Cool Gear International located in Plymouth, MA is known for its innovative, fun and trendy products that speak to the needs of today’s creative culture.
Since 1986, they have been conceptualizing and developing ideas, turning them into products and bringing them to the marketplace.
Their talented staff of graphic artists and product designers work together to develop exciting new ideas from concept to final product with the help of SolidWorks and their Dimension 3D printer! They custom design products, packaging, and point of purchase displays for retailers as well as the premium market.
We sat down with the senior product developer, John Mason, to ask him about the design process and integration of SolidWorks with their 3D printer.
Q: Where do the ideas and concepts for your products come from?
A: Many of the products come directly from the owner of the company and what’s happening in her life, but sometimes we take a look at what’s already out in the market and try to find ways to improve it and make it our own. Sometimes we do a lot of sketching and research, but other times we start modeling it right in SolidWorks. We use SolidWorks to get the mechanical aspects of the product designed first, and then design the look after.
Q: Have you always used SolidWorks at Cool Gear?
A: No, we originally relied primarily on our overseas manufacturers. We would start by sketching out our ideas and concepts and then sending them over to them. They would create clay models of the product and then send them back to us, and go back and forth. It could take months to actually hash out what you want, especially with the communication barrier.
Q: Why did you decide on SolidWorks?
A: My background is in digital sculpting, and I learned some AutoCAD in school, so we blended those two things together, and that’s when we found SolidWorks; we thought that was a good fit. SolidWorks has dramatically changed what we do because now we can do those mechanical things and bring our designs to the next level, where it’s not just the look of something but the function and form.
Q: When did you start using SolidWorks?
A: About 5 years ago
Q: Did you take any of our training classes?
A: Yeah, I took essentials, advanced surfacing, and advanced parts. They were really helpful.
Q: Why did you decide to start working with a 3D printer?
A: Mainly because we were losing so much in the translation with the handmade models from Asia. It was a natural progression with SolidWorks and then the 3D printer; it was like a package deal. We can digitally make this stuff, and then print it out and have a prototype in hand in a couple days. I don’t even know how we did it before. Really. We rely so much on that machine to get things out, not just our own stuff, but we can provide our customers with a prototype in a couple days.
Q: Why the Dimension printer?
A: It was because of the ABS, which is a lot stronger than the other printers out there. We looked at other machines, but the parts were a little brittle, more for show pieces. We needed something that could have physical movement to it and more sturdiness.
Check out the photos below to see how Cool Gear uses their Dimension printer to create functional prototypes to check form and function prior to manufacturing.
The actual product on the left with the printed model on the right which has been hand painted
John Mason showing us how their hydration system works
The actual bottle top on the left, printed model on the right
John opening the functional prototype
The original sketches for the product top
