DE 24/7 Summit 2025 Preview: How a Bag of Potato Chips Led to an Efficient Ejection Mechanism

In the Simulation-Led Design session, Fabien Chancel, industrial designer and engineer, traced the origin of his Static Pressure Launch (SPL) concept, which won the first place in the Ejection Mechanism Design for the NASA SPEED Test challenge hosted by GrabCAD. 

"The goal is to develop a robust ejection system that can reliably introduce the test models into supersonic flow with a tight variance on initial condition perturbation," said the brief. The design must also be suitable for "easy to manufacture methods (such as 3D printing or laser/water jet cutting)" and "doesn’t rely on high-energy systems like explosives."

For Chancel, "Design is not about imposing a shape. It's about listening to what nature wants to do, and helping it get there." He notes, "At that altitude, temperatures drop to -50*C, pressures fall to less than 2% of sea level; yet, the system must open precisely, stably, and predictably."

His inspiration came from an unlikely source--a bag of chip he brought along on a hike. He saw that the bag had all the features the ejection system required--"inflated, tight, almost ready to burst. It's an ejection system that doesn't use energy, but borrows it from nature, like a breath waiting to be released."

His first prototype was created in LEGO pieces. "With LEGO, you can see movement, friction, balance--even the invisible dialog between movement and constraint," he says. Then he moved on to ChatGPT. Whereas LEGO added mass and volume to his concept, the AI tool made his prototype measurable.

"Finally, I opened CATIA. To me, it's a laboratory of imagination, a place where geometry and physics meet creativity," he says.

Applying the MODSIM principle, he combined the model and simulation into a single living process, allowing him to find the optimum setup for air volume, piston travel, surface friction, and other parameters. "Every creation, no matter how advanced, is really a story of iteration--too heavy, too stiff, try again," he says. "Design is like music--you don't find harmony on the first try."

The process, Chancel observes, is a reminder that "Our most powerful tool is often not the software but our attention, curiosity, and care."

Register here for this session and submit questions.