Ultimaker one of the global leaders in professional 3D printing announced that Quad Lock, an award-winning smartphone-mounting solutions provider from Australia, utilises Ultimaker 3D printing solutions to keep up with the shorter product life cycles of smartphones. For Quad Lock it is key to react quickly when new smartphone models come to market that requires different levels of protection and vibration dampening from a smartphone bike mount.
To stay ahead of the competition, Quad Lock uses 3D printing to speed up the development of new mounts. This led to the development of the award-winning Quad Lock Vibration Dampener, already trusted by millions of bikers worldwide to protect, and stabilize their new smartphones in extreme use conditions such as motorcycling. Imaginables, the partner of Ultimaker in Australia, served as a support partner to Quad Lock delivering various types of Ultimaker 3D printers.
The latest generation of smartphone cameras holds multiple lenses, image stabilisation, and AI software which rivals the sophistication of professional SLR cameras. However, they don’t always stabilize and perform well when mounted on motorcycles that produce high levels of vibration.
To stay leading and have new products in the market quickly that solve these issues, Quad Lock developed flexible research, design and development process that is based on iterating quickly and gather lab and field test feedback almost as quickly as they can design and print a new part. Various types of Ultimaker printers were used to print prototypes strong enough to withstand hours of testing on a vibration test rig, from which the team gathered valuable feedback and data. This resulted in the Quad Lock Vibration Dampener, an innovative smartphone mount that fully protects and stabilizes the newest generation of smartphones models in extreme use conditions.
Speaking about the benefits that the 3D printing solutions helped in speeding up the development of mounts, Chris Peters, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Quad Lock said, “In some instances, it was possible to produce multiple design iterations in a single day, which inspired new levels of creativity and ingenuity in the team. Ultimaker’s 3D printing solutions helped us design a unique product with much lower development costs and time.”
“The quick feedback loops and high strength of the 3D printed physical components allowed us to develop a solution that now serves millions of bikers across the globe. Additive manufacturing technology is here to stay and fully embedded in our design, prototyping and production processes,” adds Peters.
“3D printing has become a genuine transformative business solution and Quad Lock’s award-winning Vibration Dampener project is an exciting proof point. This team has discovered the level of flexibility and sustainable value they can achieve with flexible technologies like 3D printing, which sets the company up for great continued success. They are in a market where things change at a fast clip. Their deployment of 3D printing is exemplary and no doubt one of their keys to continued market leadership”, concludes Jürgen Von Hollen, CEO at Ultimaker.
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