Simple Innovation brings Great Benefits to Van Guard Roof Rack

A pioneering new roof rack system, the Van Guard ULTI Rack for commercial vehicles, has been developed by international product design and development company, IDC (Industrial Design Consultancy). By combining class-leading aesthetic design with dramatically reduced installation time, the ULTI Rack has given professional van accessories manufacturer, Van Guard, a vital competitive advantage in the market.

Previously, commercial roof rack systems were time consuming to fit due to the use of nuts and bolts to hold roof rack frameworks together. Research identified that this was causing a bottleneck in installation onto vans and as a consequence, was leading to significant downtime for the commercial vehicles being fitted. Van Guard recognised that if it could provide a roof rack system that was quick and easy to install, with all the usual quality and safety standards of Van Guard products, the roof rack would be in high demand with installers and end users with the reduced downtime of commercial vehicles.

IDC’s design team developed an exceptional new roof rack solution, generating valuable IP for Van Guard. As nuts and bolts were identified as the time-intensive part of the rack installation, IDC was challenged to develop a rack which avoided the use of nuts and bolts, but provided the same strength and reliability. IDC’s solution took a modular approach with a framework of aluminium bars that were clamped together using a click and lock mechanism. The design of these components was highly innovative as each had to apply a great amount of force to clamp the aluminium bars together within an extremely tight space. The modular design meant that the roof rack was size adjustable; with the option to change the number of supporting bars by simply clicking and locking into place as required, instead of struggling with the cumbersome structures used in traditional roof racks. The combination of materials chosen for the design also brought significant manufacturing advantages to Van Guard, with a reduced part cost for production.

IDC’s engineers carried out detailed engineering analysis to test the load and stress limits of the system and found that the solution was just as strong as any conventional framework, but with the added benefit of vastly reduced assembly time and racks that could be fitted without any special tools. The rack was also designed to be both ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing with a modern, streamlined design. IDC produced SLA prototypes at all stages of the development, using its in-house model making facility, IDC Models. These SLAs provided a quick and accurate way of testing and refining the design.

To ensure that the rack provided the optimum level of safety, it was tested at the Transport Research Laboratory, where it was subjected to tests that exceeded the force of a real accident – and in all cases, the rack remained intact, without any movement in the device (see video below).

In only nine months, IDC’s team took the project from concept to production, supporting Van Guard with its in-house British manufacturing. Van Guard is delighted with the newly launched ULTI Rack, with Nigel Burn, Van Guard’s Works Director commenting, “This is by far the most complex design project Van Guard has undertaken in its history, and that’s one of the reasons why we commissioned IDC. Once challenged, they delivered on design innovation to take Van Guard to the highest level in Commercial Roof Racks.”