Off the bat, we have to admit this product is not the most practical application of carbon fiber, but neither is a toilet seat and we still sell and love that. The Fling, a desktop catapult made from carbon fiber, is Citius Composites latest marketing tool to promote their company.
Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects and Citius is utilizing it to help their Fling find life. How does it work? Basically, a company will set a funding goal and instead of looking for investors or loans, people can pledge money toward projects they like. While project owners keep 100% ownership of their projects, people who pledge receive products or experiences that are unique to each project. This is a great way to test concepts without risk! If the company does not meet their goal, no pledges are actually accepted nor is a product brought to fruition.
In this case, Citius offers a carbon fiber key chain and/or a carbon fiber Fling. Depending on how much one pledges, the company has set up certain packages. For example, a $10 pledge will get you one carbon fiber key chain, a $30 pledge will get you one Fling and a pledge of $125 offers the “Bling Fling Office Pack”, which includes four Flings, two of which are made with an outer layer using a hybrid red Kevlar/carbon fiber weave (Called Bling Flings) along with four carbon fiber key chains. In order for the Fling to make into production, Citius needs to raise a total of $3,500. The money will go to the initial tooling and material costs. As of this writing, they have 58 backers raising $3,002 with 12 days left…it’s almost there!
Citius praises the Fling as a great office distraction and they even boast how it can keep kids entertained. The carbon fiber catapult, which weighs 40 grams, consists of two parts, a stiff base layer attached to a flexible upper arm. The upper arm has a ‘pocket’ where you can place your projectile in.
We really love seeing innovation when it comes to carbon fiber and the Fling is the epitome of that. If you want to help out Citius Composites reach their goal of $3,500, you can pledge here. For the complete pitch, check out the below video: