The MAXTRAX Off Road Recovery Tracks began as a simple idea from founder Brad McCarthy after finding himself bogged in soft sand on a remote north Queensland beach. Since then, Dienamics is proud to have helped MAXTRAX become not only the first to market but also the very best on the market. MAXTRAX even now is still the market leader on the global stage.
Automotive, Consumer
Design, Tooling
Brad McCarthy got his 4WD stuck in soft sand. As a keen 4WD adventurer who knew South East Queensland’s trails like the back of his hand, the bog wasn’t a big deal. But it did give him an idea… Why not build a tool specifically for solo getting your vehicle out of soft ground? After a disappointing experience at another firm, MAXTRAX approached Dienamics to design a manufacturable and high-performing solution. Working hard not to reinvent the wheel, he drew inspiration from naturally strong structures - like the egg shape and corrugated iron - to come up with a concept that was lightweight, strong and designed for ease of injection moulding from the get-go. Iterating under Marks guidance, Dienamics’ design team refined the concept into the MAXTRAX MK1. Our original design has continued to through later models across the range, which all include the distinctive structural principles refined during the original development with Dienamics.
After the design direction was set, Dienamics created the CAD design and CNC machined the 1.2-meter long prototype in-house by machining it in multiple passes and repositioning the part incrementally due to the limited size of the CNC machine at the time. This was done at a time before commercial 3D printing and when plastic prototyping and CNC machining prototypes was uncommon. This fully functional prototype exceeded expectations, and after putting the prototype through the wringer – including digging a pit in is backyard and leaving his 4WD on the prototype overnight - Brad gave the design go ahead for tooling. This tool was also made completely in house. We also prepared patent documentation to help Brad protect his hard-won intellectual property as it entered the marketplace.
Today, MAXTRAX is sold worldwide and remains a benchmark for quality and performance in the 4WD recovery space. The success of MAXTRAX demonstrates what is possible when insight, ingenuity, and rigorous design and prototyping come together. Dienamics is proud to have played a part in this journey.
