As with all Tailwind projects, i4pd’s remit now is to design, develop and provide manufacturing support to Tailwind, their FlexiPole range and all new PEDPack developments. The ever advancing technologies in the contactless and payment terminal arenas mean that there are always new terminals to design solutions for as Tailwind expand into new territories, all over the world. 

We provide a full range of services to Tailwind from concept and engineering design, iterative prototyping, evaluation and testing to full manufacturing and production support. We are also consultants for any problems that should arise after the products have been launched onto the market. Offering all these services means that we are able to truly act as a turnkey development and support partner.

The key to developing a successful product for Tailwind is putting ourselves in the end users shoes as a retailer receiving payments or shopper completing a card transaction. How will they use the product? We find out all the key requirements, work out a concept architecture for how the design might work - does it needs screws, is it a one piece solution, is it secure? Once Tailwind are happy with our approach we work up engineering designed solutions, usually plastic injection mouldings then prototype and iterate until both we, Tailwind and their customer are all happy with the design. These design files are then securely sent to our tooling and manufacturing partner in Far East where we walk the project through to sign off.

Tailwind present us with a device which needs mounting or a problem which needs solved. It’s our job to take their specific set of requirements and form them into a fully functioning product. We make sure we keep a good level of knowledge of the industry at all times, ensuring we know when the next big payment terminals are set to be released and positioning solutions ready to coincide with the launch date.

Functionality and value engineering is key with Tailwind, especially with the PEDpack products which are for the most part “invisible” to the average shopper. We generate conceptual architectures in CAD and present these to Tailwind before progressing into the detailed engineering design.

Iterative prototyping is key, especially when designing PEDPacks which integrate directly into PED terminals of various designs, shapes and forms. We have to ensure the fit between the PEDpack and the PED is very accurate and secure; this is achieved through prototyping, testing, evaluating and then fine tuning the design. Often we go through multiple revisions of the design, usually using quick SLS models, to get a feel for the product. We experiment with these in the lab and hone the CAD model until it is refined.

Tailwind have developed a long standing relationship with a plastic injection mould manufacturer and supplier in the far east. We work closely with this company’s engineering team and tooling department, ensuring there are no issues with the tooling design before the mould steel is cut. During the sampling stage we assess and sign off Tx samples which are shipped to i4pd but we have also travelled there, sampled and signed off straight from the press when customer deadlines are tight.