Case Studies

AO-ES: A Redesign Of An Industry Standard

Project Details

Timeline: 2022

A Branded Product That Wining Over New Customers

The team at AO-ES was seeking to change the design of a legacy product, the welding power cable connector, due to its danger in the field. The goal was to make the product lock but maintain a bit of the same look. Why? Because, the welding industry, by nature, is old school, but they like when products make their life easier and are durable to stand up to rough environments. So we started came up a design that provided redundant locking measures for safety and maintaining durability but also attracted curiosity of new users. Now, when a customer uses the AO Connector, they begin to feel trust from increase safety and durability, but ultimately they become embedded in the brand because of the recognizable branded colors and that trust. The brand’s mission of safety and curious function attracts the customer, then the safety and durability keeps them loyal. This is ideal product development.

A Plastic Matrix to Handle The Heat (And The Current)

We mixed up the plastics to be hard when they need to be (nylon PA6) and durable where they would have the most exposure (polypropylene with enforcing additives). They become UV and saltwater resistant and pass any test you throw at them after hardener, UV and saltwater additives are included in the plastic matrix along with the color. This was a big time plastic victory here too with the injection molds costing under $30,000.

Driving Safety with a Passion

These connectors are the bee’s-knee’s when it comes to functionality and safety. The CEO was obsessed with safety after learning the industry standard for electrocution deaths on an industrial welding jobsite, so these connectors lock instead of fall apart! And so do the rest of the lockout mechanisms AO-ES sells.

Testing Other Legacy Manufacturers Out Of The Market.

That’s right, AO-ES.com are the only connectors that lock and have non-corrosive metals. We switched up our set pin from Tin coated iron (the industry standard) to stainless steel because, surprise, like aluminum and steel, tin and brass will corrode after cyclical testing, aka prolonged exposure to the elements. These state-of-the-art connectors passed the ISO 9227 testing with FLYING colors compared to the other connectors we tested. And that’s not all. After all designs were put into product, variable current flow tests across voltage ranges proved to meet legacy connector outputs. No bottlenecks were created in the development of this product.

A Supply Chain Gold Medal

One of the biggest benefits to this whole product development plan is… the supply chain for these plastic and metallic components as well as final assembly are in such close proximity, the logistics between them are free! With the increased price of the mechanism, this was a huge cost savings for our clients. We rocked this sourcing strategy from our Hong Kong supply base. We really couldn’t have executed this any better. Except if the boxes weren’t sourced from India, but that’s more negligible since they are so lightweight.