software & controls
Chris Hodgson,
Technical Director of
Senior and Dickson, with
the polyurethene bottom
strap of the ski-mojo
3D mould design
produced using VISI
Mould; and solid model
constructed using VISI
Modelling
CAD/CAM technology gives you the power to ski all day
Mojo working
A desire to ski longer, when your body is
physically tired, inspired Owen Eastwood, a British
inventor, to come up with the ski-mojo. This precision
engineered piece of sporting equipment is connected to
the back of your ski boots and strapped to your shins
supporting spring-loaded arms alongside your thighs. It
supports up to 30% of your upper body weight and acts
as a shock absorber for your legs, enhancing your
control and balance on the slopes. ‘The ski-mojo
reduces fatigue and thus provides the ability to ski all
day. It’s like the power steering on a car,’ says the
manufacturer Kinetic Innovations. ‘You still need the
skill to ski; the ski-mojo just makes it less tiring’.
It was launched at the UK National Ski shows last
year but had been in development for many years before
Kinetic Innovations approached product design and
moulding specialist Senior & Dickson. ‘We wanted the
keep the entire development and manufacture UK
based, so it was important to find an innovative and
understanding partner,’ explains Eastwood.
Using the latest CAD/CAM technology from Vero
Software, Senior Design Engineer Karl Freeman
produced early CAD and STL models for rapid
prototyping. ‘It was important to get a feel for the
product before moving into the production stages’ he
says; ‘we have been using VISI for nearly three years
and the software has never proved itself more than on
this single project. Using a combination of VISI
Modelling, VISI Mould and VISI Machining, we have
streamlined our entire design process. As there is only
one working environment, there are no issues with data
transfer and anyone from the drawing office or shop
floor can open a design and extract the information
they require. With a time frame of just 12 weeks, we
have produced full surfaced models, complete electrode
sets and 11 full production mould tools with four major
tool modifications.
‘The development of the ski-mojo has been a
collaboration of aesthetic design, functionality and
manufacturability. The first design included aluminium
die cast parts, but to reduce weight and cost, we are now
using glass filled nylon (GFPA). This is not the only
64 MWP january 2008
change; the bottom straps and seat have been changed
from sewn fabric to polyurethene and the calf support
bracket has been re-designed with the geometry being
twisted by an extra 10 o for an improved body fit.’
Once the CAD data have been prepared, they are
passed directly to the shopfloor for toolpath creation.
‘We have a highly experienced toolroom,; says Chris
Hodgson, Technical Director of Senior & Dickson. ‘We
run multiple seats of VISI Machining running on the
shopfloor next to the Hurco Ultimax machines and
allow the machinists to generate their own toolpaths.
They are closest to the action and this allows them to
make live decisions and have the biggest impact on
machining productivity.’ Since introducing VISI, times
have been reduced by around 30%.
Senior & Dickson offers Kinetic Innovations a one
stop service from product design through to moulding
and full assembly. The moulding shop contains 12
Negri Bossi moulding machines with clamping force
ranges from 70 to 250 tonnes, as well as a number of
pick and place robots.’ Eastwood concludes: ‘Senior &
Dickson removed the pain from design and
manufacture, exactly what the ski-mojo does for skiers’.
Vero Software Plc creates, owns and distributes
software for aiding the design and manufacturing
process in specific sectors of the industry. These include
the design and manufacture of plastic injection moulds,
sheet metal stamping dies, progressive dies, shoe moulds,
electrode production and others. These widespread
product types are in turn to be found in a multitude of
manufacturing industry sectors such as automotive,
electronic, medical, white goods and aerospace. The
company has offices in England, Italy, Japan, France,
Canada, USA and China. VISI now has more than 15,000
users world-wide and over 1,000 Machining
STRATEGIST users. The group now has more than 6,000
users registered for its annual maintenance services and
supplies products to more than 40 countries through its
wholly owned subsidiaries and competence centres.
www.vero-software.com
www.senior-dickson.co.uk
www.skiallday.co.uk
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