Before and After
Beautiful examples of successful products reimagined
by Robert DeFelice & Associates
Before
After, Award-winning design
Robert DeFelice & Associates was asked to create a high visibility, high value image for Advanced Instruments' first, fully automatic osmometer, A2O, to replace the former Model 3900.
Our award-winning design is a sleek, sculpted instrument with significant ergonomic benefits for lab personnel including a counter-balanced, easy-lift window for loading and unloading samples, on-board cleaning solutions, easy-to-use display, and convenient, top-access printer. Our easy-to-manufacture, A2O design features multiple RIM (reaction injection molding) urethane parts and formed polycarbonate window that is bonded to its frame with adhesive hidden behind our blue accent trim.
"You're our industrial designer," said Advanced Instruments CEO after learning of the design award from Appliance Design in its 2013 Excellence in Design review.
We provided a complete package of handsome styling, efficient mechanical packaging of internal components with minimum fasteners, engineering of the counterbalanced mechanism, 3D and 2D DFMA documentation and vendor recommendations.
Before, Orion2
After, sleek Orion3
Robert DeFelice & Associates (RDA) created sleek products and systems for 5 divisions of Thermofisher Scientific since 1990. (Thermokeytek, Thermodetection, Thermobaird, Thermoelemental, and Thermeditec).
Thermokeytek asked RDA to create Orion3, a new, 21st Century image for Orion2, one of its integrated circuit (IC) test instruments. All functional components in Orion2 would be retained but Thermo requested easier access to the test head (on top) which was accessed through a hinged corner of a rectangular, transparent hood.
Our sleek solutions included a new, 2-piece hood with counterbalanced, hinged, beveled front door that flowed down into the upper bevel of the molded plastic door. The door is pressure formed and includes a recess for application of Thermofisher's corporate blue accent color. User controls, which included an E-switch (emergency off) were now conveniently positioned on the front compared to its former, side-mounted location.
We provided a complete package of handsome styling, mechanical engineering for the pressure formed door and transparent plastic hood, related sheet metal parts, redesign of sheet metal parts, packaging of internal components, COTS components, DFMA 3D and 2D manufacturing documentation and vendor recommendations.
"Working with Bob and his team was fast, easy, and good price," complimented Thermofisher VP R&D.
Before, test module
After, sleek and portable
Parker asked Robert DeFelice & Associates to create a handsome, portable air quality testing device, CAMTU, based on science developed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. CAMTU is an acronym for "compressed air microbial test unit" that includes a Petri dish with agar, a chemical that encourages airborne bacterial growth. CAMTU is opened after a short period of time of air pumped through CAMTU, the Petri dish is removed and examined for any bacterial growth.
Our sleek designs incorporated a comfortable handle that seamlessly flowed into the compressed hemisphere over the Petri dish. Additionally, we introduced polypropylene and its singular benefit of molded-in snap latch and integral hinge which eliminated secondary, locking hardware and maintained a consistent, clean, laboratory fit and finish. CAMTU's "living hinge" is also a molded-in, polypropylene benefit that eliminated metal hinges. Parker's logo is smoothly engaged on the hemisphere.
We also designed CAMTU's AAA battery-powered timer that fits in CAMTU's handle and blinks a red LED telling lab technicians when to remove the Petri dish. The timer's enclosure is also molded in one piece polypropylene with integral hinge and snap latch. See the timer in Parker's file in Biotechnology Products.
We provided an industrial design package of handsome styling, mechanical engineering of the molded plastic parts, packaging of the internal components (PCB, battery contacts and AAA battery), and 3D and 2D DFMA documentation.
Before
After, Rugged and Attractive
Sears Craftsman purchased and branded electric chipper shredders from Flowtron, a manufacturer of home care products. This product and a smaller, portable chipper shredder, also designed by Robert DeFelice & Associates (RDA), were sold at Sears stores throughout the United States.
Flowtron asked RDA to redesign an electric chipper shredder to increase sales appeal that Flowtron was manufacturing for Sears. Our sleek redesign solution included a larger blow molded hopper for leaves and small brush and an injection molded hood over the electric motor. The hopper's large opening was easier to load and was carefully designed for convenient sweeping of leaves and debris into the hopper when the chipper-shredder was tilted backward with the hopper's rear lip on the ground. A steel side chute was ergonomically angled for inserting branches up to 2" diameter for chipping. Comfortable, tubular steel handle allowed easy pushing across lawn and smooth surfaces. All features were easy to clean and maintain. The side discharge chute accommodated a fabric bag. Wheels were COTS.
We provided a complete package of handsome styling, mechanical engineering for the low cost, blow molded hopper, injection molded motor cover, tubular handle and chipper chute, and DFMA manufacturing documentation.
Before, separate components
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After, fully integrated system
iCAD asked Robert DeFelice & Associates to create a sleek, high visibility, integrated mammogram digitizer utilizing the previous, separate components: scanner, keyboard, monitor. Plus, include a bin to collect film mammograms after scanning.
Our high value solution includes two pressure formed front bezels, to minimize tooling costs and accelerate prototyping, separated by the keyboard in a slide-out drawer with another pressure formed front. The LCD is housed in a sleek, silver bezel, also pressure formed, which hinged open to access any mammogram film caught in the digitizer (scanner). The mammogram scanner and keyboard structure are mounted to a single aluminum plate which is also the rear panel of the. Aluminum plate was also used for its stability feet.
"You've taken us up to the next level," iCAD's CEO complimented me.
We provided a complete package of handsome styling solutions, efficient mechanical engineering for all of the molded plastic parts, all related structural components, COTS fasteners, DFMA 3D and 2D documentation, and vendor recommendations.
Before, DV-1
After, DV II Pro
Brookfield Engineering asked Robert DeFelice & Associates to redesign its DV-I viscometer for improved sales appeal and lower manufacturing cost. Its line of viscometers was very plain sheet metal boxes with simple, basic membrane switches panel.
Our sleek solution was a smooth, curved bezel with improved ergonomic GUI membrane keypad design. The sheet metal cover looks similar to the older viscometer but we simplified its internal hardware by reducing the number of parts and fasteners, resulting in faster assembly, lower manufacturing costs, and easier maintenance.
Our second successful collaboration with Brookfield was to create the DV-II Pro, above, a more advanced viscometer with enhanced user features including an updated GUI membrane keypad. The Pro includes an exalted, refined, sculptured appearance that resulted in increased sales and customer satisfaction. Similar to the DV-I, the Pro is assembled with fewer parts and fasteners that resulted in faster, easier assembly, lower manufacturing costs, and easier maintenance.
We provided a complete package of handsome styling, efficient mechanical engineering for the low cost, injection molded bezels, packaging of the electronics, minimum COTS fasteners, all DFMA 3D and 2D documentation, and vendor recommendations
"You guys do good work," Brookfield's president complimented me.
Before
After, sleek, efficient
Zymark asked Robert DeFelice & Associates (RDA) to redesign its 96-well plate handler which consisted of sheet metal and stainless steel parts that lacked sales appeal, did not look state-of-the-art and was expensive to manufacture. The plate handler managed up to 10 microplates that were loaded individually by a lab technician between stainless steel rods; an easier, more efficient loading method was needed,
"Whenever we needed industrial design help, I said 'Call Bob,'" said Zymark VP Business Development.
Our sleek solution for Zymark's new Twister replaced all visual sheet metal with a handsome, 2-piece, pressure formed housing for the base, with integral handles for portability, and a high-visibility, also pressure formed, cylindrical tower enclosing the rotating robot that picked a 96-well plate from the loading stack and placed it on the (other company's) lab instrument. The 2-piece tower was molded flat, 2 halves, then cut, trimmed, bonded together, and assembled around the robot. We further created a portable, extruded aluminum carrier, similar to a large pitcher, that accommodated 10 plates that could be pre-loaded and installed onto Twister easily and quickly. A second carrier was used to stack plates that were picked off the adjacent (other company's) instrument. Twister was easy to clean and maintain.
"Nice job, Bob. When you start with a clean piece of paper, this is what you get," said Zymark's chief science officer referring to RDA's 10-plate carrier solution.
We provided a complete package of handsome styling, mechanical engineering for the pressure formed, 2-piece base (bottom and top cover), pressure formed robot cylinder, extruded aluminum carrier, related internal sheet metal parts, packaging of internal components, COTS carrier handle and fasteners, 3D and 2D DFMA documentation and vendor recommendations.
