 The Challenge
Plastics Engineering Laboratories (PELabs) consists of a group of engineers, who help design and develop products with plastic parts. Fibrex Medical asked PELabs to help them develop the Fibrex Catheter Patency Device. The catches that held the device housing together presented some interesting design challenges: Besides holding the interior components in place, the unit had to survive being dropped and the housing had to be easy to open, in case of an emergency.
The Solution
ELabs chose COSMOSWorks to analyse and refine the catch design. “We designed the snap-fit and release mechanism so that it will not fall apart through handling or when dropped. The housing is strong enough so that a doctor can use it,
and the catches are small but not delicate, ” said Tom Ellis, PELabs Laboratory Manager. PELabs also used COSMOSWorks to simulate how the plastic’s physical properties would change with temperature and time, before deciding on the final size of each component.
Summary
With the help of COSMOSWorks, PELabs was able to:
- Design and analyse catches for the Fibrex Catheter Patency Device, which were strong enough to withstand dropping and could also be easily opened in case of an emergency
- Save approximately 25 percent of prototyping time by avoiding physical performance verification of the catches
- Save further time by moving directly to mould creation.
|
