Toro is a paint roller frame designed for the lower price point of the market.

The initial reason for my undertaking a paint roller re-design was to solve the problem of sleeve walk-off; a common issue faced by professional and DIY painters alike where the roller sleeve gradually slips off the frame as you paint. However in my research for this project I found that other issues such as plastic handles breaking free of their metal skeleton and difficulty to clean often lead to roller frames being disposed of prematurely.

 

The Toro roller frame is designed to eliminate these issues and achieve a longer life span.

It puts a stop to sleeve walk-off by clamping the roller sleeve between its two scissor-hinged arms. The arms are held closed by an off-centre hinge as well as the grip of the user. The simple clamping action of the frame also allows for easy unloading of a used sleeve without covering the users hands in paint.

The all-plastic construction eliminates the weak points where plastic and metal meet in other frames and is easier to clean without the hard to reach areas of a cage. The Toro contains much fewer parts than conventional roller frames, with two identical arms and two identical roller end stops, both made from polypropylene plastic. These parts all use snap fixings, making them easier to assemble in manufacture and recycle when it does come to the end of the products life.