Santa Fe, N.M. (May 28, 2004) – Partway through planning a new line of bath accessories, Jim Cady and Richard Glickman of Silver Zebra Design faced a technical roadblock that threatened to slow the company’s growth.

Cady and Glickman, the manufacturers of hand crafted home- and garden-related accessories, found that metallurgical talent and expertise in Computer Aided Design (CAD) was essential. Unfamiliar with CAD, the partners were limited in obtaining the technical drawings necessary to assess the cost of making the new products.  They also were unsure of what alloy would be best for the look they desired.

“Everywhere we presented our non-technical drawings to obtain a price for tooling, we were given different answers,” said Cady. 

That’s when Silver Zebra turned to the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP) in Santa Fe to solve the technical challenge. SATOP is a NASA-funded program that allows small businesses to access the knowledge and technology of the space industry at no charge. 

Cady was paired with New Mexico State University’s Manufacturing Technology and Engineering Center (M-TEC) when he submitted a Request for Technical Assistance (RTA) to SATOP.

Located in Las Cruces, NMSU is the second largest university in the state. M-TEC started on campus in August 2000 under the College of Engineering.

“Specifically, Silver Zebra Design requested assistance with the design of a towel rack that required an affordable manufacturing process that was easy to implement,” said Anthony Hyde, M-TEC director. 

Under the guidance of Charlie Park, M-TEC machine shop manager, student Tim Kelly worked out the design details through computer-based solid modeling.  Silver Zebra then narrowed 10 initial designs down to one.  Aluminum was selected due to the various manufacturing processes that the material would have to withstand.

“Not only did NMSU M-TEC provide first class drawings, but they also delivered prototypes specifically attractive to the markets we are trying to reach,” said Cady, adding that Silver Zebra’s new product line will be available in mid-May. 

“Working with Silver Zebra Design shows how SATOP’s assistance can positively affect a small business and in this case, in a relatively short period of time,” said Hugo Hinojosa, SATOP-NM director.

“SATOP and M-TEC have formed a good partnership,” said Hyde.   “This project was a win-win situation because it allowed a student to gain experience and a small business to move forward.”