Rackstuds™ Story
The new and improved revolutionary rackmount technology.
Born in New Zealand in the year 2000, the lightbulb moment was "Why doesn’t someone reverse the nut and bolt so I have something to hang the computer on?"
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With no help at hand, Pete Stothers was tasked with installing a 15kg computer in a small under-bench rack. He would resort to stacking telephone books below the computer to align the rails with the cage nuts. This was not an isolated incident.
Peter, Rackstuds™ founder, and Director, recalled many years of struggling to install cage nuts. The endless cut fingers and losing many a nut down the back of racks. He believed he was well versed with the issues, but could he come up with a better solution?
And so the ten-year prototyping journey began. The design mandate was simple:
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It must go in from the front.
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It must be simple to install.
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It must be simple to remove.
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It would not need any special tools; not even a screwdriver.
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It must be strong enough to hold a 20kg (44lb) piece of equipment.
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It must be affordable so it could become a natural replacement for the cage nut over time.
The idea to insert the stud from the front stumped the design team for a long time...years in fact. We trialled dozens of different designs without success. Finally a eureka moment.
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We could insert Rackstuds™ from the front, but remove them from the back. That simple realisation that we could 'get in behind the wall' afforded us a solution. After more than ten revisions and two years in the field, we have the products you see today.
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Pete Stothers is the Director and the Inventor of Rackstuds. Rackstuds are proud to design, manufacture, and pack our product right here in New Zealand.
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