hi-design from lathams

Mark Robinson from Solid Surfaces Northwest talks to Furniture Journal about how he used LG Hi-Macs in his table design.

What is LG Hi-Macs?
LG Hi-Macs Natural Acrylic Stone is a blend of 75 percent natural minerals and pigments set in an acrylic matrix.  It comes in 6mm thicknesses for vertical applications, 9mm for non-structural horizontal applications without a heat source such as shop fitting and tables, and 12mm for horizontal applications with a structural function or heat source such as kitchen worktops.

Why did you choose LG Hi-Macs in your table design?
This design would not have been possible in any other type of material.  LG Hi-Macs is an ideal product due to its thermoformability which allowed me to produce a bespoke design that still has a practical application due to the product's inherent strength and durability.

Is the material easy to work with?
It is an excellent material to work with.  However, solid surface fabrication is a time consuming process but the end result makes all the hard work worth while.

Did you encounter any problems using the solid surface material, and if so how were these problems solved?
The biggest problem I faced during the project was the sheer difficulty of lifting a full sheet of LG Hi-Macs after it had been heated to 180°C.  A full sheet weighs 85kg and is 3.6m in length, it also becomes extremely flexible when heated to this temperature.  There is no simple solution to this problem except perseverance, as without this degree of flexibility it would be impossible to create such a design from a single sheet of LG Hi-Macs. 

Would you recommend this product to other designers and manufacturers? Quite simply yes, as it opens up so many new design possibilities.  Its thermoformability combined with the massive range of colours available means that designers and manufacturers are limited only by their own imaginations
	Above:  Mark Robinson table design out of one sheet of LG Hi-Macs