Altair Case Studies Innovative Design in Child Safety: A Case Study on Evenflo's Use of IoT

	Innovative Design in Child Safety: A Case Study on Evenflo's Use of IoT Altair

Innovative Design in Child Safety: A Case Study on Evenflo's Use of IoT

Altair

Technology Category	Sensors - Autonomous Driving Sensors
Applicable Industries	Automotive Equipment & Machinery
Applicable Functions	Product Research & Development
Use Cases	Onsite Human Safety Management Smart Parking
Services	Hardware Design & Engineering Services
Challenge	Evenflo, a global leader in the development of innovative infant equipment, was faced with the challenge of making child safety simple with innovative and easy-to-use products. The company aimed to achieve this through a combination of engineering and industrial design. The key consideration in the design process was safety, but ease of use and cost control were also important factors. The immediate challenge was to redesign a car seat release handle, a crucial part that secures the seat shell to a seat base or a stroller. The goal of the redesign was to improve the styling and maintain the ease of use while maintaining or reducing the cost relative to the current part. Read More
About Customer	Evenflo is a worldwide leader in the development of innovative infant equipment with over 85 years of experience. The company's product range includes car seats, strollers, high chairs, play yards, and activity products designed to meet the needs of children from birth to the pre-school years. Safety is the key consideration in Evenflo's design process, but ease of use and cost control are also important factors. The company is constantly seeking ways to improve its products, both in terms of functionality and design, to ensure the safety and comfort of children. Read More
Solution	Evenflo incorporated solidThinking Inspire into their design process to generate early concept designs and assist the product co-development by engineering and ID departments. To use Inspire, the team needed a package space and a set of static loads for the release handle. As this was a replacement part, the package space was easy to create with a simplified version of the current part in Pro-E. The crash and abuse loads that the handle may see during its life are dynamic, meaning equivalent static loads needed to be developed. The initial Inspire results showed potential for a 30% mass and material reduction. The design was then developed in CAD and validated using standard corporate procedures. A FDM rapid prototype was built for stroller and sled testing. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Sensors - Autonomous Driving Sensors

Applicable Industries

Automotive

Equipment & Machinery

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Onsite Human Safety Management

Smart Parking

Services

Hardware Design & Engineering Services

Challenge

Evenflo, a global leader in the development of innovative infant equipment, was faced with the challenge of making child safety simple with innovative and easy-to-use products. The company aimed to achieve this through a combination of engineering and industrial design. The key consideration in the design process was safety, but ease of use and cost control were also important factors. The immediate challenge was to redesign a car seat release handle, a crucial part that secures the seat shell to a seat base or a stroller. The goal of the redesign was to improve the styling and maintain the ease of use while maintaining or reducing the cost relative to the current part.

About Customer

Evenflo is a worldwide leader in the development of innovative infant equipment with over 85 years of experience. The company's product range includes car seats, strollers, high chairs, play yards, and activity products designed to meet the needs of children from birth to the pre-school years. Safety is the key consideration in Evenflo's design process, but ease of use and cost control are also important factors. The company is constantly seeking ways to improve its products, both in terms of functionality and design, to ensure the safety and comfort of children.

Solution

Evenflo incorporated solidThinking Inspire into their design process to generate early concept designs and assist the product co-development by engineering and ID departments. To use Inspire, the team needed a package space and a set of static loads for the release handle. As this was a replacement part, the package space was easy to create with a simplified version of the current part in Pro-E. The crash and abuse loads that the handle may see during its life are dynamic, meaning equivalent static loads needed to be developed. The initial Inspire results showed potential for a 30% mass and material reduction. The design was then developed in CAD and validated using standard corporate procedures. A FDM rapid prototype was built for stroller and sled testing.

Impact #1	The use of solidThinking Inspire in the design process offered a common visual language for engineering and ID, showing where structure needs to be. This facilitated easy integration with current design tools and processes. The results from Inspire also enabled some less measurable benefits. The engineering design team was able to see load paths for the design in Inspire before exporting to Pro-E. This helped improve the boxy appearance of the current part, and provided a starting point for discussions with ID to ensure the delivery of style and function. The awareness of Inspire has grown within Evenflo and future projects will apply Inspire from inception, extending its use beyond car seats to gates, strollers, and high chairs.

Impact #1

The use of solidThinking Inspire in the design process offered a common visual language for engineering and ID, showing where structure needs to be. This facilitated easy integration with current design tools and processes. The results from Inspire also enabled some less measurable benefits. The engineering design team was able to see load paths for the design in Inspire before exporting to Pro-E. This helped improve the boxy appearance of the current part, and provided a starting point for discussions with ID to ensure the delivery of style and function. The awareness of Inspire has grown within Evenflo and future projects will apply Inspire from inception, extending its use beyond car seats to gates, strollers, and high chairs.

Benefit #1	Inspire provided a new way to look at part design
Benefit #2	The design created was 25% lighter and more cost-effective than the part it replaced
Benefit #3	Potential for a 30% mass and material reduction was identified

Benefit #1

Inspire provided a new way to look at part design

Benefit #2

The design created was 25% lighter and more cost-effective than the part it replaced

Benefit #3

Potential for a 30% mass and material reduction was identified

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Overview

Innovative Design in Child Safety: A Case Study on Evenflo's Use of IoT

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit