Modular Shibumi Clip Technical Documentation¶
What it is (From Salvatore Anzalone’s “Modular Beach Shade Clip Concept”)¶
- A universal, lightweight clip that attaches to any part of the Shibumi pole or fabric seam with the capability to be equipped with several snap-on accessories
- Includes hooks, a small solar panel and USB/USB-C charging port, etc. etc.
Key Features¶
- 360° Rotating Clip - Attaches securely to the Shibumi frame or fabric edge—can rotate to follow the sun.
- Integrated Solar Panel - Compact yet powerful enough to charge phones, portable fans, lights, or speakers.
- Dual Ports - One USB-A and one USB-C port with weather-resistant covers.
- Flexible Attachment Arm (optional)- Allows the panel to face the sun while the port stays in the shade.
- Lightweight & Beach-Proof - Designed to resist sand, salt, and wind.
- Snap-in Accessory Add-ons - (e.g., phone holder, cup hook, GoPro mount, or mini fan).
Prototype 1 Results¶
The development of the 1st prototype was not documented. A set of 2 accessories, a cupholder and a towel hook and the clip itself were created in fusion 360
The clip with the towel hook attachment
The clip with the cupholder attachment
What worked¶
I was surprised by how well the C clip design held onto the pole, and didn’t have any issues with the clip slipping while testing. The clip also responded well to shear forces, and did not bend easily.
What Didn’t¶
The magnets I used were not very strong, so despite being rubber coated, they did not withstand much shear force when accesories were attached. The cupholder was too heavy to be held on it’s own.
What’s next¶
For the next design, I want to stick with the c clip design and design it for the diameter of the Shibumi pole. I’m going to add a channel on the inside of the clip to fill with silicone to further resist slipping on the pole.
The biggest issue that needs to be fixed is the attachment mechanism for accesories. In order to resist the shear forces, Prototype 2 will have the following changes:
- Multiple magnets in a “star” like configuration to distribute force more evenly while still allowing accesories to still be rotated.
- A “Peg and hole” design, where the magnets protrude on the end of the accesories, and are placed in a counterdrilled hole on the clip side
- Rubber coated, neodymnium magnets on both sides of the clip
Prototype 2¶
For prototype 2, I want the clip to achieve the following:
- The C clip will withstand at least 5lbs of downward force without slipping on the pole
- The C clip will be able to be easily opened and clipped on the pole without any tools
- Accesories will withstand at least 3lbs of downward force
- Accesories will take a reasonable amount of force to be swapped
- All pieces will be within a saftey factor of 2 when put under a simulation of beach conditions in autodesk Fusion (Heat, Deformation, Dynamic events)
Design¶
The first thing I did in Fusion 360 was create a user parameter called “clip gap” to set the size of the gap the clip has in degrees.
After that, I created 2 open circles using the center point arc tool, with a gap set to the parameter I created.
I then extruded the clip to a height of 1 in. I also changed the physical material to ABS plastic.
Simulating opening the clip¶
I wanted to make sure that the clip would be easy to open as well as not break under the opening force, so I created a simulation by fixing the bottom face of the clip, and adding 2 forces onto each side of the opening of the clip of 70N (an estimate from chatGPT when prompted with “What’s a reasonable estimate for how much force a human can exert opening a flexible ABS C clip?”)
The first result. While the deformation looks like a reasonable amount, the red areas are spots that would most likely bend permanetly or break
Updated results after adding 2mm of thickness to the clip. This leaves the clip well within the saftey factors while also still deforming to fit around the pole