BDI member has recently helped Swiss company Tricouni to develop a new crampon device called TRIGS (Tricouni Gripping System), which is aimed at bridging the gap between technical climbing crampons and everyday walking grip aid products.
The TRIGS crampon attaches to the bottom of shoes or boots to increase grip on slippery surfaces. Its modular design allows different lengths of spikes or nails to be fitted, depending on the conditions underfoot.
Tricouni had already made a prototype when they went to Canard, but their idea needed more detailed design to make sure the product would work and could be manufactured. The main challenge was to find the right material ‒ properties change at low temperatures and it needed to remain flexible at temperatures down to -30 or -40 degrees. Weight had to be kept to a minimum whilst achieving suitable strength for mountaineering. It also needed to be adjustable to fit as few sizes as possible (ie S, M, L).
Canard worked closely with a mechanical engineer and a materials specialist to refine the design in collaboration Tricouni’s owner, Jean Sen (an accomplished mountaineer). They balanced potential improvements against the requirements of the client to achieve the optimum solution, combining his extensive knowledge of mountaineering with their design and product knowledge.
They carried out finite element analysis to evaluate the strength of the designs and see how they could be further improved. FEA data highlighted where material needed to be added and where material could be removed to save on weight and materials costs. The resulting design combines a good use of materials with mechanically designed adjustment features in the centre of the crampons to make adjustment simple, quick and easy to do.
“Canard Design applied their engineering knowledge to significantly improve our initial design. They also provided us with great visuals and 3D renderings for our marketing and communication plan. I definitely plan to work with them again,” says Jean Sen.
Contact: Simon Hobbs, MD, Canard Design
+44 (0)116 279 6532,
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