For those with limited counterspace, the vertical drying rack is the perfect way to get your baby dishes clean. Keeping the footprint as small as possible, the three-compartment design provides vertical space for storing, hanging, or placing bottles, caps, pacifiers, straws, and more. The form of the rack is intentionally designed to route all water to the drip tray making it easy to clean and a nice addition to the sink space.
OVERVIEW
Services Provided
- Product Experience Design
- Prototyping
- Design for Manufacturing
IDEATION
The initial concepts sought to find the right marriage of form and function. Maximizing the number of pegs required some physical studies of various bottles and accessories. A variety of materials were considered with a goal of keeping the design simple and easy to set up and clean.
REFINEMENT
Once a general direction was selected, the concept underwent a variety of material and detail treatments. Manufacturing considerations drove some decisions such as peg angles, part count, and attachment methods.
PROTOTYPING
Several rounds of prototypes were produced to test the assembly, size, drying performance, fit of bottles/accessories, and balance. The physical parts were also helpful in finding configurations that optimized packing into the retail packaging.
DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING
An MCAD database was developed for full part and assembly definitions. Tolerances were adjusted and tweaks made to improve the manufacturability including forming the pegs with an angled pull in the tooling. Samples were made before and after tooling to fine tune the fit and finish until everyone was happy with the output.
IMPACT
The vertical drying rack has hit countertops around the world and has quickly become a best seller. The capacity, easy-to-clean surfaces, and versatility keep customers (and their babies) happy 🙂
