The New Minimalism: Rampinelli Edizioni’s Metalworking Elegance

Can you explain the advantages of using CNC plasma cutting in your designs and how it enhances the precision and detail of your pieces?

At Rampinelli Edizioni, we utilize CNC plasma cutting to transform thick metal plates into intricate, innovative designs. This technology offers exceptional flexibility, enabling us to explore previously inconceivable concepts in design.

By working with robust and industrial-grade materials, typically reserved for machinery, we push the boundaries of artistic expression, merging precision with bold creativity.

What specific machining techniques do you use on large vertical lathes for creating intricate details on your tables?

The table designed by Sovrappensiero draws inspiration from the timeless elegance of Greek columns, symbolizing solidity and eternity. The table top houses in its center polished metal discs, framed by a series of grooves inspired by the reverberation of the waves caused by a stone thrown into still water.

These intricate details are achieved using large vertical lathes, which allow us to machine the entire surface with unmatched precision, creating a harmonious blend of form and functionality.

How do you handle and process thick heavy steel plates to ensure they maintain their structural properties while achieving the desired artistic effect?

Our deep-rooted industrial heritage is integral to our process. Each steel plate is carefully selected for its structural integrity and quality. We apply industrial techniques—cutting, grinding, fitting, welding, and machining—ensuring every piece meets the highest standards of durability and precision.

With over a century of family experience in the manufacturing sector, Rampinelli Edizioni reinterprets this craftsmanship to create artistic objects that resonate with strength and aesthetic allure.

Can you describe the manual assembly process for your furniture pieces, particularly how you ensure the precision and alignment of welded components?

Like we discussed before, our industrial heritage plays a key role. Each part is assembled with the same precision employed to assemble a machine used to produce parts with centesimal precision. The combination of fabrication and machining allows us to finish every piece with very fine tolerances.

The Bench by Sovrappensiero Studio features a grid that enhances spatial perception. Can you explain the technical process behind creating this grid and its visual impact?

The architecture of the bench highlights the idea of surface and plates, the basic elements of metalworking. The grid is the result of 30 hours of machining and, as you say, it enhances the perception of surfaces in space and the perspective effect.

Specifically, the grid is created by machining the bench on a large milling machine, capable of handling parts up to 20,000 kg. In this case, very small milling tools are used to achieve this incredible effect. One thing that always surprises us is that people sit on the bench and start touching it as if it were a soft piece of cloth, when in fact it is heavy steel. It is fascinating to see.

The Hanger's design reduces volumes to a single line traced in space. What challenges did you face in achieving this minimalistic yet functional design?

The shape of the hanger was conceived from the desire to visually reduce the volumes to a single line drawn in space. The result is a functional sculpture balancing strength and lightness. The apparent linear simplicity could never be achieved through standard bending operations, as such narrow radii would tend to deform the material. The hanger is created through plasma cutting and TIG welding.

We made quite a few prototypes for this piece, unsure whether we could keep the two vertical parts well spaced apart. Despite our initial concerns, the result speaks for itself—a truly unique work of art.

Goldilocks: The Goldilocks features intricate curls representing hair. How did you achieve the delicate balance between the solid material and the fluid form?

As you say, Goldilocks is a very special piece, characterised by intricate 'curls.' The challenge was to join each individual part seamlessly, hiding every weld to achieve the resulting fluid form.

From the Designer: “The acrobatic object I designed is called Goldilocks, the impolite and curly-haired girl who, taking advantage of a bear family’s absence to feast on their food and damage their house, escapes unpunished. It’s ironic to observe how the idea of her floating and intricate curls contrasts with the solidity of the material representing them in a succession of curves and planes. Not only that: the moral to be derived from this blatant allegory of our selfishness is that it’s right to return to a balance and respect for growth, which finds an interesting parallel in economic and cognitive sciences. The name? The Goldilocks Principle."

Tig Sculpture: The Tig sculpture celebrates the art of welding with a rainbow effect. Can you describe the experimental process of adjusting metal thicknesses and melting temperatures to achieve this result?

Well, I see you really like to know every detail. Tig was really an experiment. We have multiple prototypes sitting in the company, showing how it evolved through trials. The effect obtained in TIG is mainly due to two factors, the material length between the external diameter and the internal one, and the weld heat input.

For the first factor, we saw that is was best to have more material available, to better dissipate the heat input from the welding. For the second factor, we saw as instrumental to use a TIG welding machine. We would have not obtained any similar result with a MIG MAG one.

What do you hope to achieve through your continuous exploration and reinterpretation of metalworking processes in the design world?

The design world is often driven by volumes and sales. Designers are typically tasked with the hard work of coming up with new ideas every year that must sell quickly and in high numbers. We understand this, but we don’t align with that approach. Rampinelli Edizioni aims to provide designers with a platform for bold experimentation, enabling them to push boundaries and create unorthodox, imaginative concepts.

Our mission is to offer clients not just functional objects but unique and meaningful creations. For us, design is about gifting time, beauty, and a sense of wonder.