SkWease, an easy-to-mount automotive roof ski rack

September 1999-March 2000,

Class project, Integrated Design for Marketing and Manufacturing, Stanford University

The SkWease is an automotive roof ski rack that can easily be mounted and dismounted on a car roof. It has a telescoping beam that can be tightened and loosened with a quick locking handle as used for bicycle saddle and front wheel securing.

The class consisted of 40 students, approximately half of which were MBA students and the other half being engineering students mainly from mechanical engineering. Students formed ten teams of fours, typically two each from schools of engineering and business. Customer preferences were analyzed through initial research by the entire class to create a mathematical model of the market and the teams competed on developing a product that would produce the most revenue in the simulated market based on the research. The teams developed and fabricated the final product in roughly four months.

Although my team members shared ideas in all aspects, I was mainly responsible for all mechanical design including detailed concept development, 3D CAD modeling, and fabrication process planning. I also came up with the name of the product, SkWease, which represents the squeezing motion of the structure as well as its marketing catch phrase, “SkWease, SkWease, ski with ease!” which was sung on a rap beat. Cheesy? It probably was. But it proved to be very memorable for the guests who came to our trade show.