Bespoke Camera Enclosure | Close Air Solutions

Green Warehouse Sustainable Product Recycling Bins in an office

Opening a door using TDsi new aesthetic product design

We’ve grown

0 Comments/in Product Design Consulting, Realise News

by Charles Taylor

What a year (or so) it has been! Here at Realise we’ve been keeping our shoulders to the wheel and tackling challenges with a number of new faces – adding some strings to our bow.

Insphere

0 Comments/in Creative Process, Industrial Product Design, Innovation, Product Design Consulting, Product Design Process, Realise News

by Andrew Redman

IONA | INSPHERE LTD

Designing products for the future of data-driven automation

Bespoke Prototyping
Modular Design
Integrated Branding

Sector: Advanced Manufacturing

Metrology grade solutions for robotic installations. Creating premium product for high tech industry

Have you ever tried measuring a turbine blade? Or whether your robot has moved to exactly the position in space you wanted?

These are the kind of tough problems tackled by the team of metrology and automation experts at Insphere, who started life in aerospace, setting up systems for difficult-to-measure critical aircraft parts.

Based on their building reputation in aerospace, Insphere have been growing into all engineering sectors, helping improve and implement automation solutions.

The challenge with measuring production robots, like you see on a car assembly line, is they are dynamic, complex processes, with no readily available tools to measure them. Insphere developed a solution with multiple optical sensors to envelope the working volume of the robot, which continuously monitors targets positioned on the end-effector.

Insphere’s challenge was that existing metrology systems are too expensive – costing around 3 times more than the robot – and still have limitations that make employing them for monitoring and controlling robots unpractical.

Insphere therefore asked Realise to help design a metrology grade camera system, specialised for robot monitoring, with a punchy cost target a fraction that of existing equipment.

Technical Requirements

The development route of the project was established by identifying the technical requirements and key ‘problems’ to resolve:

Stabilising the alignment of the dual stereoscopic cameras:

The stability of the cameras is vitally important as it is what makes the system so reliable and is required to maintain accuracy. As such the cameras must not move during transportation, everyday use or minor impacts.

Heat stabilisation and control:

The sensors not only require mechanical stability, but also thermal stability. As such, Insphere specified a +/- 1 degree tolerance on the temperature variation of the sensors. We worked together to develop the best technical solution: active temperature management capable of holding +/- 0.1 degrees! Significantly out-pacing the specification.

Improved assembly times and maintenance:

The unit is designed to reduce internal clashes and provide ruggedised protection for industrial environments, designed with to even withstand carbon dust ingress. The system can be built quickly by one individual, reducing production times and enables easier maintenance on the Iona system.

Low batch numbers, high quality:

The emphasis on high quality production in low numbers, allows for the design to grow and develop as more user data is gathered and fed back into the next design. With additional units being integrated into the market, Insphere can flex to market demands and take advantage of opportunities that arise.

Prototyping:

Substantial prototyping rounds resulted in a product that was incrementally and rigorously tested against the key requirements identified. Validation of each requirement supplied confidence to bring the product to manufacture.

Branding and Visioning

Having a passion for good design is one of the reasons we are so good at what we do.

Delivering manufacturable products is imperative, but so is making sure the final product stands out visually from its competitors.

Using high quality premium materials and finishes is unique for this industry, and Realise Team sought to help Insphere to embed the final piece of the puzzle, branding.

Defining the company values and agreeing that north star purpose, meant breaking down the company values and turning this into a mission. Defining colour choices alongside materials and manufacturing methods specification, enabled us to design a product that’s physical features and attributes were embedded into every design decision.

Maximizing the design and branding processes in parallel is key to new products launch success.

The Result

The result is Iona, a scalable network of sensors that provide metrology-grade data for automating manufacturing processes.

Measure twice cut once’ is the age-old mantra underpinning Iona’s futuristic technology. Discretely deployed for continuous data capture in real time, Iona can work in the harshest of environments and overcome the more costly elements of manufacturing such as waste, predictive maintenance and lost accuracy.

By creating a system that allows for digital twinning and embracing smart manufacturing at its very core we have been able to produce a product that is smarter, more efficient and more manoeuvrable than ever before.

INSPHERE can now provide a premium solution to its customers that will not only drive-up efficiency during manufacture, but also provide valuable data and insights on specific areas of improvement for their business.

What does INSPHERE say about Realise?

Agile and open in mindset, Insphere’s approach to the design process was one of adaption and change which has proved to be foundational to the success of the Iona project.

“When we first engaged with Realise, they really took the time to understand our company not just our product requirements; resulting in a design that reflects our brand and values. Throughout the development process they have maintained good communication, working with us as part of our engineering team. They were responsive and can deliver to tight timescales. The end result is a product that we’re all really proud of, with great visual impact whilst meeting some very challenging functional criteria.” Ollie Martin, CTO

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0 Comments/in Consumer Product Design, Creative Process, Product Design Consulting, Product Design Process

The complex nature of design simplicity

by Callum Taylor

The complex nature behind simple products isn’t always as obvious as you might think, especially when it comes to the world’s first hot chocolate shaker!

Are you the next Realiser? New Senior Designer role

0 Comments/in Product Design Consulting, Realise News

by David Connell

We’re looking for a senior designer to join our forward thinking and sociable product design agency in the fantastic city of Bristol. Could this be you?

Hot Chocolate Shaker

0 Comments/in Consumer Product Design, Creative Process, Product Design Consulting

by Andrew Redman

HOT CHOCOLATE SHAKER | THE CHOCOLATE SOCIETY

The World’s first Hot Chocolate Shaker

Design For Manufacture
User Centred Design
FDA Food Rating

Sector: Consumer products

The Design Challenge

Design a versatile home/cafe barista tool to shake up the hot chocolate market!

Al Garnsworthy of The Chocolate Society discovered that by shaking up quality chocolate and not just stirring it, you can create an ultra smooth and exceptionally tasty hot chocolate drink. The only problem with this method is the spray of hot liquid when you open your container.

Not to be deterred and identifying a great opportunity to expand his existing product line, Al asked us to join him in his onsite kitchen in Somerset where we very willingly tried his experimental new hot chocolate drinks.

Think cocktail shakers! Think theatre! Think of the best hot chocolate ever! Seeking an easy to use, easy to clean and most importantly fun container that was more James Bond than the local corner shop, Al had found it and he wanted to bring it to his customers.

As exceptional Chocolatiers based in rural countryside, the company had already established itself with an enviable reputation as producers of fresh chocolate truffles, caramels and chocolate bars. Taking the next steps in their business with a physical product would help elevate their market position further.

Recognising a key challenge for designing a vessel to contain hot drinks was the necessity of overcoming the expansion of hot air and increased pressure, especially during shaking and Al sought the expertise of the Realise Team.

The Chocolate Society_Sketch Development

Our Design Solutions

Several design routes were explored on paper, thinking through the various mechanisms that could be used to combat the main issue of increased pressure within the vessel, as well as many aesthetic directions to find the perfect fit for The Chocolate Society’s brand.

Exploring a cap that would automatically ‘pop’ to accommodate the expansion of air when shaking hot liquid, the team calculated the increase in air volume required (driven by guideline fill levels) to ensure that all designs were feasible from the outset. Coupled with identifying a suitable silicon material, Santoprene TPR, offered the required flexibility, repeatability and thermal resistance properties early on in the development process to ensure performance risks were minimised quickly.

Seeking a modern and premium looking product that was also safe to use was also high on requirements list.

Replicating double-walled glass in food-grade Tritan plastic the team created a design that utilises a natural air gap that prevents the container getting too hot or cold. This also allows the user to still see the contents internally without the obstruction of a silicon grip or heat shield, and minimise the number of parts to be assembled.

Producing a number of prototypes internally proved critical, allowing the team to continuously test the performance of the product throughout its development, looking specifically at pouring, expansion of the vessel, heat transfer and thread performance. Keeping an eye on manufacture costs was essential to The Chocolate Society to ensure that it was not only a viable product to manufacture, but also cost sensitive to the end customer.

These iterative prototypes also enabled the opportunity to have early conversations with manufacturing partners to address costs and design improvements. Ensuring that the product functioned as expected before the customer invested in higher cost visual aids and high end prototypes for investor pitches and user testing also reduces project risk.

As with all of our projects, Al and the team at The Chocolate Society were kept in close collaboration throughout the whole product development cycle.

This was to ensure that they remained in control of the direction of the end product, whilst at the same time we were able to share our own knowledge to ensure the best outcome for their business. This also included advice for their Kickstarter campaign which ultimately gained the backing of over 1600 people.

Main body and lid designed for the World's first hot chocolate shaker by Realise.

The Delivery

On completion of all final prototype testing and agreeing the correct material selection in accordance with FDA Approvals, Realise generated all required technical documentation for the shakers two part enclosure, ready for handover to the selected manufacturer.

It was very important to The Chocolate Society to keep manufacture within the UK. Although this comes at an increased price point, it meant that Al and the Team were much more involved in the manufacturing process and could therefore personally inspect first-off parts much more easily than with an overseas manufacturer.

Initially, final production involves a lot of process optimisation to begin producing parts of an ideal quality. Sometimes tooling modifications are also required to reach a perfect functional/aesthetic blend, an area that Realise is an expert in.

Realise have the ability to introduce customers to manufacturing partners and oversee production runs and in this case the product was ultimately injection moulded by a company in the South of England.

The Hot Chocolate Shaker has gone on to become a big success at The Chocolate Society, winning rave reviews in the media and online.

So what are you waiting for, head on over to their website and then throw in your favourite chocolate bar, and maybe a cheeky tipple and give it a shake!

Product and packaging of world's first chocolate shaker designed by Realise

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0 Comments/in Engineering, Industrial Product Design, Marine Product Design, Product Design Consulting

Coronavirus: Change of Plan

0 Comments/in Product Design Consulting, Realise News

by Andrew Redman

It feels a bit like everything is going downhill, unlike the team who should have been off to France for a week’s skiing. Given the impact of the current crisis, we are starting to wonder if there are in fact any positives to be gleaned?

Em-trak | AIS Class B Transceiver

by Helen Liang

DESIGNING AND MANUFACTURING A GLOBAL MARINE PRODUCT FOR A WORLD-LEADING SUPPLIER

The Next Generation of AIS Class B Transceivers

Design For Manufacture
User Centred Design
IP68 Water Proofing

Sector: Industrial Design

THE DESIGN CHALLENGE + THE IMPACT DELIVERED

AIS Class B transceivers are used by all marine vessels as critical pieces of navigation systems that ensure reliable communication and ultimately prevent collisions.

Em-trak needed a global redesign of its AIS transceiver to consolidate multiple product configurations into a new, single enclosure that would perform in the toughest marine environments. Realise delivered a flagship product that ensures quick install and ease of use. It is sold worldwide and chosen by marine professionals who value performance and expect nothing but the best.

Consolidating legacy designs and reaching new markets

Em-trak approached Realise because of our ability to prioritise technical and high-performance requirements against commercial drivers. They needed our help to address the deep design challenges in delivering a new consolidated, universal product that addressed the difficulties of having multiple legacy designs alongside new market opportunities.

Integrating seamless user interaction and communication transmission in the harshest environments at sea were critical requirements along with enabling quick, easy installation into a range of seafaring vessels that also incorporated a branding refresh to reach new customers.

Em-trak also wanted to bring the product to market within three months. There was no room for delay or error – the pressure was on!

Balancing design for manufacture with product usability

Together with Em-trak, Realise revisited previous products from a technical standpoint and explored new market opportunities to generate a wide range of concept proposals all unique in their visual and functional features against specific commercial needs. Exploring a striking new visual identity in parallel ensured that concepts were within the scope of a clearly defined brand strategy.

After choosing a concept route, Realise and Em-trak’s engineering teams joined forces to overcome integration challenges and reduce complexity across multiple, detailed configurations. Working in synergy, we rerouted cables and redesigned the internal layout of GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth and VHF systems increasing space for fittings and connectors – always keeping the end-user in mind.

Ensuring increased usability was a key requirement. The team homed in on the easy installation of the product that would retrofit to any existing seafaring vessel with a quick-release bracket and incorporated new semantics. Identifying opportunities to add value is one of many strengths at Realise, and the team complemented this with our design for manufacture expertise; driving down costs and ensuring the product would be easily assembled and cheaper to manufacture.

Mounting bracket design on an AIS Class B Transceiver

Stakeholder testing, factory support and a reassuring click

Realise’s designers led concept development through to an iterative prototyping phase and programme of testing to ensure strict waterproofing criteria to IP68 was met.

We created pre-production prototypes to mitigate development risk and presented them to stakeholders, proving product viability was aligned with the ideal market, and in tandem with the choice of off-the-shelf components, material selection and manufacturing processes.

With an established supply chain and manufacturing partners in place, Realise travelled to China and provided factory support inspecting and testing first-off sample parts and lending the manufacturers our expertise in plastic moulding to ensure successful first-off production.

Working with Em-trak, the AIS transceiver was manufactured and assembled at a lower cost than the previous product range and brought to market in three months.

It is a design that pays attention to detail, right down to the reassuring click that can be heard as the product clips securely into its mounting bracket; a product that you can find in sea vessels worldwide and best in B class transceivers.

Close up of mounting bracket and connectors on Em-trak's AIS Class B Transceiver

Em-traks AIS Class B Transceiver designed by Realise

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