4moms is a juvenile products company that designs and produces innovative and aesthetically pleasing baby strollers, rocker seats, and other equipment that must meet the highest safety standards: those of new parents.
Thanks to 3-D printing and the support of LOCTITE® products, 4moms is able to achieve rapid product development in a demanding market. “We want to deliver absolutely gorgeous products,” said 4moms co-founder Henry Thorne. “To do that, you don’t want ugly fasteners sticking out of the sides. So we use LOCTITE® fasteners to hold our products together from the inside, so you get that beautiful look on the outside.”
Every day, night and weekend, 4moms’ 3-D printers are running, constantly printing out the pieces of new product designs. This allows the company to create an entire prototype product that is as functional as the real thing. Finding a way to bond the 3-D printed parts is critical, and that’s why the company’s product engineers reach for LOCTITE® instant adhesives.
“With the advent of 3-D printing, LOCTITE® adhesives, and other materials, it allows us to explore faster and get to solutions that are better, and the result of all of that is we have more rapid overall product development,” said Kevin Dowling, 4moms’ vice president of engineering. “That’s what’s key in our business.”
One solution 4moms uses is LOCTITE® 401™ Instant Adhesive, a clear, one-part product designed for the assembly of difficult-to-bond materials. The use of an accelerator speeds the cure of the adhesive and allows the prototype to be used immediately.
“The engineers at LOCTITE® have got the stuff so that we can choose just the right grade, just the right selection, that allows us to hold it together in a way that it will never come apart for the customer,” Thorne said.
4moms uses LOCTITE® threadlockers to keep nuts and bolts securely fastened, despite being subjected to constant vibration. Using adhesives in place of mechanical fasteners also aids in the aesthetic design of the products.
“The product has to run a thousand hours because it’s handed down from child to child, and there’s vibration no matter what we do,” Thorne said. “Motors create vibration. So all the screws want to come loose. Everything in there wants to slowly come apart. We have to find a way to bond these things in such a way that it will never come apart. And that’s where LOCTITE® adhesives come in.”
4moms trusts LOCTITE® solutions in the design and production of high-tech products that are reliable, durable and beautiful to the eye. And that’s not child’s play.
About 4moms
Founded in 2006, 4moms is a robotics company that makes high-tech baby gear. The company has redefined the $8.9 billion juvenile products industry through its use of advanced robotics technology. The result is dramatically better baby gear, including the 4moms origami®, the world’s only power-folding stroller; the 4moms mamaRoo® infant seat that replicates the bouncing and swaying motions parents make when soothing their babies; and the 4moms breeze® playard that opens or closes in one simple step.
About LOCTITE® Instant Adhesives and Threadlockers
LOCTITE® instant adhesives provide excellent bond strengths to the widest range of plastics, rubbers and metals. They are easy to use and cure rapidly at room temperature without heat or light. By filling the thread roots and preventing sideto-side movement, LOCTITE® threadlockers have dramatically increased the reliability of threaded assemblies for over 60 years. New advancements provide higher temperature resistance, improved oil tolerance and primerless performance.
Henkel Adhesive Technologies is the leading solution provider for adhesives, sealants and functional coatings worldwide.
Except as otherwise noted, all marks used are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Henkel and its affiliates in the U.S. and elsewhere. ® = registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. 4moms and Breeze are trademarks of Thorley Industries LLC. Origami and mamaRoo are trademarks of Thorley Industries LLC DBA 4moms Limited Liability Company. © 2018 Henkel Corporation. All rights reserved.