Nutty Buddy Flex Athletic Cup Ntchito Yaikulu: Chotchinjiriza cha Masewera Othamanga by Dosun Shin and Mark Littell is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2017 Mphoto ya Chitsulo ya A' Design Award in Mapangidwe a Zovala Zotchingira ndi Zipangizo Zotetezera Competition Category.
ChitsuloZipangizo Zotetezera· 2017
Nutty Buddy Flex Athletic Cup Ntchito Yaikulu: Chotchinjiriza cha Masewera Othamanga
by Dosun Shin and Mark Littell
Client: Battle Sports Science
Mphoto ya Chitsulo ya A' Design Award Winner in Zipangizo Zotetezera Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #55726The Design
About Nutty Buddy Flex Athletic Cup Ntchito Yaikulu: Chotchinjiriza cha Masewera Othamanga
Mawu a M'buku: Nutty Buddy Flex ndi chotchinjiriza cha masewera othamanga chopangidwa kwa achinyamata amuna. Chotchinjirizachi chimatsatira mawonekedwe a thupi ndipo chimapangidwa mwa njira ya injection molding, chili ndi chikopa cha polycarbonate ndi chophimba cha thermoplastic elastomer. Mbali za elastomer zofewa zimafikira m'mbali mwake, kotero kuti kukhudzana ndi khungu kumakhala kofewa ndipo kumalola kukhala kosavuta pamene thupi likusuntha mwachangu. Mphamvu za kugunda zimalowetsedwa ndi kufalikira mofanana pa fupa la pelvic ndi minofu yofewa. Pali kukula kwa mitundu itatu, ndipo chotchinjirizachi chimagwirizana bwino ndi mabulugudu a masewera omwe alipo kale komanso zovala zotsekera za amuna.
The Recognition
About the Mphoto ya Chitsulo ya A' Design Award
Nutty Buddy Flex Athletic Cup Ntchito Yaikulu: Chotchinjiriza cha Masewera Othamanga ndi mmodzi mwa opambana a Mphoto ya Chitsulo ya A' Design Award, kuzindikirika kolemekezeka komwe kumaperekedwa kwa mapangidwe abwino omwe amakwaniritsa zofunika za akatswiri ndi za makampani zomwe zimayembekezeka kuchokera ku zolengedwa zopangidwa bwino. Opambana a Chitsulo amaonetsa luso lalikulu, ukatswiri wapamwamba, kumvetsetsa kwa akatswiri ndi mphamvu yolenga ya opanga awo. Nutty Buddy Flex Athletic Cup Ntchito Yaikulu: Chotchinjiriza cha Masewera Othamanga akuyembekezeka kukhala cholengedwa choyamikiridwa kwambiri, chosirira ndi chokondedwa chomwe ndi chothandiza ndi chatsopano. Mapangidwe opambana Mphoto ya Chitsulo ya A' Design Award awa amaphatikiza machitidwe abwino kwambiri a makampani ndipo ali ndi makhalidwe a ukadaulo oyenerera olumikizidwa ndi chidziwitso ndi luso. Nutty Buddy Flex Athletic Cup Ntchito Yaikulu: Chotchinjiriza cha Masewera Othamanga amalemekezedwa chifukwa cha kusamala kwake ndipo anapangidwa kuti apereke kukonza kwa moyo kumene kumathandiza kusandutsa dziko kukhala malo abwino.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- The Nutty Buddy Flex is a redesign of the original, anatomically-shaped athletic cup design. The original polycarbonate cup had a thin co-molded soft polymer perimeter edge to cushion the contact between the cup and the skin. The new Flex cup increases the content of the soft polymer edge to include the side areas on the cup, permitting a more comfortable fit during dynamic body movements. This Flex cup redesign absorbs and more evenly distributes impact forces to the pubic bone and soft tissues
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The cup comes with 3 different sizes.
Hog (small): 6.8x4x2.2 inch, Trophy (medium): 7x4.1x2.4inch, Mongo (large): 7.2x4.3x2.5inch - Tags
- Nutty Buddy, Anatomical Cup, Killer Whale Cup
- Production Technology
- This cup was made by PC injection mold with TPE overmold.
Polycarbonate (Sabic 124R-701) for the cup and Thermoplastic Elastomer (GLS 1040X-1) overmolding for the flex side. OM 1040X-1 is a medical compliant overmolding TPE with very good adhesion to PC or ABS-based plastics. - Design Challenge
- After 5 years of use, feedback and surveys, we knew which areas needed improvement. Taking those areas – 1) added comfort 2) more flex 3) increased ventilation 4) greater security of location – and turning them into CAD design was one of the most challenging tasks. At the same time, we needed to maintain structural integrity and superior protection.
In addition, collecting human body data and defining different sizes of cup were a challenge. The head and tale part rubber were pilled off from the cup body after several months of use. The designer added some contacts and punched holes on the over molding part, so the inner and outer rubber were connected together. The tale part was broken by the high impact of water surface from a water ski jumper. The designer added 3 ribs inside of the tale part, and also added circle rings in the center of cup to increase the durability. - Research
- The difficult nature of observational research to get the measurements required the development of multiple sized vacuumed formed shells that were used to obtain user size and comfort feedback. Then, the designer collected and organized the human body data from the shell selections based on Large, Medium, and Small. Next, different sizes of prototype models were 3D-printed and tested by users. Again, feedback received from professional baseball players allowed the designer to modify the final shapes and sizes for each cup category.
- Inspiration
- The redesigned Flex cup continues to follow the anatomically-correct shape of the human male’s anatomy using the design principle of Form Follows Function. The original Nutty Buddy design has been on the market for seven years. Inventor and pitching coach Mark Littell has received feedback from players about possible revisions to the original cup. The Flex redesign is in response to the users’ comments and feedback and to give athletes increased range of motion and added comfort.
- Project Duration
- The redesign process started in July of 2014 and finished in February of 2015 in Arizona. After the design work, it took 8 months from the start of manufacturing to reach the market.
- Operation Flow
- The Flex cup high impact resistant polycarbonate material protects the male wearer’s genitals from external impact forces. The soft rubber wing provides cushioning comfort and absorbs any impacts. This cup can be easily installed into existing sport pants and jock straps.
- Patents
- Patented. Patent No: US 7,004,921. Mark Littell. 2006 & US 7,670,309. Mark Littell. 2010
- Team Members
- Designer: Professor, Dosun Shin
Designer: Former MLB Player and Pitching Coach, Mark Littell - Image Credits
- Professor Dosun Shin, 2017
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