Proto Labs® and the Perfect Stormflex™

In an average day, the average commuter is bombarded with thousands of advertising messages, most of which adorn the sides of haulage trucks and buildings and hoardings alongside main roads and busy junctions. As we rush to work we may not give them a second glance, but the technology used to hang and secure enormous graphic displays through even the worst of weather has recently taken an evolutionary leap forward. Sam Cook is founder and managing director of Urban Storm, the company that is now responsible for securing many of the UK's outdoor advertising graphic displays. The challenge, says Sam, was to transform the traditional paper & paste billboards and to deliver an increased value site by improving the quality of the display; replacing many sheets of paper with one piece, digitally printed on a recyclable substrate. The aim was also to eliminate the need for ladders, to meet new health and safety requirements. Once an initial design for the new system was finalised, Sam turned his attention to creating a working prototype to test the concept. Part of the system requires injection-moulded clips that clamp the fabric to a tensioned cable. In his search for a suitable manufacturing specialist, Sam came across the Proto Labs website and soon after, met the team. "We knew we needed to develop the new system using physical prototypes. When we found Proto Labs I was really impressed with their fast delivery and with the simplicity of their process. We'd anticipated getting a basic prototype made within weeks, not days. We were also very impressed that we could have the prototype product in the same material we intended to use for the production version." The new fixing solution worked with cables and a cam-like clip, which when clicked into place, provided the necessary grip allowing tension to be applied to the cable, pulling the creases out of the poster. The cam had to be in exactly the right place to provide an adequate griping force without damaging the substrate. "It took us quite a few attempts to get right," says Sam. To meet minimum UK wind regulations each clip had to withstand a force of 90kg. "We'd test a prototype clip for loading and if it didn't meet the standard, we'd adjust the design and have Firstcut make another." There were several things Sam particularly liked about Firstcut's service. "Firstly, that we could order individual parts and that we could place our order via the online FirstQuote™ system. We often picked up the phone and talked to someone at the company, but the online system was very interactive. The other thing I liked was the quick turnaround. We were able to develop our ideas at such a rapid rate! The whole process of getting the final system prototype only took about 2 months from start to finish."