Case Study: Auxtail develops safer, production-ready bike carrier prototypes with Protolabs

Auxtail Innovative vehicle accessory designer partners with Protolabs

Auxtail, an innovative vehicle accessory designer, needed a safer and more effective bike carrier solution than traditional tow bar or tailgate-mounted systems. To develop its EasyRide2 product, the company turned to Protolabs for rapid prototyping and 3D printing support, using CAD and FEA-driven designs for the carrier’s key components.

Protolabs helped Auxtail refine the prototype quickly with same/next-day quote updates and production-like prototype parts, achieving a 90% match in material qualities for realistic field testing. The EasyRide2 prototype successfully completed durability testing at Millbrook Proving Ground, giving Auxtail confidence to move toward injection moulding and manufacturing preparations, while continuing to work with Protolabs on final cosmetic and future product developments.

Auxtail

Craig Broadbent

Design Engineer, Founder