Quick Hitch HD240-80

CLIENT: Doherty Engineering Attachments

Doherty Engineering Attachments manufacture and distribute world-leading, high quality earthmoving attachments for the construction, demolition, quarrying and mining industries.

3D Hub was asked to develop a casting based off their very successful fabricated HD240-80. The existing product was already light, functional and well received in the market.

The challenge was to improve on the existing product. The best approach was to take advantage of the freedom of geometry with the casting process.

3D Hub ran the HD240-80 through the “9 Step Morphogenesis™ Process” with great results. Our initial optimised structure was 30% lighter than the existing fabricated design.

However, the product looked very organic and didn’t have any of the design language of the existing quick hitch, which concerned all involved in that it could be difficult to sell due to lack of familiarity.

We came up with a long term strategy to add the design cues back into the product which gave a final mass saving of 15%; meaning we could take the other 15% mass out in stages over the next 10 years as tooling was replaced. Doherty’s customers can now be a part in the evolution of their product as it becomes one of the lightest, strongest, quick hitch products on the market.

To learn more about the process Morphogenesis™ we used to develop this product, please check out the free blueprint below.