This customer wanted a complete replacement for an OEM filling rack. The OEM product had glass tubes that broke very easily. The product also had two plates (that sandwiched the tubes together) that were very brittle and had multiple points of failure. Getting replacement parts for this product was next to impossible. So my customer wanted a better solution that would be cheaper, stronger, and be serviceable if needed. I designed my own tubes and printed them with an ESD-Safe (from static electricity) PETG. These tubes are substantially stronger, and because they were printed with a plastic, they can be dropped and there is no risk of shattering. The only trade-off with this material is that they are not transparent. Feedback from my customer states while it is a mild inconvenience, having a more durable tube makes the trade-off worth it. Regarding the plates, I designed them to match the footprint needed for the base machine, and to match the hole pattern to be compatible with other products used in conjunction with this product. The ends of the OEM product were unsupported. So my design includes pillars on the ends as well. I also incorporated the pillars into the bottom plate, so that eliminates another point of failure as well as removing the need for hardware to secure them to the bottom plate. The top plate is secured to the bottom plate with machined screws and a rubber gasket that sits in-between. These gaskets are intended to absorb any vibrations going from the bottom plate up into the top plate. The final product is an absolute brick. Comparing the sturdiness between the OEM product and mine is a night and day difference. The hope is that because my product is substantially stronger, the need to replace parts will be substantially lower. But if that need does arise, replacement parts will be easily obtainable.

Update: This customer and I are testing the idea of transparent tubes being printed with Poly Carbonate (PC). We need to evaluate the extent to which static electricity causes issues or not.