Tricycle to Show Sustainable Carpet Sampling Pract

Chattanooga, TN, Jun. 9--Tricycle, Inc., a leader in surface simulation and design technology, is featuring sustainable carpet sampling practices from some of commercial carpet’s best-known brands at the 2004 NeoCon World’s Trade Fair. With the theme, “A New Class of Sampling”, the exhibit promotes market applications using Tricycle’s unique, 2003 NeoCon Gold winning technology, SIM. The exhibit is designed to educate designers and architects about available carpet prototyping alternatives. The classroom setting features profiles on programs from Shaw Contract, Lees, Interface and Bentley Prince Street. The emphasis is upon each company’s use of SIM and the new “class” of prototype that is emerging. “Our research has shown that designers find sampling to be a frustrating and guilt-laden process,” says Jonathan Bragdon, Tricycle President. “This exhibit points to progressive manufacturers using our technology to reduce waste and materials inherent in the traditional sampling process. By using SIM-enabled prototyping systems, creativity can increase while wasted time and space are minimized.” Tricycle’s digital prototype, called SIM, is generated at the pre-manufacturing level by combining CAD and CAM data with color information derived from yarn. This system makes it possible to create believable, color accurate images of carpet without the use of photography or image capture devices. The exhibition case studies show practical applications of how products can be reviewed without being manufactured. Lees Carpet’s Thought Patterns program allows designers to mix and match over 150 patterns and 24 colorways and then view the results with Accelerated Design System prints. Shaw’s Custom Design group can recolor or alter patterns and have a printed Xample on the customer’s desk within days. With Interface’s Inspired Online, designers can create custom tile configurations and view them in room scenes. Bentley Prince Street’s Color Cam let’s designers recolor piece-dyed products for easy product coordination. These significant advances align well with the Carpet and Rug Institute’s CARE initiative for reducing carpet landfill waste and with manufacturers seeking better resource utilization. Since SIM is at the beginning of the product lifecycle the core information required to generate the image can be archived and distributed throughout a company as a digital asset. Intelligent distribution can increase operational effectiveness by eliminating traditional forms of product representation across sales and marketing, such as photography.

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