Sports Safety Case Study: SoftCap
Application
Athletica, supplier of dasher boards to 75% of NHL arenas, sought to soften the blow of board collisions and improve player safety. The company wanted to create an impact-absorbing cover for the tops of boards to reduce the risk of injury while retaining aesthetic appeal.
Customer Challenge
- Complexity: the product called for custom plastic extrusions with multiple hollow channels to absorb impact. It also had to be modular to work in any NHL rink while affecting game play as little as possible.
- Performance: the product required a flexible, colorable plastic that performs well in cold conditions.
- Speed: Athletica needed the product for a fast-approaching trade show and the upcoming NHL season.
- Extruding Ability: other plastic extruders passed on the project due to its size and complexity.
Intek Plastics’ Custom Solution
Intek needed to quickly and effectively design and produce a prototype. The company employed its Rapid Design for Lean Manufacturing process, which included a collaborative daylong brainstorm. The process created a solution that met both Intek’s manufacturing requirements and Athletica’s performance needs – all in a compressed timeframe.
Despite the manufacturing challenges, Intek Plastics’ expertise in custom plastic extrusions allowed it to successfully concept and create the prototype, as well as mass produce the end product.
The product, called SoftCap, is extruded with Santoprene, a flexible, colorable, plastic elastomer that performs well in cold conditions. In addition to absorbing impact, the design evolved into a four-piece, modular system that would compensate for rink variations and allow installation in any NHL arena. A friction-reducing coating was also added.
Customer Result
The product underwent extensive testing by the NHL. The league found that SoftCap absorbs impact 96% better than the previous material and expect it will significantly reduce head, chin, elbow and other injuries.
The NHL mandated SoftCap for all its arenas. The New York Islanders was the first team to install the product, and several more orders have followed. When the product is released for full production in the coming year, Athletica plans to make it available to NCAA, high school and recreational rinks.
Call 888-INTEK-31
 (888-468-3531)
sales@intekplastics.com
800 East 10th Street, Hastings, MN 55033
| 
