Portfolio Highlights
Pump Studios has experience designing a variety of products:
consumer electronics, household products, medical devices, industrial products, and more.
A sample of our portfolio is listed below. Please click on the thumbnails to learn more about each product and the contributions provided by Pump during the product development process.
MiiR: Bottle
For MiiR's flagship project they turned to Pump for mechanical engineering, documentation, and manufacturing support throughout the development process. We delivered solutions not previously seen in stainless steel water bottles, including a formed recess accommodating a customizable vinyl skin, and a minimal neck height providing a robust seal with just one full turn of the lid.
Though subtle, these details allow the MiiR brand to stand out in a crowded market. In addition, through MiiR’s one4one campaign, every bottle sold provides one person with clean water for an entire year, which made working on the project even more rewarding.
Codonics: Safe Label System
While developing their new Safe Label System, Codonics requested Pump’s assistance to mechanically refine portions of the device. We collaborated with Codonics to reduce the display assembly size and improve the cable routing system. We also incorporated security shutoff switches into the two main doors, which disable the print engine if someone attempts to access the ink cartridge or label roll.
We worked closely with the Codonics team to provide sound mechanical solutions, allowing them to release the product to manufacturing within the aggressive schedule that was paramount for the product success.
Bluelounge: Milo
Bluelounge returned to Pump with a sleek micro-suction smartphone stand design. The engineering challenge was discovering an assembly method that concealed any fasteners, while maintaining a rigid feel. The design also needed to be cost effective to manufacture without compromising the elegant design aesthetic that the Bluelounge brand represents.
We collaborated with Bluelounge to deliver an engineered solution that was tooled from a minimal number of parts. Any tooling impact on the parts and all fasteners were hidden from view once fully assembled, allowing the Milo industrial design to stand out on its own.
Anue Systems: 5288 Net Tool Optimizer
Anue Systems approached Pump for assistance developing a new high density network monitoring switch. This product had a long list of requirements, including hot-swappable components (e.g. input/output trays, fan modules, and power supplies), thermal management, and strict regulatory certification.
Pump worked with Anue throughout the full development cycle, from providing the initial mechanical layout to supporting Anue as they brought the 5288 NTO to market.
Bluelounge: MiniDock
Bluelounge had perfected the industrial design for their MiniDock but was faced with the challenge of making the device manufacturable while maintaining the design aesthetic. The design layout presented challenges with geometry and component locations necessary for product functionality.
We worked with Blue Lounge and their manufacturing partner to streamline the configuration and assembly methods. We designed the part to hide the effects from molding, while keeping the tooling costs low. Since Bluelounge values time to market, we worked efficiently from concept to tooling release to expedite the schedule.
Dell: Latitude E6000 Series
Dell Experience Design Group (EDG) wanted to showcase true materials in their E6000 series using a solid magnesium frame surrounding the display and base, but their manufacturing partners kept saying "It can't be done" and wanted to break the frames into multiple parts. So Dell turned to Pump.
Working with Dell and their manufacturing partners, we designed a solution that maintained the material integrity and visual appeal, while also being manufacturable in high volume. The solution combined molded magnesium with knock-out inserts and secondary T-cutters to produce internal component pockets in the solid frames. The result is a product family that is durable and elegant for Dell's business customers.
Dell: Latitude E6000 Series
Dell Experience Design Group was under time constraints to deliver master control surface CAD databases to their manufacturing partners in the proper format (Pro/Engineer). Pump provided these deliverables for Dell by creating top-down, parametric, CAD assembly databases for each product in the E6000 series family. These databases were used directly by the manufacturing partners to create the final engineering files, thus allowing Dell EDG to maintain control over their industrial design direction without limiting the downstream development.
AccuQuilt: GO! Baby Fabric Cutter
Following the positive customer response to their GO! fabric cutter, AccuQuilt returned to Pump looking to make a smaller, lighter, and lower cost version of GO! We worked with AccuQuilt and their industrial design partner to simplify the product construction, reduce part count, and source new materials to bring the GO! Baby into the product family.
We provided mechanical design and engineering support throughout the entire development process, from the initial mechanical architectural to on-site oversight of tooling approval and production ramp-up in Asia.
IDSA: DIY Conference Display
Pump Studios developed an interactive business card exchange for the 2010 IDSA conference in Portland Oregon. The theme for the conference was Do-It-Yourself (DIY), and Portland is known for its bike friendly culture. To capture these themes, we leveraged bicycle drive trains and parts donated from local bike shops as the heart of our mechanism. In the spirit of the DIY theme we built and assembled everything by hand.
Chilly-Billy Ice Compress
Chilly-Billy came to Pump with a visual design and a manufacturing partner, but they wanted analysis to verify that their ice compress worked better than the common method of filling plastic bags with ice and securing them with plastic wrap or gauze bandages.
We researched suitable insulating materials that protected the ice from external heat, while still cooling the desired locations. We also optimized the ice chamber to provide the convenience of accepting a standard bag of ice. We delivered these results, along with our recommended construction layout, directly to the manufacturer to maintain their schedule.
AccuQuilt: GO! Fabric Cutter
AccuQuilt was in the process of re-launching itself as an entirely new brand. With the GO! fabric cutter as their flagship product, the company was entering a new market.
Pump worked closely with the industrial designers and the internal team at AccuQuilt throughout the development cycle, providing mechanical architectural layouts, technical proof-of-concept prototypes, materials selection, and production ramp-up support. With our proactive approach, we were able to identify and solve problems early without compromising the aggressive development schedule.
AccuQuilt: GO! Fabric Cutter
The AccuQuilt GO! received the Best Innovations award at the 2009 Crafts & Hobby Association Winter Trade Show and was recognized as an IDEA finalist in the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards sponsored by IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America) and BusinessWeek.
Key Ingredient: Demy
While developing this kitchen-safe recipe reader, Key Ingredient engaged Pump to retrofit functional electronics into dissimilar prototype plastics for a trade show only two weeks away.
After the successful trade-show results, we embarked on a full mechanical product redesign; we tailored Demy to the rugged, real world, kitchen environment of spills, smudges, and countertop drops. With a sales deadline only six months away, we worked closely with Key Ingredient and their Demy development team to offer time-saving solutions that didn't compromise quality.
UpSpring Baby: Night Knight
Night Knight is a motion sensing pod that monitors your infant's movements during their sleep. Pump provided UpSpring with full mechanical engineering support during the product development. We partnered seamlessly with the industrial design, electrical engineering, and manufacturing teams already designing Night Knight with UpSpring. Through this team collaboration, we catered the design to the capabilities of Night Knight's manufacturer, thus reducing build costs and speeding time to market.
UpSpring Baby: Night Knight
Since this device is worn by infants, we had to ensure that all elements of the design met environmental and safety requirements. We consulted safety regulators to understand choking hazards, material selection, and permissible attachment methods.
Our final design was optimized for size around standard, replaceable batteries. The assembled device minimized seams and avoided sharp edges, while still providing an aesthetically pleasing form. We invented a soft, no-fuss clip that attaches easily to the infant's clothing and meets the biocompatibility regulations for products that come into contact with skin.
Sonic Golf: System-1
Yale physicist Dr. Robert Grober approached Pump with a product concept that used audio biofeedback to improve the rhythm of golf swings. He needed help evolving his concept into a high-volume, production-ready solution.
We initially delivered a detailed product development schedule and a proof-of-concept prototype suitable for electronics testing and fund-raising. Based on the success of our initial contributions, Dr. Grober asked Pump to continue supporting Sonic Golf's mechanical engineering needs through detail design, testing, and into production.
Sonic Golf: System-1
"The golf swing is a very violent process."
These words, stated by Dr. Grober on many occasions, stayed with us throughout the mechanical development. Our main challenge was designing an enclosure that fit inside the limited space of a standard golf club, while still protecting the electronics during real-world swings. We used a combination of theoretical analysis, multiple prototypes (built from various rapid prototyping processes), and physical testing to optimize the mechanical design and deliver a mechanical solution that even golf pros like Vijay Singh have praised.
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MiiR
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Codonics
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Bluelounge
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Anue Systems
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Bluelounge
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Dell
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AccuQuilt
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IDSA
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Chilly-Billy
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AccuQuilt
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Key Ingredient
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UpSpring Baby
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Sonic Golf
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Highlights