Sustainable Design
The Story
Kerf Case, a designer and producer of high-end phone cases and accessories, took on the task of creating an elegant, fast wireless charging USB-C device using premium materials with a focus on sustainability. Kerf chose to work with Maezio ™, a carbon fiber thermoplastic composite, because of the unique combination of aesthetic, premium performance, and sustainability.
With no prior experience designing molded thermoplastic composites, Kerf turned to Rapid TPC for assistance in design-for-manufacturability and future production of the part.
Prototyping
Working with RapidTPC allowed Kerf Case to take advantage of both Rapid TPC’s knowledge of materials and automated production process. Utilizing Covestro’s Maezio ™ and KerfCase’s design, Rapid TPC applied their expertise with thermoplastic composites to suggest and iterate on fiber orientation and geometry changes to boost performance and reduce costs while keeping the original design concept intact.
Form and Function
The resulting molded Maezio ™ shell elevates the wireless charging coil with elegance, strength and beauty while simultaneously meeting geometry constraints for the electronics & aluminum base beneath a sustainable wood insert.
Sustainability & Thermoplastic Composites:
At the end of the product life, thermoplastic composites can be reground and used in an injection molding process for chopped fiber composite materials, which aligns with KerfCase’s vision for sustainability.
Questions about sustainability? Contact us!