Going for gold with Poolpod and SolidWorks

When the Olympic Delivery Authority for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games could not find a pool lift that satisfied their exacting requirements for functionality and accessibility, they launched an international competition to find the right design.

Poolpod Products LTD, a creative industrial design company based in Glasgow UK, took up the challenge and submitted their designs for Poolpod, a unique submersible platform lift. Designed around the needs of less ambulant people, families with small children, wheelchair users as well as for rehabilitation and aqua-therapy purposes Poolpod now forms a part of the legacy of London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The company’s innovative solution to the brief, adaptable industrial design skills, and progressive user-focused design philosophy ensured that the ODA selected them to develop their ideas.

Throughout the project the design team were exposed to numerous design challenges, but their ability to provide inventive design solutions (such as the hands free operation of the system) coupled with a robust and constructive partnership between client and design team helped maintain the momentum of the development process and ensured the functional and commercial success of the Poolpod.

Pool operators and swimmers have been universally positive about the design of the Poolpod whilst legislation and economics support widespread installation in public pools.

Following the first Poolpod installation, people with restricted mobility in East London can now enter the swimming pool independently using Poolpod.  The Olympics legacy begins in East London, followed by 7 further pilot installations across the UK by the Amateur Swimming Association and Poolpod have plans to launch in the United States in 2013.

  

Poolpod Products Ltd selected SolidWorks Premium software because of its ease of use, compatibility with other 3D technologies, manufacturing flexibility, and sheet-metal and tubing design capabilities. By deploying SolidWorks CAD software, the company accelerated time-to-market on its exclusive PoolPod product. SolidWorks dramatically improved their handling of complex and intricate assemblies, reduced the time required to take digital 3D and 2D models and transfer them into physical prototypes whilst also enhancing its design visualisation and communication capabilities.

  

"Poolpod was a challenging development with some complex geometries and large bill of material, we required powerful design software with features that allowed us to test and refine our designs quickly using both prototyping, and simulation.  We chose the Solidworks Environment as it offered the best value, feature rich and accessible CAD system for our needs"  Josh Reid, MD PoolPod Product Ltd

Connect with Poolpod on Facebook and Twitter