Case Study: SoftCap

A company that supplies dasher boards to 75% of National Hockey League arenas, wanted to improve player safety by softening the blow of board collisions. Their plan was to create an impact-absorbing cover for the tops of boards which would reduce the risk of injury without sacrificing the aesthetic appeal of the dasher boards. The project presented a number of challenges, including:

• Complexity. The product called for custom plastic extrusions with multiple hollow channels to absorb impact. It also had to be modular so it could work in any NHL rink while affecting game play as little as possible.
• Performance. The product required a flexible, colorable plastic that peforms well in cold conditions.
• Speed. The company needed the product for a fast-approaching trade show and the upcoming NHL season.
• Extruding Ability. Other plastic extruders had passed on the product due to its size and complexity. But Intek Plastics was up to the challenge.

We needed to quickly design the product and produce a prototype, so we employed our Rapid Design for Lean Manufacturing process, which includes a collaborative all-day brainstorming session. This process resulted in an almost immediate solution that met Intek Plastics' manufacturing requirements as well as the customer’s performance needs. Our expertise in plastic extrusion allowed us to successfully create the prototype and mass-produce the product within the client's tight time frame. The product, called SoftCap, was extruded with Santoprene, a flexible, colorable, plastic elastomer that performs well in the cold. In addition to absorbing impact, the design evolved into a four-piece modular system that compensated for rink variations to allow installation in any NHL arena. We also added a friction-reducing coating.

The product underwent extensive testing by the NHL, who found that SoftCap absorbs impacts 96% better than the previous material. The league expects it to significantly reduce head, chin, elbow, and other injuries, and has mandated the use of SoftCap in all of its arenas. The first team to install the product was the New York Islanders, and several other orders soon followed. Currently, the product is marketed worldwide and is available to college, high school, and recreational hockey rinks.