Motor Vibration Isolating System (2020)

Kai Concepts LLC, Alameda, California

High Performance Sports Equipment

Conceptual Design, Prototyping, Injection Molding, Testing

Kai Concepts is developing a premium electric foiling surfboard or e-foil which is equipped with hydrofoils and an electric motor. Engineering Design Lab was challenged to find a way to reduce the electric motor noise for the product.

A “whisper drive” system was developed and prototyped that isolated the electric motor from the rest of the system on rubber washers, while concurrently keeping the required rigidity to transfer thrust and maintain performance. The client’s product is now virtually silent on the water: it is over an order of magnitude quieter than the competition. 

Tomek Bartczak was awarded a US Patent (US 11,084,556 B1) for the design in 2021.

Client Testimonial:

I highly recommend Tomek and the team he assembled at his Engineering Design Lab for any design challenge but particularly those tasks that require skills at the intersection of traditional engineering disciplines. Tomek genuinely loves his craft as an engineering designer, and that enables him to come up with creative solutions, backed by analysis. Additionally, with his detail-oriented side - he sees his designs through from prototyping, to EVT, DVT, PVT and all the way to mass production. Tomek quickly acclimatized himself with our team and its dynamic, and the nuances of the project. He worked in a flexible manner, integrated well with existing team and provided top notch engineering services on a day by day basis.

Dmitri Stepanov, MASC, P.Eng
Product Manager
Kai Concepts LLC