Two thousand and nine is the bicentenary of French inventor Louis Braille; the originator of the eponymous ground breaking writing system for blind and partially sighted people. RNIB is Europe’s largest Braille publisher and this year is contributing to Louis Braille’s bicentenary celebrations by launching a revolutionary Braille writing tool.

For about 200 years, Braille has been written using a special type of frame (made from metal, or more recently, plastic) containing predefined lines and cells. Each cell has six regimented dots composing a Braille character. By punching down a dot using a round stylus the paper is impressed and a circular dot is embossed on the other side of the sheet. Traditionally this system, although used around the world, makes Braille extremely difficult to write, as everything has to be written in reverse, from right to left. RNIB’s solution to this problem was to introduce the Roller Frame.

“The advantages of the new Braille roller frame are profound as people will now be able to write Braille much more easily,” said David Taylor, Braille Support Officer at RNIB. “Also, it's compact and light design makes this new roller frame a very portable writing tool that can be easily carried around in a bag or briefcase.”

The roller frame not only allows for the normal writing of braille (read from left to right), but has also been designed so that it can also be used to write Braille in the traditional way [reverse, from right to left], so that blind people used to the established system can still benefit from its portability.

The brainchild of Alan King — a designer at RNIB — this ground-breaking yet simple writing device was designed using 3D Modelling Software, allowing King to draw the individual components at full scale.

“The actual production of the roller components was particularly complex as the correct functioning of the roller mechanism relied on the high-precision of the ABS injection moulding components produced by Protomold. These parts had to be designed in such a way so to respond to different paper thicknesses, and even be able to write on Dymo tape. Protomold’s help during the development process was crucial to the success of this project. Their guidance has been extremely helpful,” said King.

During the first stage of product development, Protomold produced 100 samples so the RNIB could test the roller frame components.

“The first batch of the new product was developed very quickly thanks to Protomold’s quick-turn service,” said King. “Before finding Protomold we had difficulty in not only proving that our designs were suitable for moulding, but that we had the tooling and part costs with confirmed delivery information quickly. With Protomold, everything was very easy from the start. Based on the evaluation and testing of the samples, the Roller frame evolved and only required subtle changes. The Protomold team were very responsive and quick to suggest solutions and implement any changes. A truly excellent service.”

Now that the product design and development is finalised, the new roller frame is ready to be produced in large numbers. Protomold will make each individual plastic component then send them over to RNIB’s production facility in Peterborough, where they’ll be assembled and packaged.

The new RNIB Braille roller frame is a key part of Dot-to-Dot; a brand-new, self-teach, grade-1 Braille course for adults who wish to learn Braille either by sight or by touch.

“The Braille roller frame has been very well supported at RNIB since Alan King presented his idea to the marketing team,” said Alison Long, Senior Manager for Products and Publications at RNIB. “This is clearly a breakthrough for Braille and it's diffusion, as well as being an incredible educational tool. Because it’s affordable, it will also help blind and partially sighted people in developing countries.”

RNIB is the UK’s leading charity helping anyone with a sight problem and the biggest producer of Braille products and publications. RNIB has worked with blind and partially sighted people for over a century with the specific aims of improving lives, increasing independence and eliminating preventable sight loss.

Other recent Braille projects RNIB has undertaken include the Braille version of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, which went out on sale at the same time as the printed version. RNIB has also established ongoing collaborations with national museums and institutions such as the V&A and the British Museum.

The Braille roller frame and the Dot-to-Dot self-teach grade 1 Braille course will be presented in July, in Birmingham, at Sight Village, the European event showcasing technology, support and services for people who are blind or partially sighted.