R&D AT OAT FOUNDRY

Always Inspired, Always Improving.

We have always been on a mission to build cool stuff – it’s been our ethos since Oat Foundry’s inception. Over the years, we’ve designed and built a variety of custom projects; industrial coffee-extraction rigs, play-calling signage for The Philadelphia Eagles, high-speed bottling automation – to name a few. Each new development involves physical, analog tech, and each new project is a chance to grow. We take a three-pronged approach to Research and Development.

Revisioning

We are always iterating on our existing products. In the seven years of building Split Flap, we have overhauled every sub-system of the product, so much so that the only thing that remains constant is the nostalgic look and sound. Often these changes were spurred by adopting new manufacturing techniques, working closely with our vendors to improve the product. Sometimes these changes made production easier for our team and the space we are building in.

One of the most pivotal revisions we ever made was the modularization of our housings. Updating the housing turned long lead, expensive custom parts into repeatable, expandable, and in some cases, reusable parts. Sign size is no longer limited by fitting through doors or lengths of sheet metal. This particular design change allowed us to build a 40foot Split Flap. Other revisions have improved versatility, usability, and user experience for our clients.

Custom Requests

Our team tackles many custom requests from clients annually. Rather than rolling these out to all product builds, these are typically one-time designs. They offer a unique opportunity to take a chance on something wild and learn something new. Some of the craziest designs we’ve brought to life include a curved Split Flap, concave with a 272-inch radius. We made a custom 9-inch version of our Picture Flap with 50% more images. We designed a beautiful, art deco-inspired frame with bullnose corners for a classic train station style Split Flap installation.

New Products

In addition to iterating on our current product offerings, R&D at Oat Foundry designs new, innovative products. After years of building and shipping Split Flap displays around the world, we created the Picture Flap display. Picture Flap takes inspiration from the bones of Split Flap. The design is scaled up and intended for a visual medium, rather than alphanumeric. Picture Flaps easily expand to any size a client could ask for – and we’ve seen some truly awe-inspiring scope requests. Picture Flap has now shipped all across the United States. The first international installation is coming soon!

In 2021, the R&D team worked on developing Mellowtron, an interactive tool that reimagines the customer shopping experience at dispensaries. Mellowtron uses powerful software to recommend products available in store best suited to your desired mood. Similarly, we’ve explored this style of interactive recommendations for: cocktails, books, beer, clothing, wayfinding, snacks, travel destinations, and more. All of this came from listening to what our customers were asking for; more ways to engage with the product, invite people to play, and to bring tactile experience to the forefront. Let’s surprise and delight.

Product design is an art. It takes years of development, prototyping, and testing. It takes an intimate knowledge of the vendors we work most closely with, partnered with a customer-focused approach. The R&D team draw inspiration from our team internally, from potential clients and sometimes, just looking at everyday objects with new eyes. Our team has big plans to continue expanding our product offerings in the analog realm. It’s what we love, it’s what makes us tick, and we cannot wait to show you what’s next. Stay tuned…

Matt Kelly Marketing Manager