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Ask the Reader: How In the Blazes is the ‘YellowClip’ Manufactured? Plus New Photos.

by Josh on September 15, 2009 · View Comments

How many times do you see a product design and think, “How could this possibly be manufactured at a reasonable cost?”

The ‘YellowClip’ Clothesline Clip designed by Paul Sandip is just one of those designs that brings up such questions. It’s curvy, it doesn’t rust, it’s available in a variety of colors and it looks like a tooling nightmare. Is it? How in the blazes do you think this simple design could be manufactured?

The Buzz

There’s been a lot of conversation about the #yellowclip going on in Twitter-land. It started out as discussion about the design, the price and the fact that it’s currently only a prototype, but the interest quickly turned to the tooling of the single-piece icon of cloth-hanging bliss.

On the LinkedIn ID Group, C. Sven Johnson has asked the question How is this seemingly simple product tooled?

Update: I’ve also posed the question on the SolidWorks Forum and is getting a lot of input from people knowledgeable in the area of Mold Design and Material properties.

The Hints

Here’s what Paul had to say when I asked him about how the clip would be manufactured.

Regarding my thoughts on how it will be manufactured…i would not like to disclose much details as it is lisenced to a manufacturer and we have signed a Non-disclosure agreement. The only clue is…it is definitely a two part mold.


The Clip is being sold for $20.00 ( currently on pre-sale for $4.00) at Moq7. Yes, $20 for a single clip. As mentioned above, it’s a prototype which will be manufactured if 10,000 are pre-ordered. Currently, only 13 have been sold. For a ‘simple’ part like Paul’s clip, this cost would typically be associated with low-runs or high material cost. The question is… How would this actually be tooled for manufacturing? Is it even possible?

Tagged as: Design Fabrication, Design Process, manufacturing process, Paul Sandip, poll, yellowclip

  • There's also a great conversation happening on the SolidWorks forum having to do with this topic.

    https://forum.solidworks.com/thread/27006?tstart=0
  • I quite like the enthusiasm with which the "yellow clip" is being discussed.
    Wish to see more sketches than just verbatim.
    The SolidWorks forum has brought out some really interesting thoughts....Great going! :)
  • Paul, we would really like to see your sketches as well. What kinds of things did you discuss with the manufacturer? These are all topics we as designers and engineers would find useful for the various types of products we create.

    What material/process lines up with how the clip will be manufactured?

    This is a little more off topic, but what, besides using recycled material are you doing to reduce cost to the Indian consumer?
  • Which SolidWorks forum thoughts are interesting, Paul?
  • Questions on that SW thread are answered; LinkedIn thread addresses most:

    Two jaws/symmetrical
    recycled LDPE
    "definitely a two part mold" (open/shut; assume no action)
    10,000 pcs for initial(?) run
  • I didn't see the teeth in his earlier photos, but I did account for them in my tooling solution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/csven (sketches). Only these ideas are core and cavity with a pair of slides; not a simple 2-part open and shut.
  • I agree with Sven. The side pulls may be slides or lifters depending on mold construction. The lifter idea would be good to eliminate ejector pin witness lines. The little friction catches could be done as undercuts in the lifters and the part would simply flex (as it will in use) as it is ejected.

    We build lots of tools with this level of complexity in China. I would guess a 4 cavity mold of this clip would be under $8k and an 8 cavity less than $12k.

    Eric
  • Problem I keep running into is the parting line being located at the point where the clip holds the fabric. Over time, as the tool wears, it seems to me as if we're left with either: 1) flash along the parting line which then causes snags in the fabric being dried, or 2) increased tool maintenance to prevent #1.

    It would seem imperative to avoid #1, meaning additional cost going into tool maintenance. Or, as asserted, a (two-part?) mold with no parting lines in the critical fabric-grabbing area which, presumably, runs at sufficiently high volumes to reduce the per-piece price.

    At $20/clip, I have a hard time imagining this supposedly eco-friendly design ever getting a chance in the broader market to have an impact.
  • I don't think this clip is really designed to be all that functional in the first place. There is no "pre-load" in the part like there is in a standard clothes pin with a spring. The plastic isn't going to be strong enough to hold much of anything. Even the old clothes pins that worked by wedging over the clothes and line would work 10X better than this thing. This thing looks cool, but that is about as far as it goes. He is charging $20/ea because he has to make all his money off the first batch he sells. Once people use the thing, they will never buy another one.

    So, the point being, worrying over the parting line flash is academic. The tool will never get used enough to need any maintenance.
  • Seems it is more for holding something draped over a line in that regard. At this point, I'm thinking that it may be best if Paul develop this as a fashion accessory. Earrings? Can even keep the recycled plastic angle and probably end up selling a set of two for more than the $20. ;)
  • Clip on earrings are not popular for a reason. They've been around forever, but they are kind of like clip on ties.

    There aren't many article that you would drape over a clothes line. Bed linens and rugs are two that I can think of, but if they are truly draped over the line, they probably don't even need a clothes pin. What you need clothes pins for are shirts, undies, pants, socks, etc... These things do not drape over the line well, so they need to be held. This clip isn't going to cut it.

    Maybe this thing could be a good "chip clip"?
  • That's a fair point, Eric.
  • It would definitely need the teeth or some other sort of friction catch. Still doesn't seem sufficient. Thanks for posting your sketches Sven.
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