Cable Management
technology and a recruitment focus that has seen both the skillsets and size of our product design team expand.
Today we have an in-house R&D facility that enables us to deliver new, production ready products in a matter of days – and that’s not just in theory. We recently developed a twist foot fixing mechanism that reduces installation cost and time for our best-selling Emperor and Vulcan+ cable cleats in less than a fortnight.
Utilising our 3D CAD rapid prototyping facilities, and Stratasys Objet 24 and 30 printers, the development process began with a brainstorm during which possible solutions were suggested and sketched. The most popular of these were then drawn up in 3D and printed overnight. Samples were then cleaned, assembled and function tested the following morning – a process that highlighted promising designs and allowed others to be discarded. The promising designs were then refined and reprinted over the following days until a final version was agreed on and a functional prototype printed and passed on to sales and production for feedback. To take a product from an idea in a brainstorm to a fully functional, production ready prototype in less than a fortnight really does rewrite the R&D rulebook. Traditionally, creating a production ready prototype would have required the development of injection moulding tools, which involved significant investment in time and resource, and typically took six to eight weeks to manufacture. And once received only small changes to the tools were feasible, meaning any major alterations added another six to eight weeks to the entire process. But by harnessing 3D printing technology and bringing as many elements of the design and testing process in- house, we can now work within the tight timeframes of a live project and ensure it doesn’t lose any momentum by delivering bespoke solutions to installation issues in days. This capability really could be a global game changer.
The Ellis No Bolts cleat which was designed in response a major safety concern voiced by Network Rail
To take a product from an idea in a brainstorm to a fully
functional, production ready prototype in less than a fortnight really does rewrite the R&D rulebook.
The New Wear Crossing
ewnews.co.uk
June 2020 electrical wholesaler | 17
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