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Digital Engineering April 2026
In the latest issue of Digital Engineering, we take a look at the latest innovations in design for additive manufacturing, including the use of natural language inputs, social media cosplayers, and AI integration. The issue also includes a feature…
January Special Focus Issue: Design for Additive
In this Special Focus Issue of Digital Engineering, learn about the latest advancements in design for additive manufacturing, including new software tools, additive in automotive, custom medical devices, and more.
| Do you love your iPod, but keep getting tangled up in the earbud cords? Sonny and Michael Baird of TuneTether have devised a great solution. Their simple product keeps your earbuds where they belong; around your neck and not on the ground where they can become damaged or create a tripping hazard. Working in the construction industry, Sonny Baird often enjoyed using his iPod during the long hours on the job site. “It made the day go by quicker,” he said. “And I was able to listen to my audiobooks while working.” Sonny would often times weave his earbuds up through his shirt so that they would not get caught or damaged. When someone would call him on the phone he would have to take the earbuds out to have a conversation. Inevitably, the earbuds would slip down his shirt, or even worse, slide all the way to the ground.
“The worst is when they would fall to the ground unseen,” said Sonny. “I seem to have a knack of finding them on the ground with the hard sole of my work boot, which would announce its discovery with a loud and distinct crunching sound. Too many times I felt the pain of another destroyed set of earbuds.” An Idea is Born Market research was conducted, and several design concepts were conceived. The current TuneTether idea was born. However, developing the product turned out to be more of a challenge than Sonny had anticipated. “Having no experience with injection molding or even the manufacturing of plastic parts, I turned to the Internet to look for more information.” He continued, “I tried to make a prototype using do-it-yourself molding, but that method didn’t work out at all.” After asking around and talking to a local shop that required two weeks to make prototypes, a friend informed Sonny about Quickparts. “We went to the Quickparts.com website to use the instant quote tool; I was very skeptical on the ‘instant quote’ part. That usually means: ‘We will instantly e-mail it to a sales associate who will then take a day or so to get back to you.’”
Sonny continued, “To my amazement it actually was an instant quote! And it was only going to cost about $300 for 10 pieces made in the SLA rapid prototyping process using a Polypropylene-Like material. It would even be done in a few days. What was even more impressive, within minutes after receiving the quote someone called me from Quickparts to ask about the project! The sales manager answered all of my questions and even had an in-house specialist help me decide which material to use.” The SLA rapid prototypes worked well enough to enable Sonny to see what changes needed to be made, and to gauge the level of excitement for the product in his focus group tests. Contact Info DE's editors contribute news and new product announcements to Digital Engineering. Press releases may be sent to them via [email protected]. Join over 90,000 engineering professionals who get fresh engineering news as soon as it is published.
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