Nutty Buddy Flex Athletic Cup Basic Mafungisiro Ekudzivirira Mitambo by Dosun Shin and Mark Littell

Nutty Buddy Flex Athletic Cup Basic Mafungisiro Ekudzivirira Mitambo by Dosun Shin and Mark Littell is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2017 Mubairo weSimbi we A' Design Award in Zvipfeko zveKuchengetedzeka neMidziyo yeKudzivirira Competition Category.

SimbiMidziyo yeKudzivirira· 2017

Nutty Buddy Flex Athletic Cup Basic Mafungisiro Ekudzivirira Mitambo

by Dosun Shin and Mark Littell

Client: Battle Sports Science

Mubairo weSimbi we A' Design Award Winner in Midziyo yeKudzivirira Category

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The Design

About Nutty Buddy Flex Athletic Cup Basic Mafungisiro Ekudzivirira Mitambo

Nutty Buddy Flex kapu yekudzivirira mitambo yevarume vanotamba mitambo. Kapu iyi ine chimiro chinoenderana nemuviri wemunhu uye inogadzirwa nemhando yekudira mumvura inonyungudika (injection molding), ine gonhi rakagadzirwa nepolycarbonate uye rakafukidzwa nethermoplastic elastomer. Mupendero unopfava we-elastomer unotandavara kumativi, zvichiita kuti kubata neganda kuve kwakapfava uye kugadzikana kunowedzerwa panguva yekufamba-famba kwemuviri pakutamba. Simba rekurohwa rinomedzwa uye rinoparadzirwa zvakaenzana pabhonzo repubic uye panyama dzakapfava dzakapoteredza. Mhando ndatatu dzemakuru dzinowanikwa, uye kapu iyi inokwana mumabhurugwa emitambo nemajock strap ari kare.

The Recognition

About the Mubairo weSimbi we A' Design Award

Mubairo weSimbi we A' Design Award wakahwinwa ne Nutty Buddy Flex Athletic Cup Basic Mafungisiro Ekudzivirira Mitambo, rukudzo runokudzwa runopiwa kumadhizaini akanaka anozadzisa zvinodiwa zvehunyanzvi neyeindasitiri zvinotarisirwa kuzvigadzirwa zvakagadzirwa zvakanaka. Vakunda veSimbi vanoratidza unyanzvi hukuru, hunyanzvi hwakakwirira, kunzwisisa kwevakachenjera uye kugona kwekugadzira kwevagadziri vavo. Nutty Buddy Flex Athletic Cup Basic Mafungisiro Ekudzivirira Mitambo inotarisirwa kuva chigadzirwa chinokudzwa zvakanyanya, chinoremekedzwa uye chinodiwa, chinoshanda uye chine zvitsva. Dhizaini iyi yakahwina Mubairo weSimbi we A' Design Award inosanganisa maitiro akanakisa eindasitiri uye ine hunhu hwetekinoroji hwakakwana hwakabatana neruzivo nehunyanzvi. Nekushanda kwayo zvakanaka, Nutty Buddy Flex Athletic Cup Basic Mafungisiro Ekudzivirira Mitambo inoremekedzwa uye yakagadzirirwa kupa kuvandudzwa kwehupenyu kunobatsira kuita kuti nyika ive nzvimbo iri nani.

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