Batteries

Client: TTi
Skills: Mechanical Design, Teamwork, Systems Thinking, Future Predicting

Project Scope: To redesign and develop new battery platforms across multiple brands.

A little Background

We have come a long ways from the days of NiCad battery chemistry. Batteries have gotten more complex and so has their design. With the development of lithium cell chemistry, tool run times have doubled. Shrinking overall battery size while incorporating new features and components has been an ongoing challenge for both designers and engineers. Another tricky task is predicting what up and coming products might someday use this battery and making sure the two play well. All of TTi's batteries have the additional challenge of being backwards compatible.

18v NiCad (Left) 18v Lithium (Right)

The first Ryobi Lithium Pack

Maintaining a family look while highlighting the new technology through color and graphics. Latches and overmold also had to be redesigned to support new cell orientation and regulatory requirements.

Ryobi Tek 4 Battery pack

The 4v single cell lithium battery can be used as a replacement for 3 standard AA batteries. Special consideration was given to the housing geometry which allows the battery to be secured within the tool housing by several methods. This allowed the product engineers and designers maximum freedom for future tools.

First Ridgid 18v Lithium Pack

Compact and lightweight. Ergonomic latches make removing the battery easy and intuitive. The more aggressive design helps differentiate it from its NiCad predecessors.

Ridgid 12v Lithium battery

Lots of research was done on how this configuration and handle mount would effect TTi's future lines of tools. Because it installs directly in the tool handle, every effort was made to minimize its size, especially in key areas. The single latch button was re-figured to provide a more ergonomically pleasing operation. More information on this project can be seen here.