Elga LabWater’s Purelab Chorus has been recognised with a Gold award at the IBO 2014 Industrial Design Awards in the Laboratory Equipment Industrial Design category.
Award candidates were chosen from the new products that IBO has monitored through trade shows, trade publications, press releases and the internet. Award winners are selected solely based on their industrial design, not on technical capabilities or performance. Criteria include innovation, aesthetics, functionality and features.
Purelab Chorus is a modular water purification system designed to fit individual laboratory applications, budgets and configurations. It delivers all grades of purified water and provides a scalable, flexible solution, offering a selection of dispensing, storage and installation options. Modular elements can be positioned independently or combined to minimise footprint.
As the biggest product development project in Elga’s history, Purelab Chorus has rationalised the product range into just 12 modular elements, while improving user experience. The innovative modular chassis, with its requirement to load-bear high volumes of water and fit multiple components, needed extensive engineering design. Purification modules, dispensers and storage tanks required the development of a smart-link technology, allowing the system to work when elements are combined or positioned independently.
The design elements, such as ambient communication via the halo dispensers, help to differentiate the Elga units from those of competitors, while the use of greener purification technologies highlights a commitment to providing an environmentally friendly product that is cost effective to run.
The inspiration for the design came from the increasing demand for flexibility in laboratories, many of which are required to undertake multiple applications while operating in a sustainable and cost effective manner. Existing high volume systems are based on fixed solutions and there was a clear opportunity for an adaptable system to meet changeable pure water requirements, fit individual laboratory spaces and give the customer freedom of choice.
By taking advantage of a modular approach, tanks, dispensers and even Purelab Chorus itself can be wall mounted, placed on or under the laboratory bench, stacked or installed independently to save valuable laboratory space.
Feedback from laboratory staff was collected during an extensive research phase, which included physical testing, interviews, laboratory trending and studies of scientists at work. The requirements identified were better system communication, precise control over dispensing and improved internal access.
In response to the these needs, haptic touch control with variable flow rates was included to give users flexibility and the ability to control pure water dispensing, while the halo dispensers ‘glow’ to clearly communicate the status of the system. Two central doors open to offer easy access and consumables can be removed quickly and easily using only one hand.
