Kelvyn GmbH

7 Jun

The world has changed significantly since Covid-19. Doctors offices and hospitals around the world are working tirelessly to roll-out vaccinations to the public.
This situation has given rise to greater challenges within the health and pharmaceutical industries, as well as to the storage and logistical requirements of sensitive materials such as vaccines. Start-up’s Kelvyn GmbH, together with NBT AG (Next Big Thing), designed an IOT solution (Internet of Things), so that refrigerated environments can be OTA monitored (Over the Air), and the efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out can be maintained. Even improved.

With their hardware in hand, they were almost ready to go to market. One small, key component was missing however, an attractive casing to deliver their product. It was too soon and expensive to jump straight to injection moulding, so they turned to iterator.de to find a small-batch, 3d printed solution…

“We had a printable design for our casing, and we really needed to reach volume quickly.
we saw iterator.de online and got in touch, and we were nicely surprised that not only could they print for us, but also optimise our casing for faster production and assembly. the cherry on the top is they can get us ready for injection molding too.
We Have never seen a company like this!”.

— Michael Bruck (CEO Kelvyn GmbH)

STEP ONE.
LEARN.

“Michael contacted me with a simple request for printing a small batch of casings they had designed in-house with NBT AG. There were no special requirements other than light coloured filaments needing to be used for this order, so we got right to it.

I put together an offer quickly and it was approved shortly thereafter. Once the batch of casings was ready for delivery I arranged a meeting time so that I could drop them off in person.

As Michael and I sat and talked about their product and what their goals were, it became clear to me that Kelvyn GmbH were preparing a ramp to market, and 3d printed casings were just a stepping stone along their way.

We had analysed their casing design before meeting with them and noted several features that were designed for injection moulding. Michael mentioned that he would prefer to have a casing with less screws and he wanted the casing to look a little more attractive.

Up until this point we had only printed for Kelvyn GmbH, but when I mentioned the full scope of our services and abilities in technical product design, he quickly offered us the chance to take over the casing design and development. We were more than happy to help.

With ideas primed in my head and ready to go, we fared each other well, and it was back to the studio for myself. It was time to get these ideas constructed in CAD.”

— Cameron at iterator.de

Cameron meeting with Michael Bruck from Kelvyn GmbH

New casing prototype rendered in CAD and ready for printing

STEP TWO.
iterate.

“There were a few simple constraints surrounding the design of the casing for Kelvyn. Less screws. Water resistant, and a better looking design. To speed things up, Kelvyn gave us access to some of their CAD data which included a STEP file of the current sensor hardware, as well as a current version of their full hardware to make testing efficient and precise.

First we designed a simple sliding lid mechanism with a flange to secure it with a screw. Breather ports were also added for the temperature sensor, and we made sure that the hardware wouldn’t rattle around inside. We printed a test piece and tried it out with the hardware provided. After a few more minor tweaks, we perfected the design and presented it findings to Kelvyn. They were really happy with the result.

The hardware team also gave their feedback and requested if it was possible to move the screw away from the general area of the antenna. With some quick-thinking, we suggested we do away with the screw altogether and opt for a clip connection between the casing and lid. It was a welcomed idea. The hardware team also requested we make preparations of the incoming USB-C port for charging capability. Not a problem for iterator.de!

We tweaked the final design and sent some 3D renderings to Kelvyn. We also sent some test pieces immediately to confirm my design at their end. Everything fitted perfectly. The time had come for small batch production!

— Cameron at iterator.de

STEP THREE.
PRODUCE.

“Included in our fleet of 3D printers at iterator.de, we have a small fleet of Prusa Mini’s which are perfect for a project like this. They offer exceptional reliability, while producing high quality prints day after day.

With the first batch of casings shipped away to Kelvyn GmbH, they got back to me not only to tell me how pleased they were, but also to ask if we could do a new designed iteration of the casing in preparation for making the jump to injection moulding!

It was a true pleasure getting to meet Michael from Kelvyn GmbH, and we look forward to continuing to help ramp their product to market quickly and economically. This was a great opportunity to be able to provide our full range of technical and creative services, in a local B2B environment.

Thank you for reaching out to iterator.de Michael! We really enjoyed learning about your IOT monitoring solution and being able to help you ramp to large scale production. You guys have an exciting future ahead of you!”.

— Cameron at iterator.de