Magnetips
Magnetic fine-liners you can build and play with.
Magnetips are refillable fine-liners built around embedded neodymium magnets, designed so the pens clip together to build shapes and structures as well as write. Typica came to D2M with the concept and D2M developed it into a manufacturable product, resolving the design, ergonomics and safety requirements through to production-ready specification.
The Story
The brief carried a specific design tension. The pens had to be refillable to cut the waste of disposable fine-liners, comfortable enough for extended use, and safe enough for a market that included children, all while housing magnets strong enough to make the building and play genuinely work.
D2M resolved these requirements through CAD and prototyping. The body was given a wide hex profile for grip and to stop the pens rolling, and specified in polypropylene for durability. The 0.4mm nibs were encased in metal for precision. Rare-earth neodymium magnets were embedded at each end so the pens would hold firmly to each other and to metal surfaces, turning a set into something that could be arranged, stacked and built with. Because the product was aimed partly at children, air-flow vents were built into the caps to meet safety requirements. Prototyping confirmed the design performed before it moved to manufacture.
The Outcome
Magnetips raised over £250,000 through crowdfunding and launched internationally. Nearly a decade on, the product is still selling through Amazon, JML, Menkind and other stationery retailers.
