Robust ‘fish-finder unit’ designed to withstand repeat ‘crash tests’ and most challenging elements
3 October 2016
Develop a casing to house a digital video camera and highly sophisticated electronics is one thing. Making it so it can withstand being violently launched through the air, crashed down into sub-zero water with no opportunity to cushion the fall.
Then let it sink 20 metres before raising it to a controlled position just below the surface for 4 hours, whilst it transmits underwater images direct to your phone or tablet. The brief also dictated; repeatable use over a number of years, and incredibly, it should weigh less than 100gms.
The brief read like a military specification
The durability of the plastic injected case being cast over 100m and landing on water at speed was a key factor in the success of the ‘soon to be fisherman’s gadget’ now in daily use by top anglers. Working closely with the designers the iterative design and development process resulted in many rigs and prototypes being manufactured and tested over thousands of hours of hardcore fishing. All this to prove and perfect the difficult issues of protecting the electronics and maintaining watertight seals, whilst providing internal access for battery charging.
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From selection of the technical polymer to the design of the injection mould tool, plastic component manufacturers, Tex Plastics delivered the combination of strength and light weight the brief requested, to the ultra thin product moulding which hit the usability requirements. Tex Plastics were able to help the designers enhance the manufactured product so it could meet the extremely demanding environmental and usage requirements. This included designing the plastic component assembly - so the whole manufacturing process was lean and efficient.