RAIL │ 2022
PD23 Winner
Category:Lighting - Ceiling Lighting UnitsLocation:Northvale, New Jersey, USADesigner: Glen Oross and Peter On, RAB Lighting Industrial Design Team, Heber, Utah, USAManufacturer:RAB Lighting Inc., Northvale, New Jersey, USA
RAIL is a high-bay light fixture, used to illuminate commercial settings. RAIL was designed to be as sustainable as possible in optimizing material usage; reduce production waste; and CMF and manufacturing processes.
RAIL associates look, feel, and function with the brand’s long-standing quality and service reputation. RAIL is a premium product with an optimized installation experience, a long-life cycle, and minimal service requirements.
RAIL is up to 40% smaller than similar products on the market. The reduced footprint reduces construction material, requires less energy to manufacture, and consumes less fuel to ship. The extruded housing of the product was designed as a continuous piece to reduce part count. Another example of reducing part count is the polycarbonate lens; it is robust and does not require a metal cage to protect from collisions.
RAIL’s housing is aluminum. This material was selected for its highly recyclable quality. The housing was designed for extrusion over die-casting to keep the aluminum purer and more recyclable. The housing is free from coatings and finishes which could prevent recycling. Extrusion also reduces tooling required for production: by cutting the extrusion at different lengths, the same tool can produce multiple SKUs.
Instead of using paint or powder coatings, RAIL’s aluminum housing is bead-blasted. Bead-blasting reduces manufacturing pollutants, ensures recyclability of the finished part, and protects the longevity of the product. This finish prevents fingerprints from forming on the metal, which would otherwise create a blemish on the surface and cause the aluminum to oxidize more quickly. RAIL has heat sinks running the length of the housing.
The heat sinks give a sense of quality and reduce heat which could otherwise damage the internal components. By controlling heat dissipation, RAIL has increased longevity and reduces the need for replacements. RAIL’s design focuses on creating an ideal installation experience. With reduced weight and size, RAIL is easier to carry, lift, and install. RAIL’s innovative installation experience includes a specialty mounting system.
The Pendant Mount adapter enables one person to install RAIL without supporting the fixture’s weight during wiring. Once wiring is complete, the fixture swings up to latch closed. The pendant mount is an intuitive solution—executed with the most sustainable processes and materials possible—and will be applied to future products.