Novel design for multipurpose keyfob
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Toolcraft Plastics product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Sep 16, 2003
Innovators Carol-Anne Ormsby and Debbi Steven turned to Toolcraft Plastics for help in the production of a key attachment that has a multipurpose role as a personal safety aid for women.
Innovators Carol-Anne Ormsby and Debbi Steven turned to Toolcraft Plastics for help in the production of a key attachment formed in the shape of a handle which has a multipurpose role as a personal safety aid for women.
Easily found in a busy handbag, the container offers a strategic safe place for an emergency telephone number or the card of a trustworthy taxi service.
Of even higher value however in today's big city environment, if it is suspected that a drug has been used to incapacitate, it can be used to hold an immediate urine sample of sufficient volume to enable accurate analysis and drug detection which is vital as many "date rape drugs" break down quickly in the body and are difficult to detect.
The "coin-operated" top provides a liquid-tight fit.
Finally as a last resort, the keys swung at any would-be aggressor could provide the surprise element and give that little extra time important for a successful escape.
The question of material, strength, and practical shape with sufficient volume were the problems put to Toolcraft who were also considering ease of manufacture.
An attractive colour was also important, the final material choice being a copolypropylene with a decorative sparkle produced from an aluminium impregnated colour die.
Although it was necessary for the entrepreneurs to provide some funding for the mould tools and mouldings, the engineering team at Toolcraft took on the task of "modelling" at the same time as the mould tool design, absorbing the modelling costs while producing practical designs based on experience in manufacture.
Refinements in design were then centred on mould tools already optimised for manufacture, which had been sent to the client as low-resolution JPEG files, bringing their ideas to reality without the high costs of specialist modelling consultants.
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