As our lives become inescapably dominated by gadgets and gizmos we find ourselves buying all manner of cases in order to protect them.
If you need something as hard as nails, tough as old boots, built like a brick shithouse, and offering more protection than… well, you come up with an analogy; this is what you’re after – a G-Form iPad Sleeve.
Taking its design cues from the laboratory, its athletic impact protection equipment (elbow and knee pads from skateboarding, shin guards from mountain biking) is made of a new breed of ‘Smart’ materials that absorb energy rather than merely cushioning impact through bulk or thickness; enough to protect your iPad from a 60ft drop, or being run over by a car.
In a quick chat with G-Form’s CEO Dan Wyner, he took us through some of the kit’s secretive design process:
– “Some of the initial concepts of shapes came from traditional old style hard padding and others were even drawn from medieval armour design, but the current G-Form athletic products are the result of continuous modifications and refinements to meet athletes feedback.”
– “The process used to create the G-Form technology took over 7 years to fully develop, and the process and products are covered by literally dozens of pending and issued patents.”
– “Software used includes Solidworks and other 3D modelling software as well as proprietary mould-making software.”
– “We use SLA and 3D printers to assist in rapid prototypes so we can get product revisions on athletes and try new electronic devices to test product improvements. Doing these new developments in hours or days rather than weeks is the difference between getting the product perfected in a short time frame.”
– “Combining the real world durability of the G-Form products with the unique abilities of smart materials was the true challenge. These smart materials have been shown to work in the lab for a number of years, but creating them in a usable durable form that is stable, UV resistant, washable, flexible, abrasion-resistant and lightweight was the challenge. That is what took years to get right.”
– Upcoming is a full range of new protective equipment designs that cover a wide range of sports (I’d love a pair of shin guards made from this stuff for football), and further gadget guarding cases.
