The 3/8″sq. nepros neXT ratchet handle NBR390X and nepros ID RFID Tools from Japanese comprehensive hand tool manufacturer Kyoto Tool Co., Ltd. (KTC) have received awards at the 2024 Good Design Awards organized by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion. The NBR390X ratchet handle was also part of the My Favorite Design selection, in which the judges select designs that they found particularly appealing during the second screening stage.

The Good Design Award was founded in 1957 and is Japan’s only comprehensive system for evaluating and promoting design. KTC first won a Good Design Award in 1995 with the nepros 3/8″sq. ratchet handle NBR3UN, which also went on to win a Good Design Long Life Design Award.

In subsequent years, award-winning products from KTC have included the advanced digital torque wrench KTC Digital Ratchet and the 3/8″sq. nepros ratchet handle NBR390. After winning two 2024 awards, KTC has now won a total of 41 Good Design Awards to date.

Award-winning Products

3/8″sq. nepros neXT Ratchet Handle NBR390X 

Jury Evaluation

The design with a compact and lightweight head expresses knowledge of various working postures, including holding the head or neck to turn bolts quickly and using the handle to perform fastening. The topology has a firm mathematical and mechanical basis and is optimized based on several evaluation metrics. As a result, the form and construction deliver outstanding strength, rigidity, lightness, balance and comfort in the hand, culminating in the achievement of a highly-complete design linking human expertise with technology.

My Favorite Design – Reason for Selection

Shigenori Asakura (Industrial Designer)

In design development, forms derived from calculations sometimes differ from existing concepts. While this can feel disconcerting at first, once understood, that feeling changes to one of strong trust. Starting from initial designs guided by topology optimization theory to achieve weight reduction, material saving and increased strength, the completed wrench has a high level of quality that can be felt through the hand. This is a tool that inspires confidence.

3/8″sq. nepros neXT Ratchet Handle NBR390X

Background

Social changes such as aging and more diverse workforces led to demand for lighter, easier to use tools with even more strength-efficient structures. KTC developed this ratchet handle based on its conviction that hand tools are more than mere structures and that, as objects in direct contact with human hands, they should epitomize form optimized for people, delivering strength, rigidity, lightness, balance and a comfortable hold.

History and Achievements

To create a tool with a truly optimal form, KTC engaged in joint research with Professor Shinji Nishiwaki from the Kyoto University Graduate School of Engineering to grasp fundamental topology optimization theory and analysis methods. Topology optimization does not rely on designer experience, it is a structure optimization method that automatically finds the optimal shape and form of a structure on a mechanical and mathematical basis, enabling weight reduction without compromising on rigidity. While there were almost no previous examples of products developed to commercialization through topology optimization, KTC took on this new development challenge, leveraging its manufacturing department’s capabilities to deliver a tool optimized to deliver what customers were seeking while reducing weight. Low stress areas were removed through repeated analysis and design work, leading to the ideal grip shape to give users exactly what they need from a tool. While the shape has been stripped down to the bare minimum, the load is distributed across the entire tool to ensure that the extremely lightweight design also delivers excellent strength.

3/8″sq. nepros neXT Ratchet Handle NBR390X Development Secrets Roundtable (Opening)

Weight Reduction Benefits

Technicians use hand tools for many tasks where they face upwards and work with their arms raised. In addition to time spent working on equipment, transporting gear is another issue to address, as workers need to carry numerous tools while walking to their station.

Lightweight tools reduce the strain placed on workers, improving efficiency and safety. They also support diversity and inclusion in terms of considerations such as supporting older technicians. By using less material, the design also contributes to cost efficiency and environmental friendliness.

nepros ID RFID Tools

Jury Evaluation

At aircraft manufacturing facilities and other work sites where preventing tool loss and ensuring task management are important requirements, the previous approach of retrofitting RFID tags to tools interfered with usability and had limited reading accuracy. The designers worked to enhance accuracy through an integrated design intended to set a new industry standard. This RFID with 360° readability provides safety, usability as tools, a strong lineup. and aesthetics that extend to the packaging and details. The design delivers both functional beauty as tools and a sense of reliability.

Product Overview

With ever greater focus placed on safety in industries such as aircraft manufacturing and MRO, nepros ID RFID-equipped tools deliver dramatically improved reading accuracy to enable tool location and identification, enabling more effective prevention of tool loss and FOD.

About nepros ID RFID Tools

Background

With demand for ever higher safety standards in MRO, and in the aircraft industry in particular, companies are under increasing pressure to improve their systems for maintaining, repairing and inspecting equipment while also enhancing efficiency. KTC developed tools with RFID tags integrated into the design from the manufacturing stage to address this challenge. nepros ID tools were created to meet the needs of diverse work site management systems. Used in conjunction with readers and software, nepros ID enables the digitization of individual tool information, enabling visualization of tool locations and supporting tasks such as work status management and task log confirmation. Despite the benefits of RFID tagging, the conventional prevailing approach of retrofitting RFID tags to existing tools leads to difficulty reading tags on tools stored at different orientations or stacked on top of each other, making enhancing readability a major issue to address. KTC developed nepros ID to overcome this by fitting tools with RFID tags that can be read from any direction. Readability has been enhanced, improving performance when searching for and identifying tools. nepros ID also delivers greater durability, extended reading distances and higher accuracy in processes such as batch scanning, enabling teams to prevent tool loss and FOD more effectively.

History and Achievements

Tool shapes vary depending on the intended application, meaning that the RF tag shape, mounting method and position had to be considered on a tool-by-tool basis to achieve high-sensitivity reading without compromising essential functionality. Using the same RF tag type across tools categories was examined in parallel to improve cost effectiveness, and the positioning and the design of the tools themselves have been adjusted to achieve the required reading accuracy, even on objects with differing shapes.

GOOD DESIGN EXHIBITION 2024

Dates:
Friday, November 1 to Tuesday, November 5
Venue:
Various venues within Tokyo Midtown

My Favorite Design Exhibition Overview

As part of this popular feature of the Good Design Award, the judges select designs that appeal to or intrigue them on a personal level. The selected products are exhibited alongside a message from the judges that chose them. In 2024, 103 judges selected 86 items to be displayed over three exhibition periods. Speaking events will also be held at the venue.

Dates:
1st Period: Wednesday, October 16 to Tuesday, October 29 – 11am to 8pm (until 6pm on final day)
2nd Period: Thursday, October 31 to Tuesday, November 12 – 11am to 8pm (until 6pm on final day)
3rd Period: Thursday, November 14 to Wednesday, November 27 – 11am to 8pm
*3/8″sq. nepros neXT Ratchet Handle NBR390X to be exhibited during 2nd period.

Venue:
GOOD DESIGN Marunouchi (Shin Kokusai Building, 1st Floor, 4-1, Marunouchi 3-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
Organizer
Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP)

Good Design Award

The Good Design Award was founded in 1957 as the Good Design Product Selection System and is Japan’s most iconic initiative for the evaluation and promotion of design. This global design award attracts numerous companies and organizations from Japan and beyond each year, aiming to better people’s quality of life and address social issues through design. The award’s G Mark symbol is widely recognized as a marker of outstanding design.

Details

Refer to the online resources below for details regarding award-winning products.
3/8″sq. nepros neXT Ratchet Handle NBR390X
https://ktc.jp/nepros/nbr390x

nepros ID RFID-enabled Tools

Pamphlet (PDF)

Related links

Official Good Design Award website
https://www.g-mark.org