Fast Inflator

2011 - 2012

Senior Designer at ...XYZ Design

Concept Development, Industrial design, Detailed mechanical design, Design for manufacture, testing and validation

Stopak is a manufacturer of solutions to the bulk shipping and cargo industries, manufacturing dunnage bags and bulk liquid containers amongst others. Dunnage bags are large, strong, inflatable envelopes used to secure cargo inside containers. They are positioned between the cargo and then inflated using various inflation systems. As part of Stopak's innovation strategy, they were looking to add value in this space by offering their clients improved tools along with their dunnage bags in order to improve the user experience and make the inflation process faster, safer and more efficient. Along with this, the design needed to accommodate Stopak's current dunnage valve system in order to bridge the gap between the old and new tools without affecting their dunnage bag production schedule.

The current tools at the time were mainly off the shelf solutions, modified to fit the valves on the dunnage bags. Most of these solutions were simply air blower guns with low airflow valves and inaccurate pressure measurement gauges to measure the pressure in the dunnage bags during filling. They were also made of die cast and/or machined aluminium which is expensive to produce at volume. The Stopak fast inflator was developed to tackle these issues and featured the following advancements:

• Increased airflow to speed up the inflation time
• Inclusion of a pressure measurement solution so the user could accurately fill the bags
• Made of durable and tough materials
• Cost effective to manufacture and produce
• Ergonomic and intuitive to use
• Compact and contained construction for durability and to avoid snagging when dragged on the ground
• Designed for the harsh cargo loading environment such as rain, cold and dirt

The resultant design boasts a compact construction made from durable, tough injection moulded nylon that is comfortably held across the length of the product as opposed to the traditional gun format. This kept the design free of protruding features that could get snagged when the inflator is dragged on the ground as well as simplifying the complexity of the parts and assembly. A custom  valve was designed with increased airflow, working in tandem with a venturi system to draw in additional ambient air to maximise the airflow. A unique trigger mechanism was also developed to activate the valve. The trigger mechanism works in a way that lowers the force required to activate the high pressure valve, making it easy for the operator to trigger the airflow and hold it down during inflation. 

To measure the pressure, a bespoke digital pressure gauge was developed with Measurement Limited, an expert pressure gauge company. The pressure gauge runs on two AA batteries, fitted along the barrel of the inflator. The fast inflator design has an IP66  rating and a drop test rating of 2 meters onto concrete. Extensive testing of the valve, IP rating and product durability were done during the inflators development. A special test apparatus was also developed to simulate the drop and drag cycles the product might endure during its service lifetime. Additional accessories were also designed for the inflator, such as the slinky extension, which enabled the user to get access to dunnage bags in tight spaces.