This is a horror! Can you heklp me, Scriptor?
"Gewiss, Design meint auch die künstlerische Geste. Design ist aber
zur Hauptsache eine Summe kleiner präziser Eingriffe an
Alltagsgegenständen. Knochenarbeit, Schritt um Schritt. Wer zum
Beispiel auf dem Stuhl des Zahnarztes sitzt, ist umgeben von
ausgeklügeltem Industrial Design in Apparaten und an Geräten. Und vor
sich hat der Zahnarzt ein Arsenal raffinierter Werkzeuge, mit denen er
die Fäulnis wegbohrt, Füllungen anbringt, Brücken schlägt, Kronen
setzt und schliesslich die Zähne poliert. Geräte dafür zu entwickeln
ist eine Aufgabe des Ateliers Spinform, zuhause in den Gebäuden der
ehemaligen Bally Schuhfabrik in Schönenwerd. Jürg Brühlmann und Anja
Bodmer haben ein Dose entworfen, in das der Zahnarzt mit einer Patrone
die Polierpaste nachfüllt. Für den Finger gestalten sie einen Napf,
für die Hand den Spachtel. Ring, Dose und Spachtel bestehen aus
Kunststoff. Der Ring ist auf einer Seite offen, damit er auf
verschiedene Fingergrössen passt. Das Material ist zudem elastisch,
was an- und abziehen vereinfacht. Der kleine Materialspeicher am
Finger ermöglicht dem Zahnarzt auf kleinem Raum und nahe an der
verarztenden Stelle zu arbeiten, was Weg und Handgriffe minimiert.
Präzise, kleinteilige Anordnungen, die sich tausendfach weltweit und
alltäglich bewähren müssen ? dafür muss der Designer ein demütiger
Könner des Millimeters sein und im Stande, Abläufe des Brauchens mit
Abläufen der Produktion in einem Gerät zu verbinden."

Hello Leander1!

You are right, it was a tough one. But I managed to translate it for
you. Here is the result, and I hope it will be helpful.

Best regards,
Scriptor


"Certainly, design also means artistic gesture. But principally,
design is a sum of small precise modifications on everyday objects.
Hard work, step by step. For example, anyone who sits in the dentist's
chair is surrounded by ingenious industrial design on apparats and
devices. And in front of the dentist there is an entire arsenal of
sophisticated tools he uses to remove caries, apply fillings, fit
bridges, set crowns, and finally polish teeth. Developing such devices
is part of the business of the Spinform studio, domiciled in the
buildings of the former Bally shoe factory in Schönenwerd. Jürg
Brühlmann and Anja Bodmer have developed a pod which the dentist
refills with polish paste from a cartridge. For the finger they
designed a cup, for the hand the scraper. Ring, pod and scraper
consist of plastics. The ring is open at one side, so it will fit
fingers of various sizes. In addition, the material is elastic, which
makes it easier to put the pod on and off. The small container on the
finger enables the dentist to work in confined space and close to the
area of treatment, thus reducing distances and hand movements.
Precise, small designs that have to stand the test thousands of times
all over the world and every day ? to achieve this, the designer has
to be a humble master of the millimeter, and he has to be capable of
combining the processes of usage with the processes of manufacture in
a device."

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Clarification of Answer by scriptor-ga on 20 Nov 2006 05:18 PST

Hello Leander1!

Thank you for all that praise! As for the "pod" ... well, that
particular part was a bit of a problem. The German text used "das
Dose", which was very odd. I know "die Dose" (box, container), but I
have never encontered that word with neuter gender. The Duden doesn't
list it either, or other dictionaries I consulted. It must be a highly
specialized expression from expert's lingo - or an invention of the
author. All I could do was try to find out from the rest of the
description what is meant. I found out that the object is a kind of
holder for paste, so I had to find a subsitute word for the strange
Dose. I decided to use "pod", but feel free to replace it with a word
that appears more appropriate to you.

Best regards,
Scriptor

Hello Scriptor!
You never fail to amaze me with the way you solve these tricky
translations! It's a great answer - thank you very muchu indeed.
Just one thing: I suppose you are sure that the term "pod" is correct
in this context? I have never seen it used for anything peas and beans
etc. But I will use it unless I hear from you that you have changed
your mind.
Thank you so much for your help.
Kind regards,
Leander1