PRODUCT DESIGN, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, PROTOTYPING, Animation

OVERVIEW

Briggs & Stratton Styleline.
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European gardens are smaller and as a result electric mowers are popular due to cost and weight, battery powered electric mowers popularity shows that people like the smaller deck size but the without the problems of a wire. The next step for Briggs & Stratton would be to introduce a smaller petrol powered mower that had the advantage of light weight and manoeuvrability .
The styling had to be more akin to an electric mowers and less industrial in order to appeal to the consumer. This mower would out perform electric mowers yet still be economic.

What we did

We were responsible for the entire development; engineering concepts, styling, production engineering, testing, prototyping, technical liaison, production drawings and data management.

Not only did we achieve a great design it was completed in half the normal time and in two sizes.

Styling.
Animation.
Mould flow.
Testrigs.
CNC Block models.
Casting 20 fully working samples.

Component Moulding Optimisation.

A plastic moulded solution gave the advantage of lightweight and low cost, the second skin allowed for a high quality exterior, less likely to corrode than a steel decked mowers of a similar size and price.

We introduced the twin skin construction, or “Bi-shield” increases stiffness and impact resistance whilst providing an opportunity to optimise cutting tunnel profile this makes the grass lift and storage better reducing blockages.

Blade shape was developed alongside this to create cutting performance superior to all other similar sized mowers on the market.

Both 38cm and 44cm push and self propelled units shared styling and several mouldings were re-used across the range to save money.

The cut height adjustment mechanism was developed specifically for the product and several parts are also shared across the range.