Development Continues

Continuing to Fine Tune

One of our very WELL USED prototypes

The Alpha Leash design is continuing to evolve. Pictured on the right is the latest iteration, that colour combination really makes it look sporty eh?

Ika is really helping out these days and is loving the freedom the Alpha Leash gives her to lead the pack.

We also have a new tester getting in on the act, Banjo! He’s a standard golden doodle and boy is he cute (pics coming soon!).

But he can get pretty grumpy, picture a lot of determined pulling when he’s down at the beach and wants to go for a swim! A perfect test for the Alpha Leash.

And with his owner’s struggle with back and shoulder issues the Alpha Leash is being a life saver!

Design Costs

Part pricing is also starting to come in and so far so good. BUT, I did run into a snag creating the model data that our plastic mold suppliers needed when using my current design software; SketchUp.

SO… I reached out to SolidWorks and they offered Alpha Leash a free copy of their design software under their Entrepreneur support program. THANK YOU so much SolidWorks!

And let me tell you SolidWorks is a very powerful and capable design software! So over the last month the design has been ported over to the new system and the math data is now in the right format for our mold shops to review and quote the plastic parts that go into the Alpha Leash. I can’t wait to get their feedback on design limitations as well as pricing to finish the initial quoting stage.

Testing

I left the best for last on this update! :-D

The casing and brake lock mechanism can now safely handle over 100 lbs of pulling force!

That translates to the Alpha Leash having the ability to handle a 75 pound dog, right on target!

Now we are just left with the final part of our initial testing, drop testing. These nerve racking tests will make sure that the Alpha Leash is strong enough to handle those oooops moments where the Alpha Leash doesn’t feel like staying on the table or chair you put it on or when you’ve got your hands full, something has to give and the Alpha Leash is not as important as your laptop bag. ;-)

Stay tuned for the next blog entry to some video footage of these drops.

Stay safe out there!

—Ed