This project came from an entrepreneur who had appeared on Dragon’s Den but did not secure funding for his idea of a garden rake with a swinging grab operated by a sliding handle on the shaft.
The client had prepared a working model for the programme and still felt passionately that the product had potential because of the feedback others had given him after seeing the programme. The client was introduced to Hillside Product Design and we proposed a fast track, low investment strategy requiring offshore tool manufacture with UK moulding and product assembly at a very competitive cost.
We were commissioned to develop the design from the original model which we did by using 3D CAD and FEA to improve its strength and to eliminate stress points around the pivot and control rod mountings. There was no budget for a final prototype and so the design went straight to tooling from 3D data and 2D control drawings.
The product has since been taken on by a UK wide chain of garden centres and the client has proved the Dragons wrong – with a bit of help from Hillside Product Design!