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Hamstring Solo

Siobhan Mockler on December 2, 2024

  • Case Study

Hamstring Solo

Hamstring Solo is a fitness and testing apparatus for professional sports teams. Hamstring injuries are the number one injury in elite sport. Current exercise methods are not measurable and are often completed incorrectly, thus prolonging the injury. The Hamstring Solo allows athletes to undertake and complete exercise correctly.

Design+ engaged with the client at the early stage of design development of the Hamstring Solo Pro through an Enterprise Ireland Innovation Voucher.

The task for Design+ was to redesign the existing prototype with considerations for manufacture methods and material selection. The working mechanism, which also allowed Hamstring Solo to be used as testing apparatus, needed to be developed and solutions sought for the design issues it presented in earlier prototypes. The visual presence of the product was also addressed in the design of the overall colour pallet and feel of the product. The feet and end caps of the product were given a distinguishing design along with the kneeling pads. Addressing the visual presence of the product ensured that the physical design communicated strength and technical excellence. The development was carried out in conjunction with the Institute’s rehabilitative science research group, combined with design thinking.

The client has subsequently secured sales with the IRFU as well as three inter-county hurling teams and have released a new Elite solo elite design and builds upon the Hamstring Solo pro.

Project MJP 5600 multi-material 3D printer

Siobhan Mockler on November 28, 2024

  • Case Study

Project MJP 5600 multi-material 3D printer

A key component of collaborative industry projects is the ability to prototype concepts for testing and validation. Design is an iterative process of testing and redesign. The Design+ Gateway has been an early user and advocate of 3D printing since its establishment in 2016, using both a Zcorp powder printer and an SLA Viper.

There have been significant advancements in 3D printing over the past decade. Traditionally, the ability to produce a 3D model for visual representation from a digital model was sufficient. Today, the expectation is that a 3D printed model has to withstand the rigours of user testing and incorporate a number of materials representative of final manufacture. 3D printed models need to be functional and be able to perform with similar characteristics to a manufactured part to be beneficial to the design process.

In response to these needs, Design+ recently purchased a new state of the art multi-material ProJet MJP 5600 3D printer from 3D Systems in order to meet current research and industry needs.

Project MJP 5600

The ProJet MJP 5600 delivers high quality, highly accurate and tough multi-material composites (flexible and rigid material) composites layer by layer in a variety of colours and shades including opaque, clear, black or white and numerous shades of grey. With its industrial-grade print head, the ProJet MJP 5600 prints up to two times faster than any other printer in its class, and produces more than 60% larger volume than all other comparable systems, producing larger parts up to half a meter long, or more parts per print job.

Key Specifications:

  • Build size – 518mm X 381mm X300mm.
  • Material – 5 different materials that can be digitally mixed resulting in thousands of combinations.
  • Tolerance – 0.013mm

Design+ worked with TRI Equestrian on the design of a new state-of-the-art therapy saddle. The saddle is designed to meet the needs of all abilities by enhancing the connection between the horse and rider which has shown to have extensive therapeutic results. The saddle includes a patented biaxial support system that was developed and prototyped through the use of 3D printing. All the plastic components of this support system were able to be printed full scale on the large format ProJet MJP 5600. The printed parts allowed the design to be tested and any issues to be resolved before progressing to manufacture.

Design Strategy with Sheenco Travel

Siobhan Mockler on November 28, 2024

  • Case Study

Design Strategy with Sheenco Travel

Sheenco Travel are a leading Luxury Travel company in West Cork that sell holiday packages to mainly North American clients. These packages entail luxurious 4 and 5-star accommodation, with a special focus on castles, across Ireland and the UK. Sheenco approached Design+ to assist in framing and evaluating a new business idea which may provide the opportunity for sustained development and growth of the company. A pilot project was to be devised ready for trials with the development of a new franchise in the US.

A series of workshops took place with the Sheenco Travel Managing Director and Marketing Manager, facilitated by the Design Strategist. The aim was to scope and frame the existing offering, key activities and users. The existing ‘state of play’ within the company was captured along with workflows and company structure. The new idea was framed as ‘a model for US expansion through the creation of a new team of US based agents’. Generation of ideas around the challenges and the opportunities was through a workshop think tank on dry erase white walls in studio. This provided the visual mapping of ideas for analysis and evaluation. A robust evaluation process took place to ensure usability, feasibility and viability of ideas. A model framework was created around a pilot project for the US which provided tiered level commitment and investment between Sheenco and new agents. This included initial investment requirements, commission structures and agreements between Sheenco and agents.

A framework for a pilot scheme was devised along with a strategic roadmap with definitive steps to implementation. This provided actionable outcomes which enable the company to confidently move forward into well considered direction with risk factors considered.

The impact of the successful implementation of the US growth model pilot will bring significant increases in company revenue and open a replicable model to other global markets.

“Working with Design+ was fantastic as it gave us time away from the business to focus on the bigger picture. The facilitation was excellent in terms of extracting the information and framing it in a professional presentation that could be utilized for future development.”
Genevieve Sheehan
Founder and MD

Thermal Management Review of Existing Battery Pack Cooling System

Siobhan Mockler on November 26, 2024

  • Case Study

Thermal Management Review of Existing Battery Pack Cooling System

Auxiliary power units
Xerotech designs and manufactures premium electric auxiliary power units (APUs) for long-haul trucking applications from their HQ in Galway, Ireland. Core to their technology is their next generation liquid-cooled Lithium-ion battery pack.

Design and visualisation
Xerotech first engaged with the Design+ Gateway to undertake the design and 3D visualisation of its new APUs for deployment in the US. Using 3D CAD modelling and rendering, the design team at Design+ helped to visualise the Xerotech APU design. The design team then created visual storyboards of the process for demonstration purposes to future clients and investors.

The Xerotech & Design+ partnership
As part of a follow-on project, the Design+ Gateway also undertook a detailed thermal management review of the existing cooling system designs for the battery pack, identifying potential areas of underperformance.

Using CAD modelling, a detailed Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis of the coolant flow in the battery pack was used to identify the optimum cooling circuit design and make recommendations on key areas of performance improvement.

“The change in cooling system design improved the cooling performance within the battery pack and is currently being integrated as part of future prototypes.”
Barry Flannery
CEO, Xerotech

Design And Development of an Intelligent UV Sanitising System for Bottle Beverages

Siobhan Mockler on November 26, 2024

  • Cae Study

Design And Development of an Intelligent UV Sanitising System for Bottle Beverages

Within the hospitality sector, a large number of beverages are consumed from the neck of glass bottles (approx. 30%). Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, there was already a growing need to address the cleanliness of these glass bottles for the health and safety of the consumer. As we slowly edge back to normality that needs will be greater than ever!

Glass bottle tops, especially under the cap, are breeding grounds for bacteria and viruses. Bottles are usually visually clean but not sanitised. For the complete sanitisation of the bottleneck, the cap needs to be fully removed. Inferneco, a Wicklow based start-up have identified a potential solution to this problem using UV light.

Specifically, this project involved using UV-C light to achieve the required results. The benefits of UV-C light being used against unwanted microorganisms is already well proven and it has the capability to disinfect and eliminate up to 99% of germs, viruses and bacteria. Research is ongoing in regards to UV’s capabilities in fighting Covid-19 however there is optimism and early signs that devices like this can have a positive effect.

To turn their idea into reality, Infeneco teamed up with the Technology Gateway Network to avail of some of the funding mechanisms that are easily available for companies willing to experiment in R&D and Blue Ocean strategy. The potential of the product was clear from the outset and it was evident that a deeper level of financing would be needed so an Enterprise Ireland Innovation Partnership, led by Design+ in SETU was used to develop the project further.

The first phase of the project was to examine and explore other possible solutions to sanitising and in turn define a clear direction for the design of a new concept. The new concept had to be able to sanitise a bottle within two seconds and also needed to include a safe sealing system so as not allow the user to be exposed to any UV light.

Design+ followed their bespoke innovation process and the following ideation and evaluation sessions came up with the most suitable prototype, the purpose of which was to test and validate the concept.

The housings for the prototypes were all 3D printed inhouse using SETU’s class-leading 3D printers. This allowed them to iterate quickly and produce high-quality models that were able to withstand the testing phase which was performed in the environment of a busy pub/nightclub. The unit’s electronics were also designed and built by the Technology Gateway team within the Institute.

The test results were positive for sanitising the bottle in two seconds and feedback from the user was excellent. Following further on-site testing, the design was revised and more iterations/updates were created to advance the system, such as improved bottle chamber design, better reflectors and seals in the light chamber. A new 3D printing resin with improved thermal and mechanical performance was also used and proved to be very beneficial at this phase.

Overall the project was a success and collaboration with other Technology Gateways was key to this achievement. During the testing phase, the prototype was sent to the CAPPA Gateway in CIT who proved that the system could sanitise the bottle in two seconds and that there was no UV exposure to the user, these were the two main objectives of the project. The Design+ team also worked alongside the TSSG Gateway. The team there were instrumental in helping Design+ to create a Windows-based User Interface (UI) application that increased the devices functionality.

Developing a proof-of-concept to determine feasibility of migrating PerformanSC’s operations research engine from Maple to Python

Siobhan Mockler on November 26, 2024

  • Case Study

Developing a proof-of-concept to determine feasibility of migrating PerformanSC’s operations research engine from Maple to Python

Background

Founded in 2013, PerformanSC is a highly successful practitioner-led supply chain consultancy service. PerformanSC works with clients across multiple sectors including healthcare, high tech, retail, food and drink and logistics.

Several of PerformanSC’s data driven performance improvement inputs result from optimisation routines developed on their proprietary operations research toolsets using the Maple programming language. Whilst this technology has served its purpose up to this point, future business needs are likely to require capabilities that solve larger problems with larger data sets.

Phyton is a leading technology within the Data Science area, with most of the recent machine learning and AI work being conducted in and around Python. Working with the software design team in the Design+ Technology Gateway, the company wished to explore the possibility of moving to an open-source technology infrastructure (based around Python programming language), to address two specific supply chain optimisation problems – location-type and transport-type problems.

Project Outcome

When solving location-type problems, the software design team at Design+ successfully demonstrated the feasibility of performing the calculations currently performed by Maple, with technologies based around the Python programming language. Exploration of Python’s PuLP technology for the transport-type also made progress but presented certain challenges. Trials of Google’s OR-Tools proved more successful with the results closely matching the output produced by the provided worked example (based on the equivalent Maple calculations). The project highlighted that both operational research problems are solvable with Python (and the concept has been proven), and provided a roadmap to further work required to transform the current proof-of-concept into the next generation, client-facing offering.

"The team from Design+ provided practical insights into the technology options available to solve the complex data problems that frequently emerge in supply chains. The project provided some valuable insights into how we could deploy our domain expertise and develop our future analytical capabilities."
Lorcan Sheehan
CEO PerformanSC