23 Parts Down to 6: A Dual Molded Clip Bracket for Cleaning Carts
A commercial cleaning equipment manufacturer was building the tool holder on its janitorial carts from a bent, powder-coated steel plate, retail spring clips and a handful of screws. FormRep replaced that assembly with a dual molded bracket, taking it from 23 parts to 6. The new parts cost about 75% less, cut assembly time from four minutes to one, and paid back its tooling investment in about four months.
- Customer: Commercial cleaning equipment manufacturer
- Part: Tool-holder bracket that holds broom and mop handles on a janitorial cleaning cart
- Starting point: Bent, powder-coated sheet metal bracket with individual retail clips screwed on
- Material: Delrin® (acetal)
- Results: 23 parts down to 6, about 75% lower cost, tooling paid back in about four months, assembly time cut from 4 minutes to 1
The challenge
Every cart carries a tool holder for broom and mop handles. The original was a steel plate that had to be cut, bent and powder coated, then fitted by hand with individual spring clips purchased off the retail shelf and screwed on one at a time. That meant 23 parts to purchase and stock for every cart, a finishing step, and about four minutes of assembly per bracket. Retail clips also carry retail pricing, which adds up quickly across a production run.
Rethinking the part instead of copying it
Rather than reproduce the steel bracket in plastic, we started with what the part actually has to do: hold handles securely while the cart rolls, let a worker pull a handle out with one hand, and mount to the cart quickly. Designing it as a dual molded bracket let the clips, rails and mounting points be molded in, taking the assembly from 23 parts to 6.
- Clips molded in. No separate clips to purchase, and no screws to fasten each one.
- The correct material. Delrin® (acetal) is stiff and tough with a slick surface, so the molded clips grip a handle securely and release it cleanly.
- A feature the old part never had. Built-in hooks for hanging cloth sweeper heads and miscellaneous tools.
- Fewer parts on the shelf. Six parts replace 23. The steel plate, the retail clips and most of the screws are gone.
We worked through several design revisions as 3D-printed prototypes, testing each one on a real cart before committing to production tooling. Changing a print costs a reprint; changing a mold costs rework. By the time the mold was built, the fit on the cart and the feel of the clips were already settled.
Results
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Parts | 23: steel plate, retail clips and screws | 6: dual molded bracket |
| Finishing | Cut, bent and powder coated | None; comes off the mold ready to install |
| Assembly time | About 4 minutes | About 1 minute |
| Cost | Baseline | About 75% lower |
| Tooling payback | n/a | About four months |
| Sweeper head and tool storage | None | Built-in hanging hooks |
Why it matters
A lot of assemblies are built from parts that were easiest to purchase, not parts designed for the job. If your product has a bent plate with store-purchased hardware bolted to it, there may be a molded design that does more with fewer parts, costs less and assembles faster. FormRep handles it start to finish: design, printed prototypes, tooling and injection molding, with no minimum run.
See more made-to-fit solutions, or read how we rebuilt a discontinued pendant enclosure.
Delrin® is a registered trademark of its respective owner.
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