AKASH R

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New product development · Course work

ReamPlug

Plug a puncture with the wheel on the car: one motor reams the hole, then pushes in a mushroom plug.

CategoryProduct

CourseNew product development

CustomerCarmakers, one per car

ToolsFusion · Blender · Shapr3D

Brief

Fix the puncture. Leave the wheel on.

ProblemA lasting repair needs the tyre off the rim.
GoalSeal it from inside, on the car, in 15 minutes.
CustomerCarmakers: one per car, instead of the sealant kit.

Take it apart

The tool in 3D

Drag to turn, click for x-ray, play the repair or open the shell.

Drag to turn · Click for x-ray

1 25GA-370 motor
2 52T gear
3 Lead screw
4 Drill / plug selector
5 Trigger

196 × 143 × 37 mm

Ideation

Sketch to mechanism

Sketch sheet, First ideas: four concepts, a plug gun with a holder and automatic punch, a screw through the belt sealed with glue, a T-holder plug and a gun-shaped pusher with a plug holder — First ideas

Sketch sheet, Working it out: the gun with a lead screw inside, a motor gun that drills then pushes the mushroom plug, and the brief I set myself: form, build it yourself, learn everything — One motor, two jobs

Six ways tried, one chosen

Scored on seven points, out of 35.

Turret

Shuttle

Probe-reamer

Push-drill

Crank

Compact cartridge: one motor drills, then pushes. Chosen.

Prototype P1 Turret modelled in Fusion, reaming — P1 Turret

Prototype P2 Shuttle modelled in Fusion, reaming — P2 Shuttle

Prototype P3 Probe-Reamer modelled in Fusion, reaming — P3 Probe-reamer

Prototype P4 Push-Drill modelled in Fusion, reaming — P4 Push-drill

Prototype P5 Crank modelled in Fusion, reaming — P5 Crank

Prototype P6 Compact Cartridge modelled in Fusion, reaming — P6 Compact cartridge

Three forms, one mechanism.

The bent grip won: the push goes up the forearm and the buttons sit under the fingers.

Form ideation sheet: nine ways to hold a tool that drills into a tyre and then pushes a plug, from pen grip to compact drill, with the bent grip circled as chosen — Nine ways to hold it, over 3D blockouts

Form sketches in side view: eight ways to wrap the same insides, with the bent grip circled — Same insides, eight wraps

The three CAD forms side by side: v3 slim pen grip, v4 bent grip with finger grooves, v6 compact drill with a T-handle — v3 slim · v4 grip (chosen) · v6 drill

Research

Three kinds of damage

Punch-holeRepairable.
MushroomRepairable after reaming.
SidewallNot repairable.

A white car in a tyre shop on a trolley jack, its front wheel off, an impact wrench on the floor — At the shop: wheel off

A T-handle spiral reamer pushed into the tread of a front tyre, the wheel still on the car — At the roadside: string plug

A worn tyre with a crack at the shoulder, where the tread meets the sidewall — Past saving

Fast fixes don't last

Sealant

Temporary

String plug

30 min

Temporary

Spare

40 min

Nothing repaired

Mushroom

60 min

Permanent, tyre off the rim

Goal

Permanent, wheel on the car

Users

Left at the roadside

The driver

Can't do it

Has never used the jack.

The owner

Pays twice

The spare fixes nothing.

The tyre shop

Gets the damage

Cars arrive driven flat.

Market

The customer is the carmaker

Since 2020 Indian cars can ship without a spare, with a sealant kit instead. ReamPlug takes that slot.

26.6 lakhSmall cars sold a year in India

79%Of Indian tyres are tubeless

₹5,150 crRepair kit market, 2025

Design

Hold it like a drill.

Close-up of the grip: a black finger pad over four soft scallops, the orange trigger at the front — Finger grooves

Close-up of the handle top: the blue selector on the barrel, the orange trigger and the reverse button — Buttons under the fingers

Side view of the tool: the handle meeting the barrel at an angle, raked back — Raked 25° back

How it works

One motor, both jobs

Drill mode spins the reamer. Plug mode locks the lead screw, so the spindle winds it forward: 60 mm in 16 s.

X-ray render in plug mode, mid-push: the motor under the spindle, the brass gears, the lead screw driving the plug through the orange nozzle into the tyre — Plug mode, mid-push

Blender Cycles · loads when you press play

Exploded view: the two shell halves, the motor, gears, spindle, lead screw, collar, switches and the drill cartridge spread apart

Inside

Built for rain

PowerCar's 12 V socket.
WiringNo circuit board.
SealsGasket, boots, grommet.

Making it

Print, then mould

First PLA fit-test print, held in the hand: the grip half from outside, showing the screw-head pocket — First print

Close-up of the printed screw boss standing on a thin ring — The weak boss

The screw boss wobbled, so every boss got a collar and three gussets.

Before: a bare 6 mm screw tube standing in the shell — Before

After: the screw boss with a collar and three gussets tying it to the wall — After

Moulding check of both shell halves: almost every face green, pulling straight from the mould — Green pulls straight

Two-part mould, no undercuts

Technical drawing T1-GA-001, general assembly: side and rear views with overall dimensions and title block — General assembly

Technical drawing T1-GA-002: section on the parting plane with every part ballooned — Section · 16 sheets in the set

The business

Cheaper for them, profitable for us

₹633Parts per tool

₹1,170Price to the carmaker

₹230Saved per car vs the sealant kit

Estimates at 4 million a year

Front three-quarter render of ReamPlug: the blue drill cartridge and reamer facing the camera, the grip behind

Keep exploring

More work

Drag the rail sideways, or move over a card to see the project.

Next · Product4 weeks

Move to reveal

Fix the puncture. Leave the wheel on.

The tool in 3D

Sketch to mechanism

Six ways tried, one chosen

P1 Turret

P2 Shuttle

P3 Probe-reamer

P4 Push-drill

P5 Crank

P6 Compact cartridge

Three kinds of damage

At the shop: wheel off

At the roadside: string plug

Past saving

Fast fixes don't last

Left at the roadside

Can't do it

Pays twice

Gets the damage

The customer is the carmaker

Finger grooves

Buttons under the fingers

Raked 25° back

One motor, both jobs

Built for rain

Print, then mould

Two-part mould, no undercuts

Cheaper for them, profitable for us

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