Mechanical Lock Box

Behind the design

Peek into the KiwiCo product design studio and the design process behind the Eureka Crate Lock Box.

1. Lots o' Locks

   1. For this project, we were inspired by locks in general, not just pin tumbler locks. One of our early prototypes was even for a combination lock (like you might find on a school locker or padlock). We settled on the pin tumbler design because it's so common — any lock with a key has a pin tumbler inside just like your lock box.
2. Iterations

   1. This is just a sample of the many pin, tumbler, and key prototypes we created throughout the design process. As you can see, some things changed a little (like the pins), while others changed a lot (like those key teeth — yikes!). We always keep iterating till we find designs that work well.
3. One Piece

   1. In a real pin tumbler lock, the tumbler is a single piece of solid metal, sitting inside a solid metal casing. Since the whole lock is so solid, though, it's tough to see how the pins slide and how all the parts work together. Your pin tumbler comes in layers instead of big solid pieces so you can see how it works as you build!