EZ Miter Gutter Template
EZ Miter
Gutter
Template
CLIENT
DJ Mills is an owner of Home Innovations, a gutter service company. After servicing numerous customers, DJ realized that oftentimes his crew had a difficult time cutting the gutters precisely, especially when 45 degrees angle was needed.
He later realized that many other gutter companies faced with that problem. After sketching the idea of the template, DJ approached our team to turn the idea into a marketable 3D printed product.
CHALLENGE
Our main challenge in this project was achieving the right fit between the template and the gutters. Working on the CAD model of the template, we found that while the design looked great in the software, the 3D printed prototypes were not fitting the gutters perfectly.
It was largely because getting the dimensionally accurate profile of the gutter was rather difficult. Due to its small thickness, the gutter was easy to deform, however, the template needed to work every time.
Moreover, we need to make the template a 3D printable product so it could be launched quickly.
SOLUTION
Thanks to rapid prototyping, we were able to go through a series of design – prototype iterations quickly and inexpensively. After several design modifications, we were able to achieve the right fit between the template and the gutter.
3D printing was instrumental in getting the design of the device to the point where it was reliable and easy to use. We designed several versions of the templates for different types and sizes of gutters and optimized them for fast 3D printing.
THE RESULT
This project is a great example of how a product can be launched quickly and inexpensively by substituting traditional manufacturing techniques, like injection molding with 3D printing. Because we designed the product to be 3D printable for mass production, DJ was able to start selling it within a couple of weeks and without major upfront investments.
Using 3D printing for manufacturing his product as opposed to injection molding, DJ saved tens of thousands of dollars and started to get revenue in a matter of a few weeks since the day he came up with the idea.
That allowed him to direct some funds into growing his company and developing and launching new 3D printed products.
Do you have a product idea that can bring innovative solutions to the world? Let us help you realize it. Contact our product development company to discuss your project!.
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