| Feb. 28, 2008 - James Dyson, the inventor of cyclone technology for vacuum cleaners, is donating one of his ground-breaking prototypes to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Present in museums around the globe, this is the first donation given by Dyson to a Canadian museum.
The donation is being made through the James Dyson Foundation, which aims to support design technology and engineering education.
"Design surrounds us. It inspires us. It makes more things possible. As our need for good design and technology increases, so does the need for innovative and adventurous designers and engineers. In accepting this prototype into its collection, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts joins us in celebrating functional design - and in inspiring the engineers of the future."
James Dyson
The donated prototype shows the engineering process behind Dyson's latest upright machine, the DC24 Dyson BallTM. Developed by Dyson engineers over the last three years, the DC24 has 20 different inventions patents protected on it.
The prototype is constructed using SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) - a rapid prototyping system used in-house at Dyson to make 3D models for testing. SLS prototypes are put through their paces to test performance, durability, and ease of use - and to demonstrate the engineering design of the machines.
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James Dyson, the inventor of cyclone technology for vacuum cleaners (left), speaks to Diane Charbonneau, curator, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, in Montreal, Thursday, February 28, 2008. Dyson was in Montreal to make Dyson's first donation to a Canadian museum - one of his ground-breaking prototypes. (Marketwire Photo/Dyson)
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Montreal, City of Innovation
James Dyson chose Montreal as the location for his first Canadian donation for good reason. Known as a city of innovation, Montreal was appointed a UNESCO City of Design in 2006 and continues to be a leader in cutting-edge creativity and design.
Dyson machines have also been displayed in museums around the world including the Design Museum in London, the Chicago Athenaeum and Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie in Paris. They are also in the permanent collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Centre Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris.
More about the James Dyson Foundation:
The James Dyson Foundation is committed to encouraging more young people to fulfil their design engineering potential. The Foundation shows its commitment to design engineering education in a number of ways. With the James Dyson Foundation team, Dyson engineers visit a number of universities and schools each month - both in the UK and internationally. Through lectures and workshops their aim is to de-mystify the design process, reverse the negative image of engineering, and encourage young people to use a hands-on approach, enabling them to turn ideas into 3D solutions to real problems. This education programme is coupled with the production of free and useful educational resources for design and technology classes.
The Foundation is also building the Dyson School of Design Innovation - a centre of excellence for design engineering education in Bath, UK. Finally, the James Dyson Foundation runs a design award in 15 countries, including Canada.
More about the Dyson DC24:
The DC24 Dyson BallTM is a lithe, lightweight upright that sits on a ball. Weighing in at just 5.3 kg, DC24 condenses the all-round performance of a Dyson into a compact machine, 2/3s the size. And its Ball technologyTM means it turns with ease.
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