Consumer Development Case Study

An inventor recently contacted TFGUSA for a new consumer product. They asked us for guidance on improving the initial design concept to refine the final production design and the manufacturing process for release of the product into the US and Global marketplace.

1. Problem 1: TFGUSA was finding, after making a prototype of the two mating pieces that the original design of an outwardly angled bottom half, which is the receptacle, leaving room for the mating part to wobble when inserted.
2. Problem 2: The wall thickness of the bottom part was extremely thin. This made it very difficult to have a deep enough groove in the interior of the part to seat an O-ring to properly secure the top to the bottom when inserted.

To correct both issues the following

1. The lower receptacle was slightly redesigned so that instead of an outwardly tapered inner wall it would have a straight wall for the first 10mm. This would enable a tighter fit and more stability.
2. The wall thickness was increased slightly, decreasing the ID, this made it possible to have a deeper groove for the O-ring which then made it possible to increase the thickness of the O-ring helping secure the two pieces better. In addition, a slight redesign of the bottom mating part that contains the O-rings had to be redesigned. Currently that part had a tapered Inside Diameter due to the taper of the outside of the part. This had to be redesigned so that the first 10mm of the I.D. was straight so that the O-rings would fit snug around the bottom part of the mating part that was being inserted.

This succesful partnership was a great opportunity and we look forward to collaborating on more innovative product manufacturing projects.

We sincerely hope you found this article informative and valuable. We welcome your comments or suggestions regarding this article or any other subjects you would like to see us write about.

Thank you,
The Federal Group USA