Game, set, and match ... Yorkshire sports equipment firm gets stuck in

The 'Bigminton' shuttlecock

The 'Bigminton' shuttlecock developed by Barnsley-based Echelon Sport. A free two-day, Joining Forces Yorkshire and Humber 'product and process review' revealed that hot-melt adhesive will provide a strong, cost-effective joint between the nylon flights and the polymer foam nose

Through the Joining Forces Yorkshire and Humber technology transfer programme, Barnsley-based Echelon Sport has found a solution to a development problem on a novel product.

Echelon Sport, one of the world's leading shuttlecock manufacturers, is in the early stages of creating 'Bigminton', a scaled-up version of badminton. Using bigger and heavier shuttlecocks, Bigminton is ideal for the park or beach where windy conditions can be a problem for some games.

Echelon felt that their methods for assembling the outsized shuttlecocks could be improved, so the company sought free technical advice through the Joining Forces programme. Materials joining specialist TWI, which has a laboratory and offices in Sheffield, is running the programme.

Echelon Sport asked TWI experts how best to attach the large shuttlecock's nylon flights to the polymer foam nose. A free, two-day product and process review (PPR) followed which concluded that a hot-melt adhesive will provide a strong yet cost-effective joint. Simple dispensing equipment can be used to place adhesive in a recess in the nose, and the flights inserted before the adhesive solidifies. The process is fast, equipment inexpensive to buy and run, and operator training is minimal.

Carried out by a team of materials joining specialists, the impartial PPR allowed Echelon Sport to examine ways of assembling a challenging new product without cost or risk to the company.

Further information on the activities and benefits of the Joining Forces Yorkshire and Humber technology transfer programme for small and medium-sized companies is available from Richard Smith at TWI's Yorkshire Technology Centre on 0114 269 9046 or richard.smith@twi.co.uk Copyright © 2004 TWI Ltd

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