The organization’s chairman, Julian Ellis, began
his career in technical textiles in the 1970s while
developing elastics for garments. This assignment piqued Ellis’s interest in the mechanics of
elastics and similar textiles. He has since devoted
his career to the exploration and development of
textiles in various technical applications. His company has been the recipient of many awards and
honors for the advancements it has made in its field
including two SMART Awards. Ellis himself was
named an officer of the Order of the British Empire
for services to the industry.
Ellis Developments, Ltd. is a company based in
the United Kingdom that has specialized in the
research and development of textiles for technical
applications since 1984. Their portfolio includes
textiles that have been used in the auto and aviation industries, as well as advanced technologies
for the medical field. The company holds more
than twenty granted or pending patents for their
various projects and has worked with such prestigious companies as Ford Motor Company, Toyota,
QinetiQ, GKN, and Airbus. They have participated
in several collaborative research projects funded by
the government of the United Kingdom, as well as
by private organizations.
About the Designer
Allison Valchuis and Kim Robledo-Diga
Looking & Learning
Some technical textiles such as carbon-fiber fabrics are
lightweight, durable, and can function at extreme temperatures. For these reasons they are used in the transportation industries. Above: Triaxial fabric. Designed
and manufactured by Sakase Adtech Co., Ltd. Japan,
designed 1991, manufactured 2002. Triaxially woven
carbon fiber. Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum,
Gift of The Museum of Modern Art, courtesy of the
designer, 2002-28-1.Photograph by Matt Flynn.
For many years, Ellis Developments, Ltd. had been
involved in developing carbon fiber fabrics for use
in the auto and aviation industries. These fabrics
are used to create structures like airplane wings
because they can be made stronger than traditional
metal and are extremely lightweight. One familiar
example of carbon fiber fabrics is Kevlar, which is
used in body armor, tires, and other products.
The designers were faced with a challenge while
building with these materials. The holes that were
needed to make connections to another piece of
fabric or other structural components were creating points of weakness. After experimenting with
several different applications, the designers found
that stitching around the hole with thread made of
the same material would reinforce the holes and
eliminate any weak areas. This process is the same
application that is used in the craft of embroidery.
Later in his career, Julian Ellis witnessed a
reconstructive surgery at the university where he
taught. He counted more than twenty-three clamps
holding various ends of suture threads in place
while the surgeon implanted a woven device. Ellis
was certain there must be a more efficient and less
invasive way of doing this surgery. He was inspired
to tackle this challenge when Pearsalls Ltd., a
leading manufacturer of surgical suture thread,
approached his company to develop a new product.
About the Object
Designed by Professor Simon Frostick and Dr. Alan McLeod
Bioimplantable device for reconstructive shoulder surgery
