MPH Speedgun Pro Handheld Radar

The MPH Speedgun Pro Handheld Radar project was new territory for MPH Industries. They partnered with Catalyst to produce a product with a fresh look and appealing features that would aid in packaging their new radar technology.

MPH wanted to include a new level of product aesthetics to appeal to police officers. Design concepts showcased robust design characteristics focused on tactical product styling trends that officers are accustomed to. Similar to a popular feature on handguns, the handle was specifically designed to accommodate interchangeable grips for a custom fit. This would allow the user to uniquely customize the device with their preferred grip features.

The main objective for the program was to design an enclosure for two different radar sets with modular configurations. The final product includes a detachable handle that allows the unit to be dash mounted in a vehicle. This product provides a new level of customized user interface for officers.

The project utilized several of the Catalyst Product Development resources, from the industrial design through rapid prototyping processes. The talented Catalyst industrial design team developed a series of initial concepts that considered aesthetics, mechanical function and the manufacturability of the device.

Intellectual Property

Applying a personal touch to product features with gripping design

While collaborating with the MPH engineering and marketing teams, concept refinements were developed based on feedback from the initial concept phase. These refinements further developed the aesthetics, functionality, and manufacturing by including detailed concepts of the device in many areas. At this point in the program, user interface concepts were also developed for the graphics experience of the product.

The Catalyst and MPH team determined the final concept for the product during the review of the refined concepts. A final concept package was developed for release to engineering that included detailed concepts of the overall product along with exploded views showing modularity, materials, colors and surface finish proposals for further development.

The Catalyst engineering team, began the detailed engineering development of the product based on the final design direction. The engineering team created 3D CAD models for components and the overall assembly of the product but first collaborated with the MPH electronics team to develop the mechanical layouts of the PCBs and electronic components needed for the product. This included PCB layouts, LCD screen, physical connectors and switches required for the device.  Once the electronic components were defined and finalized, the Catalyst engineering team ensured that the assembly of these components within the device was robust and easily accessible for initial assembly and potential servicing. Additional engineering development of the enclosure was completed, ensuring all aesthetic, functional and manufacturing details were captured within the 3D CAD models.

Providing concepts, 3D CAD modeling, and rapid prototyping under one roof

Rapid Prototype (3D printed) models were developed from the finalized 3D CAD from the evaluation and validation of the engineering development step. These 3D printed prototypes were created with the FDM (Fuse Deposition Modeling) process and done quickly so both MPH and Catalyst could determine if any engineering changes were necessary prior to release for tooling development.

Final engineering changes were implemented based on evaluation and testing of the rapid prototypes. Once final engineering changes were completed, the Catalyst team collaborated with MPH and their selected production resources for a seamless production release.