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Since June 2015

Your ideas with our creative imagination

Who and What is Specialty Developments?

It's a service to those who have little or no internal technical support.

Specialty Developments, like all progressive businesses has evolved, yet still maintains its original ethos - to provide help to people or organisations with what they need, when they can’t work out a way to do it on their own in a cost effective way.Specialty Developments occasionally calls on support from a small collection of people who have particular skills or expertise in various engineering/technical backgrounds.Principally, the proprietor is Paul Hammond who has spent many decades as a multi-skilled engineer in University College London who is currently on secondment to the
UCL Institute of Ophthalmology as Safety and Building Manager, from his previous role as the Laboratory Manager in a Movement Disorder Research centre at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology.
Primarily the objective is based on helping each other out in various professional and private jobs, where we all pride ourselves on a rather old-school approach of trying to do what we can to help others.

The starting point is to give advice, particularly with what some options may be in a given project.In general we are driven by our thirst for seeking creative solutions to challenging problems.Various works are undertaken and always on the understanding of 'to our best endeavour'.If precision engineering is required, then there are lots of options out there and we not able or interested to compete with them.
What Specialty Developments can offer is time and interest to do whatever we can.
'The run of the mill is not as interesting as the bizarre, odd or niche - where it just has to do that thing in that way or it won't work'.

Commercial activities started by way of working with existing manufacturers to help improve, expand and develop new and existing ranges.This initially started with specialist sporting equipment including kayaks, paddles, clothing and safety equipment. This was all under the name 'Clyde’s Polo Kit' (our original identity), going on to retail many of these lines with some in-house manufacturing using composite materials.As a commercial venture Clyde’s Polo Kit was chiefly interested in Specialty Sporting Equipment, but despite this, many clients in the Medical Research sector sought help in various scientific projects.As the number of clients increased, it was felt more appropriate to start afresh with a new identity to allow creative scope for that more prominent direction.At the heart of it all two aspects remain; innovation and creativity.
Specialty Development was created to serve that goal.

The examples shown on the following pages are a very small sample of the many products and projects worked on and supplied.

Brainbox Logo

For products specifically supplied for the neuroscience sector.

Items shown here are just a small number of those supplied through our partner Brainbox Ltd.

We design and manufacture many standard parts, assemblies, and accessories as well as custom items
for our partners at Brainbox Ltd.

Some of these items are only available through Brainbox, such as those used to interface with systems they work with. Examples would include Neuro-Modulation equipment such as TMS, TES, FUS and Neuro-Navigation.

FUS TPO Matching Network Bracket

Magstim Control

Trigger and Control Cables for Stimulators

3D Printed Accessories

Here you see the three versions of the WASP Electrode; Bare, Dome and Winged.While there are standard options for connectors for these, customers can specify what they need for custom cables.

Small Equipment Repair

Small or obsolete equipment could be too expensive to repair or irreplaceable. This could be something Specialty Development could take a look at.Normally we can take a look with good quality photos or video.
If you have explored all the usual channels, see if we can help.
Our sustainability ethos dictates that if we keep something going rather than have it disposed of, then we are happy to try to prolong the life of equipment rather than see it consigned to any waste disposal routes.
This can include re-wiring, replacing components, or resoldering joints.

Replacement Batteries

Replacement components on PCB's

Mirror Rotator Repair
Mirror Rotator Repair
Mirror Rotator Repair

Not everyone can solder small components.

Adaptor Cales and Interfaces

Different equipment will almost always have different connectors and if they do have the same connectors, will the internal connections go to the right pins?
If you get that wrong it could be an expensive mistake.
So often we hear about manufactures only supplying interfaces cables to fit the equipment they supply and nothing else but what if your existing equipment could work just as well - and save you buying new kit?
If you can supply the pin connection detail and the specific type of connector for each end, then we should be able to make a matching interface cable.
We can put different connectors on bought-in cables if they won't fit your equipment,
or make adaptors to your specification.

Custom Cables require detail of both ends and the type of cable to use.
In some cases, providing the detail of the equipment to be connected may be enough, along with the cable length.

Some customers want a neat solution

Adaptors such as 'Y' Cables

Durability is important

Regular cables with modifications

Custom Interface Cables

Small Research Equipment

Some items of small equipment comes from our own ideas,
while others come from specific researcher enquiries.

We have made many varieties of button boxes

Mirror Rotator Repair

Breakout box for data acquisition interface

Mirror Rotator Repair

Various types of strain gauge

Moulded parts in fibreglass or foam

19" Rack Panels

Multiplex switching box

3D Accelerometer

3D Accelerometer

Frame mount for Vibrating Stimulator

Mirror Rotator Repair

Feedback system with pneumatic actuator

Mirror Rotator Repair

Digitus Force Sensor

Prototype circuitry

If you have any questions, please use the form here, or send an email directly to:-
infoATspecialty-developments.co.uk

Due to the number of spam emails, please use the above email address and substitute the ' AT ' with '@'.

These three images shown here are awards and gifts made with various materials including cold casting.Top: A Science Award in a primary school for a science challenge sponsored by Specialty Developments.
Middle: Britain's Best Team Award sponsored by Clyde Hammond and presented to the British Canoeing Canoe Polo Committee.
Bottom: Inuksuk - A gift made for some Canadian Canoe Polo Friends.