Consolidated Power Supply for Hand Held Power Tools
Within the construction industry there are multiple sectors which require the continual use of power tools. This includes drills, nail guns, screw guns and power saws. A number of professions within the construction industry such as joiners, shop-fitters and kitchen-fitters require many different tasks to be carried out daily which means continually switching between tools. With each of these power tools there is a battery or a number of batteries and a charging kit. Having all this equipment means the user must carry with them several different batteries at one time and they must also ensure that each of these is charged before entering the work place. If they forget to charge them prior to their working hours they must then also carry with them the charging equipment before completing any tasks. From this problem area an opportunity for innovation emerged.
The aim of this project was to design a product that will allow construction workers and regular power tool users to carry with them a set of power tools that can be powered from a single battery.
Once the problem area was identified, explored, analysed and defined, market research was carried out to analyse competitor products and make an evaluation of the market size. This allowed for a primary and secondary target market to be identified.
Concept Generation
Due to the nature of the design, concept generation was divided into two stages; the first stage to generate ideas of where the battery would be positioned on the user's body and the second stage to determine how the power would be transfered from the battery to the power tool in the user's hand. This took place in the form of 3-3-5 which produced a range of concepts for both the battery pack and the hand transfer.
Evaluation
These concepts were then evaluated using a weighting & rating matrix, dot sticking and prototype testing allowing the strongest concept to be identified.
Testing of current tools was carried out which highlighted the requirements of such tools allowing for appropriate calculations and circuit design to be completed.
Further Development & Detail Design
With a final concept selected, further testing of prototypes resulted in modifications to both the glove design itself and power transfer. The project then moved into the detail design stages, involving material and component selection as well as 3D modelling of the battery pack, hand transfer/glove and manufacturing methods.
The product designed allows power tool users to power multiple tools from a single battery pack, which can be safely stored around the user’s waist. The connecting mechanism designed means that it can be easily applied to a wide range of battery operated tools with simple modifications to the injection moulded casings without the need for complex fastenings or whole re-design of the tools within the market. The glove designed gives the user full movement and grip of the hand by keeping all electronics away from the palm and is suitable for both right or left handed users. Testing of existing batteries and appropriate cell selection allowed a new larger battery pack to be designed that can last up to three times that of an existing lithium-ion power tool battery. A prototype was built and tested proving the ease of use and functionality of the design. The design proposed was also reviewed and validated by a leading hardware & DIY store manager.
