Industry equipment / Style Design / Product Development
M8 / m16
MAGS involved us in the development of a new line of battery-powered electropermanent magnetic lifters for handling ferrous loads in Industry 4.0 applications. The product was technologically advanced: independent of external power sources, Modbus-connected, and equipped with a Force Reading System that authorizes handling only under verified safety conditions. The design challenge was to give this technological complexity a form that communicated robustness, precision, and ease of use, while remaining physically resistant to accidental impacts in industrial environments.
MAGS' technology guided every formal choice. The perimeter steel frame wrapping the magnetic block stems from a precise technical constraint: protecting the housing from the accidental stresses typical of intensive industrial use — chain pulls, impacts against other objects, drops. The solution is an 8-10mm laser-cut, bent sheet metal panel that wraps around the product 360°, becoming both structural protection and a handling grip at the same time.
MAGS
M8 and M16 share the same housing, the same operator panel, and the same frame. Only the magnetic block underneath changes. The frame adapts to the two sizes simply by shifting the position of the mounting points — a solution that reduces production costs and simplifies warehouse logistics.
The operator panel is designed for industrial environments: a display with real-time weight reading, reinforced polycarbonate buttons, and LED-backlit status lights visible at 360°. The layout is the result of collaboration with MAGS' engineering team, which defined the screen's UX based on the operator's actual working flows.
Yellow is the standard color for lifting equipment in industrial settings — it ensures immediate visibility of the load in motion. The black frame absorbs dirt and wear marks without showing their effects, and creates a color contrast that visually isolates the technological body from the protective structure.
MAGS M8 and M16 are now in production and available on the international market. The product was selected for the ADI Design Index 2022 in the "Design for Work" category, the first stage of the two-year cycle leading to the ADI Compasso d'Oro Award 2024, the most prestigious recognition in Italian design.
