Tecni-Form provided constant support whatever the subject was: manufacturing, design or prototyping – Mr Hesnard, Director of Baby Point

Baby Point Ltd is the main provider of baby changing facilities for mainstream retailers, shopping centres, airports and leading attractions in the UK. Baby Point Ltd has tasked Tecni-Form with the design and manufacture of a wall mounted baby changing table with a high load-bearing capabilities (upto 125kgs) and an antibacterial surface to meet health and safety regulations.

The first wall mounted baby changing tables developed by Baby Point and Tecni-Form, optimised the available space even in small washrooms and are an extremely well engineered products complying with both safety and hygiene regulations

Outstanding Strength and Hygiene by Design – The Solution

To achieve sufficient strength it is essential that the right resin was selected. The Tecni-Form team suggested a high rigidity polypropylene for the rotational moulding process, the first time this polymer has been used for this application.

Furthermore, to both guarantee strength under load and provide a hinge system for wall mounting, an assembly of reinforcing steel is moulded into the cantilever style structure with the durable rotomoulded hollow moulding filled with a rigid PU foam.

Hygiene is another important factor that needs to be taken into account at the design stage. Polypropylene offers higher hygiene standards than the medium or high density polyethylene used for other makes of baby changing tables. With its polished surface it is easy to maintain and by adding anti-microbial additive to the polypropylene compound it provides outstanding hygiene and guards against bacterial spread.

The new baby changing table has met all of the technical & market expectations thanks to very strong support from the Tecni-Form team – Mr Hesnard, Director of Baby Point Ltd

Baby Point Ltd is the main provider of baby changing facilities for mainstream retailers, shopping centres, airports and leading attractions in the UK. Over the last 15 years, the company has developed its range of baby changing products with Tecni-Form as its manufacturing partner. When Baby Point decided to launch a brand new mobile all-in-one commercial baby changing table to meet new market trends, it was no surprise that they reached out to the Tecni-Form team as their products required technical expertise from design stage to manufacturing.

Summary of the Product Requirements – The Challenge

Tecni-Form Delivering Engineering Excellence – The Solution

The new portable baby changing table is assembled from six polyethylene and one polypropylene rotomoulded parts with high dimensional accuracy. The design incorporates optional components, such as bins and lockable castors, with all assembly carried out by Baby Point to customers’ individual specifications.

The stylishly formed baby changing cradle is manufactured from a new grade of high impact polypropylene, the weight being supported by the base structure. To achieve the necessary rigidity without metal reinforcement, the new CAD design was modelled using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and incorporates a number of invisible moulded features to enhance the necessary support to the structure.   

The design with its polished surfaces and rounded edges, ensures a safe and comfortable environment for babies, and this is enhanced by the cradle incorporating an anti-microbial additive to increase hygiene standards further.

The flexibility of Tecni-Form’s rotomoulding process enables rapid colour changes giving the option to supply even single batches in any colour, say to match corporate or authority identity.

The renowned retailers, Clarks, approached Designworks to develop a ground-breaking idea, which centred on the use of an Apple iPad, as part of a new, interactive, foot measurement platform for children’s shoes.

Tasked with the manufacture of an innovative foot measuring device for Clarks’ shoe stores, Tecni-Form perfected a rotational moulding and finishing process for a rugged, load-bearing product with outstanding surface quality and dimensional accuracy. The main foot plate component is produced to dimensional tolerances that are unusually low, for a rotationally moulded shape, and matches the brilliant white, gloss finish of the Apple iPad, which locates inside it.

Chris Flatt, Designworks’ Head of Manufacturing, explains: “We knew that the main body of the foot gauge would be difficult to produce. For a ‘weighton’ component like this we needed a process that would ensure a uniform wall thickness throughout the moulding, to guarantee strength under load.

“Tecni-Form were absolutely brilliant. Their enthusiasm for the project and contribution to getting the design spot on for the production process were outstanding” – Chris Flatt, Head of Manufacturing.