The rapstrap workshop, where ideas are turned into reality. Frequently in freezing cold conditions.
How It Began
Rapstrap was founded by Andy Harsley in 2004 to develop a waste-reducing alternative to the traditional nylon cable tie.
The original idea had occured to him in the late 1980s, when he was looking for a waste-free cable tie that could be tied, cut, and the remaining tail used again.
No one seemed to be making such a product, and it became clear the problem was a lot harder than it seemed. It took him a few years to come up with a potential solution.
In 1994, Andy filed for a patent on his invention, and spent the next few years trying to get it to work to his satisfaction. This took until 2003 when he finally designed the improved version that became known as the rapstrap.more
Rapstrap was soon attracting attention, but it was clear it was going to need dedicated manufacturing facilities, so in late 2005 Andy set up his own research & development workshop to further the project.
Andy's antique Arburg injection moulding machine. Despite being nearly 40 years young (and running on a humble 8086), "Auntie" has been a vital part of rapstrap R&D activities.
Regardless of having no previous experience, he bought an injection moulding machine off eBay and began learning how to make the straps himself, a process that took several months and a lot of "let's not do that again" moments.
A CNC milling machine soon followed (more moments), but over the next few years, Andy produced dozens of prototype moulds to improve both the design and the way it was produced.more
By 2008 rapstrap sales were starting to increase, and Andy's work impressed the UK moulding division of the Japan multi-national Maxell (now part of the Hitachi group).
Based in Telford (the birthplace of industry), Maxell saw the potential and were keen to start mass-producing Andy's rapstraps - all that was needed was some help in funding a fully automatic production line.
Dragonslayer Andy Harsley and BBC Dragon James Caan, taken without permission in a Milton Keynes car park. ("Don't worry", said James, climbing out of a chauffeur-driven Maibach, "We'll tell them we're film students...")
Dragons' Den
In the mid 2000s, the BBC began broadcasting the long-running TV series "Dragons' Den", on which plucky entrepeneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of hard-nosed investors.
Andy was invited to appear in summer 2008, and, armed with a near perfect pitch, went easy on the Dragons, securing a modest £150,000 from James Caan and Duncan Bannatyne.
This 3-stage robotic system was needed to extract and process rapstraps after moulding. Despite the complexity (and cost), it's quite modest by Japanese standards.
This was enough to finance the required production line with Hitachi-Maxell, though it took several months to get the 24-7 operation fully functional.
During this period, the rapstrap enjoyed enormous publicity, not just in the UK, but also around the world. (The BBC has a healthy export market.)
On the back of a large retail agreement with French multi-national Schneider Electric (secured with assistance from former Dragonslayer Peter Moule of Chocbox fame), rapstrap was widely reported as the biggest success story ever to appear on the show.
The original releasable, all-purpose strap. Now known as the rapstrap Classic., this tie strip can be interwoven in many creative ways. It provides a more versatile alternative to conventional cable tie strips
The Rapstrap Products
The Classic Design
After more than a decade of work, the first mass-produced rapstrap Classics finally became available in 2009. (There was a small party.)
Although intended to reduce waste, the soft polyurethane required to make the design function also gave these ties some other useful properties.
In fact, development of the Classic was actually guided by the requirements of the Philippines telecoms industry, who were looking for a soft and elasticated way of tying cables; The rapstrap offered an attractive solution.more
Once the Classic hit the streets, this same feature meant it was quickly adopted for other delicate applications, including horticultural uses (gardeners seem to like them) and for securing flower bouquets in transit. The ability to reduced wastage thus became somewhat secondary, and many people didn't even use their straps that way.
(The elastomeric polymer used by the Classic 1030 rapstrap allows it to stretch by up to 50%. Andy has since developed a more compact variant, which can stretch even more.)
A More Intelligent Tie
Rapstrap's "intelligent tie" was designed as a compliment to the original Classic. The i-Tie is slimmer and easier to remove, but not as elasticated.
But this elasticity had its downside, and the Classic was not as suitable for more industrial applications. Here, something closer to a traditional cable tie was required, and this led to the development of Andy's second-generation tie strip, the rapstrap "intelligent tie", or i-Tie for short.more
The original goal was to produce a high-strength nylon counterpart, which was a tall order. Nylon is not as flexible as polyurethane, and is not an elastomer, so the new design could not exploit these properties. After dozens of attempts, Andy eventually closed in on a design that worked with increasingly stiffer materials. Dozens of further prototypes fine-tuned the geometry enough to support nylon.
The resulting ties were indeed very strong (exceeding 22kg loop strengths), but they were also a little bit too industrial. Similar strengths could actually be achieved using stiffer polyurethanes, which were much easier to work with. Going back to PU also meant a small amount of elasticity could be retained, and this was useful when tightening the ties. (And also for releasing them, another unique feature of the design.more)
Renewable-resource, biodegradable and water soluble rapstrap i-Ties are now available.
Turning Green
But the design proved even more versatile, and after a bit more work, biodegradable rapstraps finally became a reality.more
Because the i-Tie had been developed around nylon 66 (a pretty awkward material), getting it to work in a softer biodegradable compound actually proved relatively easy. It was mostly a case of working with the suppliers to create a material compatible with the basic product, and then modifying our designs to optimise performance.
This was essential because these bioplastics do have some issues. In particular they are somewhat weaker than the other polymers we use, and they also somewhat more expensive. This meant finding a balance between price & performance, whilst preserving the functionally of our standard i-Ties.
The Classic design has not yet been fully adapted to utilise these materials, but a 43% renewable-resource rapstrap is available. The rapstrap i-Ties can also be produced in this BIO43 polymer, along with two different biodegradable options. (Andy has also recently developed a biodegradable version of the traditional cable tie.)