [ya gotta like it ]

Ok Jens... here's the thing... does this awsome looking toaster come in two and/or four slice models, or is the market slimmed down towards singles on diets? Serious question btw, and one any investor would be sure to ask...

looks very sleek and sexy though, and I would buy one if that helps... and of this I am also serious... it is one hot looking toaster... You have that chrome thing down to a science...

cheers

[jens g.r. benthien]

Gidgit,

it's a two slice model. For very large slices. 5,5 x 5,5 inch, 1.25 inch thick. Enough for one and two large size slices or three small ones, or 6 slices of French Baguette. A family with children is not the target group, because they would prefer cheaper and/or larger models (are there any larger ones, i.e. for 8 slices?). But the double household income is the group that will consider design products and the according price tags. I don't think it'll be a mass product - not for US$ 120 or even more.

jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de

----------//--
If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
----------//--