Concept to market for a robust, universal, field drainage intake
The Objective
PDI has an in-house brand of agricultural products, Ag Solutions, which carries a lineup of field drainage and equipment upgrades for farmers in the Midwest and around the country. With so many drainage systems on the market, we sought to develop a “universal” drainage intake which would keep out debris and fit over any existing in-ground inlet.
The Challenge
Several design and manufacturing challenges were present during the 4-year development of the Quick Drain Universal Intake. The parts require strength and durability to stand up to harsh farming environments, and they require complicated structures to enable simple and tool-free assembly in the field.
The Solution
Over the course of several years, PDI engineers designed, prototyped, and iterated on what is now the Quick Drain Universal Intake. We leveraged our design-for-manufacturability expertise to design a product and develop it from concept through production. We began the development by determining the primary product benefits: clog-resistance through our patented drainage concept, easy to assemble without tools, and universal design that can be expandable to meet the customers’ needs.
PDI engineers created design concepts in Solidworks, 3D printed 1:4 scale models of the structure for concept validation, iterated the design, 3D printed full scale models, and tested the completed design. Through this iteration process, we improved the drainage intake qualities and ease-of-assembly before building the mold.
PDI then commissioned the mold to be made by one of our high-quality tooling partners. After producing first articles, we validated that the product met our specifications and launched it on our e-commerce site. The finished product combines injection molded intake panels, a thermoformed lid, and extra-0long ground stakes.
At PDI, we put the same care into ensuring the success of your products that we do for our own. We strive to be not just a supplier, but a manufacturing partner you can count on from product launch throughout production.
Contact us today to learn about how we can partner with your company through your next product launch.