AMRC gets a kick out of luxury footwear carrier project

Engineers from the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre at the University of Sheffield have helped develop a luxury sports shoe carrier for injection moulding manufacture by halving the number of components.

Infinite Kreationz approached the Design and Prototyping Group (DPG) at the University of Sheffield AMRC to further develop a proof-of-concept model by identifying design changes to make it manufacture-ready.

DPG Design Engineer Valdis Krumins looked at the handle design, an alternative to using straps for securing footwear in the carrier, as well as the hook and stand design.

Dee Warburton, Creative Director of Infinite Kreationz, provided a Selective Laser Sintered model to demonstrate the concept which the DPG then refined, creating a carrier made up of just three parts rather than the six in the proof-of-concept model.

This meant that just two injection mould tools would be needed for manufacture because two of the three parts share the same geometry.

The demonstrator was 3D printed in polymer as it allowed the team to make a functional prototype straight away in order to access the functionality of the design without having to cut metal to create a mould tool.

John Spencer, Senior Project Manager at the DPG, said: “One of the main barriers for start-up companies launching a plastic moulding product is the initial investment in tooling. We were able to review Dee’s initial design with a view to reducing the number of components and simplifying their geometry, without compromising the functionality of the product.”

“This led to a reduction in the complexity and number of injection mould tools that would be required to manufacture the suite of components, optimising the assembly for volume manufacture.”

Warburton said: “The advice provided during the one-to-one meetings was invaluable and the technical CAD services were of the highest quality and second to one in professionalism and expertise.”

“I would highly recommend the services of the University of Sheffield AMRC to anyone requiring advanced manufacturing research of design services, as they exceeded expectations and provided the high quality services needed to develop, produce, and market new products successfully.

“I’m now in the process of finalising the design to progress onto the next development stage of tooling and production in England using recyclable and sustainable environmentally friendly materials.”