{"id":74994,"date":"2025-10-13T15:50:53","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T07:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xometry.asia\/?p=74994"},"modified":"2025-10-13T15:53:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T07:53:30","slug":"hose-clip-bevarage-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-wp.xometry.asia\/en\/hose-clip-bevarage-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing a Hose Clip for the Beverage Industry: From Faculty Project to First Business Venture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hi all, my name is Filip Ljevar, and I\u2019m a postgraduate student in Engineering and Management at the University of Maribor, Slovenia. Together with a team of fellow master\u2019s students, I developed a practical hose clip device for the food and beverage industry. Our project started as a semester assignment and ended with a filed utility model and a small-scale business experiment\u2014packed with lessons in design, manufacturing, and market realities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hose<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This story is about a faculty project turned into a small (but real) business venture, \u201cHose-lock Clip\u201d. About a year ago, we were assigned a semester-long challenge: design, produce, and present a device for attaching a flexible hose to a liquid container\u2014ensuring that the fluid pressure wouldn\u2019t knock the hose out of the vessel. No specific constraints were given, encouraging each team to pursue a unique solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While other teams focused on swimming pool equipment or aquarium devices, we chose to target the food and beverage industry, specifically wine-making and beer-making. That meant our design needed to be food-safe, durable, and large enough to avoid falling into the beverage. We had to ensure the material would not corrode when in contact with food or liquids like water or wine, would not leach any substances into the beverage, and would require no lubrication to remain safe and functional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Idea to Prototype: Iterating the Hose Clip Design<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our first goal was to make the clip usable with one hand and avoid screws or bolts for attachment. Wine fermentation vessels typically have a thick flange, so our design had to grip that flange securely\u2014but still be compatible with vessels with thinner walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We initially experimented with a large, bent-wire clothespin concept. However, we soon faced manufacturability issues: bending wire into complex, functional shapes was too difficult and the result was not robust enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We pivoted to a new solution: a clothespin-style clip made from two laser-cut sheet metal shells joined by a shoulder screw and closed with a torsion spring. Initially, we added two hose ducts\u2014one on each handle\u2014to hold the hose. But this made the device heavy and awkward to use with one hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We built a first prototype and replaced the ducts with round holes to thread the hose through. Unfortunately, the round shape only provided one contact point, which wasn\u2019t enough to hold the hose reliably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hose
Hose clip first model<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Hose
Hose clip improved model<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, we arrived at our final design: elongated, upside-down teardrop-shaped holes that pinched the hose in two spots. This solution was simple, universal (fitting multiple hose diameters), and held the hose in place even with strong fluid flow. Eventually, we arrived at our final design: elongated, upside-down teardrop-shaped holes that pinched the hose in two spots. This solution was simple, universal (fitting multiple hose diameters), and held the hose in place even with strong fluid flow. Made from 1.5 mm thick stainless steel, the final clip measures 80 \u00d7 45 \u00d7 170 mm and offers both durability and food safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Prototype to Protection: Filing for a Utility Model<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once the design was finalized, we filed for a Slovenian national utility model\u2014similar to a patent\u2014to protect the concept. Around the same time, we presented our final project and received an excellent grade. The evaluators appreciated the sturdy feel of the clip in hand but recommended considering thinner sheet steel in future iterations to optimize material use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we weren\u2019t done. Seeing commercial potential, we decided to bring the product to market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Final<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final stainless steel hose clip<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Final<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Final<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Going to Market: Small-Scale Production and Big Lessons<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We took the next steps: creating promotional photos and videos, setting up an online store, and launching a social media campaign. We partnered with suppliers for laser-cut stainless steel parts and got ready to ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after a week of ads, we had zero sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analytics showed people were clicking through, but they dropped off at checkout. The price\u2014\u20ac20 per clip plus \u20ac6 shipping\u2014was a barrier. With production costs close to \u20ac15 (for 100-unit batches), we felt the price was fair. But the market didn\u2019t agree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hose<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hose clip attached to barrel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hose<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hose clip attached to barrel and hoding a pipe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hose<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hose clip attached to barrel and hoding a pipe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hose<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hose clip hoding a pipe spraying water<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We experimented with bundles and e-books, and even considered switching to anodized aluminum to cut costs. However, that would compromise the product\u2019s sturdy feel, and reducing the price would only highlight the relatively high shipping cost. Increasing production volume was too risky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, we made the hard decision to stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although we didn\u2019t sell a single hose clip, the project gave us a lot in return: a granted utility model and bonus points for a scholarship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We still believe in the product and may one day publish the design as open source to help others facing a similar challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Have you ever tried bringing a student project to market? <\/strong>What design choices would you have made to keep this product affordable\u2014without compromising on quality? We\u2019d love to hear your thoughts on how Filip and his team approached this real-world challenge. Share your ideas, or similar experiences in the comments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A student team designed a hose clip, developed prototypes, and attempted small-scale commercialization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":74988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,735],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-stories","category-innovation-stories-en"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-13 22:38:25","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-wp.xometry.asia\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-wp.xometry.asia\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-wp.xometry.asia\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-wp.xometry.asia\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-wp.xometry.asia\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-wp.xometry.asia\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-wp.xometry.asia\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-wp.xometry.asia\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-wp.xometry.asia\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-wp.xometry.asia\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}