Tork Trux Advances Skateboarding with Autodesk Product Design Suite

Tork Trux (Tork), a skateboard component company, is using Autodesk Product Design Suite from Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), to successfully advance its mission of “revolution through skateboard evolution.”

Based in Charlotte, N.C., Tork used Autodesk Product Design Suite virtual design software to realize the company’s vision of a super-light skateboard truck that is easy to securely fasten to the board, without the need for multiple tools.

Tork has developed ACT (Advanced Capturing Technology), a superior type of skateboard “truck” — the metal axle component that attaches the wheels to the board — that integrates a built-in wrench shape into the baseplate portion of the truck design. Equally as important is the use of a flange nut that keeps the nut in the wrench-shaped area, allowing skateboarders to attach the trucks to the board without having to use their fingers at all.

“Skateboarders used to have to juggle a skateboard, a truck, a screw and a nut while using two separate tools to attach the trucks,” said Dustin Clark, president of Tork. “Our built-in wrench shape greatly simplifies skateboard assembly, ensuring that the nuts stay in place and don’t come loose while skating.”

Design Suite Brings Product from Concept to Market

The name Tork Trux is a play on the concept of torque, the turning force provided by a wrench. Tork Trux was entirely designed using Autodesk Inventor software. Using the built-in finite element analysis (FEA) tools within Inventor helped Tork develop the truck to be sufficiently strong enough to withstand the stresses of riding, while eliminating unnecessary material and making the truck as lightweight as possible. The company also used Inventor software to create a short animation video of assembly instructions.

Autodesk Alias software enabled Tork to make design variations to the truck, such as varying truck widths for different sizes of skateboards. The company was also able to explore and visualize different color combinations using Autodesk Showcase software to create vivid and realistic 3D renderings of its skateboards. Tork Trux even used Autodesk SketchBook Designer to design the company logo.

“Digital Prototyping helps transform a great idea into a great product, in less time and with less cost. That’s what Tork has done,” said Robert “Buzz” Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group at Autodesk. “With the Autodesk Product Design Suite, any manufacturer can innovate smarter and faster.”