Lighted, Addressable Bollard Covers

Client:

Sloan Security Group

Services provided:

Mechanical Engineering

Product Design

Electronics and Embedded Systems

Manufacturing Setup

Prototyping

Date:

2025

project summary

Complete product design and engineering, concept through manufacturing startup.

Challenge

Product Vision

Sloan Security Group was already established as a market leader in security bollard installations, and their leadership wanted to develop their own security bollard product with unique, differentiating features.

Sloan Security Group came to SGW Designworks with deep domain knowledge and a clear market opportunity. For years, Sloan had been installing bollard systems in demanding environments including stadiums, airports, embassies, and other high security or high visibility locations. While they understood the operational requirements of these installations extremely well, they had not previously developed and commercialized their own proprietary product. Their vision was to create a stainless steel bollard cover with integrated, addressable lighting. The system needed to support coordinated lighting schemes for architectural and decorative applications, enable synchronization with music or events, and provide functional visual cues such as emergency egress paths. This was not a novelty lighting concept. It needed to perform reliably as part of professional lighting systems and integrate cleanly with industry standard DMX control hardware.

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From the outset, the product had to balance several competing requirements. It needed to be visually refined and architecturally appropriate, while also surviving long term outdoor exposure to weather, temperature swings, and physical abuse. Internally, the design had to accommodate electronics, optics, and thermal management within a constrained stainless steel form factor. At the same time, Sloan had clear production cost targets that the final solution needed to meet in order to be commercially viable. SGW’s role was to help translate this well defined product vision into a manufacturable, production ready system that met aesthetic, technical, environmental, and cost requirements simultaneously.

delivery

Final Outcome

SGW Designworks completed the product design, including all mechanical and electronics elements - and then led the effort to set up a supply chain and start production.

SGW Designworks focused the multidisciplinary internal team to bring the lighted bollard cover from concept to production. Industrial design efforts focused on the visual language of the product, with particular attention to lighting effects, diffusion quality, and how the illuminated elements interacted with the stainless steel exterior in real world architectural settings. Mechanical engineering work centered on the internal architecture of the system. This included the design of structural castings to support the electronics and custom PCBA, thermal management to ensure LED reliability in outdoor installations, and the development of injection molded lens components that balanced optical performance with durability and manufacturability. In parallel, SGW’s embedded systems team designed the custom PCBA for the LED system and integrated discrete components to support DMX control. This ensured compatibility with professional lighting infrastructure while maintaining reliability and serviceability in field installations.

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The product evolved through a disciplined series of design iterations and prototypes, allowing risks to be addressed early and performance to be validated incrementally. While Sloan had strong in house metal fabrication capabilities, SGW identified, engaged, and helped establish the rest of the supply chain required to support production. This included sourcing PCB assemblies, injection molded components, and aluminum castings, all of which were coordinated to support final assembly in Sloan’s Boise, Idaho facility. SGW led design for manufacturability reviews with contract manufacturers, supported production setup, and assisted directly with assembly of the initial production units. SGW also oversaw third party regulatory testing to ensure compliance prior to broader deployment.

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The result was a robust, visually refined lighting product that met Sloan Security Group’s functional goals, integrated seamlessly into professional lighting systems, and was ready for scalable production and deployment in demanding environments. The final product won a 2025 Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum.