Baggage trolleys and Carts
Industrial design, Consumer goods, Cost-effective, Structural design, Ergonomics
We had a scope to develop economical and ultra-low weight trolleys and carts, yet it should also meet safety requirements and Payload capacity. Our target was to reduce the cost by 40-45% of the existing product line to develop an economic model.
Our approach towards an economic model was to segregate the cost of manufacturing, fabricating, machining, cutting, and tooling of each component used in trolleys and carts. We initially had no clue on how to reduce the cost with 150 Kg payload and the standard test criteria which says the trolley needs to pass all durability and safety requirements without which our client will not be in a position to bid for the project.
A conventional approach towards such a scenario is to reduce the weight of the structure substantially by removing material, but this could also have an impact with durability and crash tests which has to be performed to certify the product for bidding. We made several iterations of design to cut down costs on various components, but when summed up the value was no less than 15% of the existing product line. And finally, we had an intention to give up on the project.
Inorder to achieve very low noise levels the enclosure would become thicker and heavier and thus increasing the weight of the enclosure while placing emphasis on weight of the enclosure will yield light-weight enclosure but poor acoustic capabilities. Weighing parameters were put in place and compared with data from analysis to design an optimal enclosure.
A lot of human factors were considered during the development phase to abide by safety requirements, ergonomics, ease of replacement and repair. In the end, we were able to fully satisfy all testing requirements and simultaneously achieve a cut down on production costs to 36%.
