August 2012 Newsletter

Modeling and Simulation

for DOD Needed

 

On July 17, Company President Montie Roland served on an information technology panel discussing modeling and simulation at the North Carolina Advanced Technologies Symposium focusing on the future advanced technology needs of DOD and other federal agencies, hosted by U.S. Senator Richard Burr.  Topics and presenters during the panel discussion included Epic Games, RTI International, and other cutting edge software for modeling and simulation, especially as they related to DOD projects and needs.  Approximately 400 people attended the greater event at The Friday Center in Chapel Hill.

Montie Design was proud to share our ‘big picture’ mentality when focusing on something specific like modeling and simulation to address changing usability issues, especially in the fluid military and defense space. As generalists, the Montie Design team operates in multiple industries and looks to vacuums in trends, bringing a unique third-party perspective and experience of other industries into consideration of clients’ product concepts.  Oftentimes requiring a cross-functional team involving software, electronic/circuit design, firmware, mechanical, industrial design (ID), and PCB layout contributors, these projects necessitate taking a product-to-marketplace approach, as opposed to a technology-only focus.

An expansion of the NCMBC’s Federal IT Symposia in 2010 and 2011, the objective of the Federal Advanced Technologies Symposium is to establish a dialogue between industry, academia and government and form partnerships to address the future needs of the federal government to meet the challenges ahead.

 

Montie Design Joins PDI

We are proud to announce that Montie Design has joined the Partnership for Defense Innovation (PDI), a tax exempt 501 c(3) organization which promotes economic development in the defense space.  The organization, based in Fayetteville, provides a full-service engineering and design facility with a staff compromised of former Special Forces / Special Mission Unit operators, academically trained engineers and technicians offering expertise in Research Development Testing and Evaluation (RDT&E), Integration of emerging Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) and Government off the Shelf (GOTS) technologies with specific application to Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Military operations and systems integration.

With the work Montie Design is doing in the product design, defense and technology sectors, a close working relationship with NC PDI is essential to better serving our customers by keeping up with best practices, industry trends and new technologies specific to military needs.

 

Spring Creek Facility Rolling Along

In our June newsletter, we announced our new rapid manufacturing facility in Spring Creek situated in the beautiful Troublesome Gap area in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Since that time, we have conducted training around producing high-quality bags for our best-selling Montie Gear slingshots, X-Rest, and AR-Rest products and successfully installed equipment such as two upholstery-grade sewing machines.  We have received the first sample bags here in Morrisville that were produced in Spring Creek, and are in the process of launching full-scale production in a matter of weeks.

We are excited at the prospects for this urban-rural partnership to help us better accommodate our clients’ fluctuating workload while bringing part-time jobs to this mountain community of very capable, highly trained individuals, effectively bridging the gap between prototypes and full scale production.  Let  us know how we can put this facility to work for you!

 

ProductCampRTP A Great Success

In June Montie Design participated in ProductCampRTP, a half-day, fun-filled experience designed to sharpen product development, ideation and design skills at the beautiful Cambria Suites hotel in Morrisville.  Thanks to Cambria Suites for their outstanding hospitality to all the participants who participated in three design games running at the same time.

Approximately 50 individuals floated between the different games, thinking about designs in different ways.   It was a great way to share skills and knowledge while networking with peers and making new contacts.  By actively participating in regional and national industry educational and networking opportunities, Montie Design is happy to provide our insights and experience to help a multitude of product design-related communities achieve excellence.

 

Call or Email Today to Discuss Your Project

Want to talk product development or need help with a project?  Don’t hesitate to contact Montie Roland at 919-481-1845×107 or montie@montie.com.

 

Internship Progress 2

My summer internship is wrapping up! In this post you can see how we have defined our product vision and how it is starting to come to life. What started off as one product has developed into three separate but interconnected products. They will be the Utility Shelf, Camping Sink, and the Utility Strap. We see these products working great independently, but also coming together to create a center for camping activity. The Utility Shelf acts as the base for bringing the other two products together. We started designing the shelf first and have taken it through the prototype stage and hope to have a final version out soon. The other two products will be developed later as “accessories” to the shelf. We’re excited to see the results, and to hear what people think!

Internship Progress

Luca Harrell here with an update on my summer internship at Montie Design!  In this post you can see some of the market research and initial concepts I’ve done to identify common camping needs and define a product direction for this project.  While I’ll admit that researching isn’t the most exciting part of design, it has been a very helpful and integral part of the process.  From this research, we’ve identified the need for products that offer both stability and portability.  Initial concepts began with these two factors in mind.  We want this product to feel rock solid while in use but be able to pack away to fit anywhere.  Sound like a challenge?

 

ProductCampRTP This Weekend

Come join me at ProductCampRTP on Saturday, June 16th from 8AM to Noon in Morrisville, NC for a morning designed to sharpen your product development, ideation and design skills!  This event is free, but you have to RSVP at http://productcamprtp.eventbrite.com/.  For more information visit: http://productcamprtp.org/.

 

RFID Field Detector by Montie Design

We are proud to announce the release of our second generation RFID troubleshooting tool, called the RFID Field Detector.  This simple tool allows a technician to find the extents of a 900MHz RFID field eliminating the guesswork that was needed before.  Our core competency is mechanical engineering and industrial design, so I’m very pleased that the Montie Design staff and family of contributors can design a product that meets a complex radio frequency need in a simple and affordable way.  Find out more about this new tool at www.rfidfielddetector.com.  Download the brochure by clicking here.

 

Spring Creek Rapid Manufacturing Facility

We are in the process of standing up a rapid manufacturing facility in Spring Creek, NC.  This facility makes use of the very capable individuals in western North Carolina while providing low cost services to Montie Design clients and providing jobs to fellow North Carolinians in a very beautiful and remote, but economically depressed area.

Two weeks ago we conducted training on how to build the mighty Montie Gear slingshots.  Last weekend we installed the first two pieces of equipment in the facility.  These two upholstery-grade sewing machines bring us one step closer to our planned introduction of the cloth bags for the AR-Rest and X-Rest.

This facility is designed to give us the capability of providing rapid manufacturing services to Montie Design clients, cost effectively bridging the gap between prototypes and full scale production.  We are using the Montie Gear production as the means of developing the team so they are ready when you need them.  Taking a trip to the beautiful Spring Creek area of WNC is definitely easier and a lot more fun than spending 20 hours on the plane just to reach the pacific rim.  Hopefully you’ll give our Spring Creek team the opportunity to show you what we can.

 

Join Us at NCMBC Advanced technologies Symposium

Please join us in our booth at the 2012 NC Advanced Technologies Symposium on July 17th, 2012 in Chapel Hill.  I’m proud to serve as a member if one of the expert panels for the event.  Register for the event at www.ncmbc.us.

 

Call or Email Today to Discuss Your Project

Want to talk product development or need help with a project?  Don’t hesitate to contact me at 919-481-1845 x 103 or montie@montie.com.

 

2012 Summer Internship Underway

Hello my name is Luca Harrell and I am currently a summer intern at Montie Design.  As the winner of the 2012 Montie Gear student competition, I’ve been asked to develop my contest submission into a product that will be added to the Montie Gear product line.  I’m very excited about this opportunity and am equally excited to share my progress with you.  Through weekly blog posts, I’ll document the process of my product’s development from concept to prototype through pictures, sketches, and 3D models.  In today’s post you can see how I kicked off the project with a project brief, a rough project plan, and research.  Feel free to give feedback or comment on what you see.  Hope you enjoy!

 


Project link here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/96159347/Presentation-1

Special Forces Capabilities Exercise at Ft. Bragg

When I got invited to observe the CAPEX event at Ft. Bragg, I was pretty excited.  Once the day arrived there was no disappointment.  What a great day seeing the tools and techniques that these great soldiers use to keep our country safe!


Close Combat Demonstration


My Opportunity to Fire an MP-5 in Full Auto


My Ride Home


View out of the Back of the CH-47 Chinook Helicopter


2012 Montie Design / Montie Gear Student Design Contest Winners

The results are in!  Luca Harrell took first place with his wet/dry storage and sink product.  Jake Eck took second with hi comfortable cooking product.  Luca has joined us for the summer as an intern and is very busy working out a plan to make his concept a commercial reality.  You can see their entries by visiting the Montie Gear site.

 

Call or Email Today to Discuss Your Project

Want to talk product development or need help with a project?  Don’t hesitate to contact me at 919-481-1845 x 107 or at montie@montie.com.

 

 

Our First Sustainability / Economic Impact Analysis

I’m personally not a big believer in a lot of the greenwash and pseudo-religious environmental hocus pocus.  My family has a tree farm and my dad always taught me that it was my job to leave the forest in better condition than when he passed the management task to me.  I think the same philosophy should apply to Montie Design and Montie Gear.  To that end, this is our first attempt at looking at the sustainability and economic impact of our Montie Gear products.  Click on the image to download the PDF.

 

 

 

Montie Design Student Design Contest – Meet the Contestants

The 2012 Montie Gear Student Design Contest is now in the judging stage.  Here are videos about the three finalists.

Click on a picture to watch a video.

Luca Harrell – Industrial Design Major – Virginia Tech


Jake Eck – Industrial Design Major – NCSU


Josh Little – Industrial Design Major – NCSU


Montie Design Networking Event Friday

Join us this Friday, 30 Mar, from 4:00 to 6:30PM for our Final Friday end of the quarter networking event at Montie Design.  This is a casual, easy going way to relax a few minutes in the company of fellow professionals.  Click Here to pre-register.

 

Join us at the NC Defense Business Association Expo on April 3-4

Please visit our booth at the Expo in Pinehurst, NC.  This event is a great way to find defense related vendors and network within the NC defense business community.  Click Here to sign up.

 

Call or Email Today to Discuss Your Project

Want to talk product development or need help with a project?  Don’t hesitate to contact Montie at 919-481-1845×107 or montie@montie.com.

Design Contest Teaser

Take a peak at the final three designs for the 2012 Montie Gear Design Contest!

 

By Josh : A tree mounted multi-use organizer.

 

By Jake : An elevated cooking surface with stove.

 

By Luca : A collapsible wet/dry tree mounted container.

Montie Design Student Design Contest

 

 
The 2012 Montie Design / Montie Gear Student Design Contest is underway!  We have entries from NC State, Appalachian and Virginia Tech.  The students are competing for a shot at having their product commercialized at a micro manufacturing facility that we are setting up in Spring Creek, NC.

Click on the image below to see a short video describing the contest.

 

Here is a link to an article in the Asheville Citizen-Times about how our contest may help bring jobs to Spring Creek, NC.

 

I am personally very excited we have created a win-win situation for the students, our firm and the local economy of Spring Creek, NC.  Spring Creek currently has no manufacturing and very limited employment opportunities.  There are no grants or anything like that involved, just NC neighbors working together.

 

Montie Design Offers Prototype Rotationally Molded Parts

We completed our first project using prototype parts that we rotationally molded in house.  Rotational molding is a great process for some low volume parts because of the low tool cost and how quickly we can turn a CAD model into actual working parts.  The pictures below are from a  prototype made from an LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) and EVA blend.  The addition of the EVA creates a flexible material that is tough but still comfortable to use inside a helmet.  The material is also flexible at temperatures of negative twenty and below.

We tried using a rapid prototype from an Objet printer, but it just wasn’t tough enough for use in the field.  We decided to create a tool and a batch of rotationally molded parts.  Now we are in the process of sending out prototype units to lead users for test and evaluation.


Main Body of Apparatus is Rotationally Molded

Tool Used for Prototype Part

 

Lunch and Learn This Week – Materials for Injection Molding

Jim Meyers and Andrea Chambers will be holding a lunch and learn on Thursday, 23 Feb at the Montie Design studio.  The subject is materials for injection molding.  They will have samples of a wide variety of materials as part of the presentation.  RSVP to montie@montie.com to attend.

 

Call or Email Today to Discuss Your Project

Want to talk product development or need help with a project?  Don’t hesitate to contact me at 919-481-1845×107 or montie@montie.com.

Montie Design Expands Product Realization Toolset with Addition of Rotational Molding

(Morrisville, N.C.) Montie Design, an innovative concept-to-marketplace product design and development firm, has expanded its product realization toolset with the purchase of a rotational molder. The new equipment allows the firm to produce prototypes of small rotationally molded parts and follow up with limited production runs of client parts. Continue reading “Montie Design Expands Product Realization Toolset with Addition of Rotational Molding”

Montie Design Announces Winter 2012 Student Design Contest

(Spring Creek & Morrisville, N.C.) Montie Design, an innovative concept-to-marketplace product design and development firm, today announced it will be holding a Winter 2012 Student Design Contest for aspiring product designers in community colleges, four-year colleges, or high schools from North Carolina and Virginia. Initial submissions are due on Feb 1, 2012 with final submissions due on Feb 29, with full details available online at www.montie.com/contest. Continue reading “Montie Design Announces Winter 2012 Student Design Contest”

Merry Christmas and Innovation vs. Invention

Merry Christmas from all of us at Montie Design!  I hope you have a joyous Christmas and enjoy the holiday season.

Innovation vs. Invention – Case In Point

“Innovation” is an often misused term.  Simply put, innovation is where you combine existing intellectual property (or know how) in a new and creative way.  Invention is where you create new intellectual property.

There is an awesome video of a new product that has achieved viral status on YouTube.  You can watch the video here.  This device (called a Fly Board) allows the user to fly like Iron Man for a few feet into the air.

Water is pumped from an impeller (same as impeller on a Jet Ski) through a hose and then ejected from four nozzles to propel the user through the air.

Is this an example of invention or innovation?  There are many examples of using nozzles to eject water in a high velocity stream (think fire hose).  Water is often piped through flexible hoses (think fire hose again).  This product is an example of innovation because existing technologies from fire hoses were combined with using a personal watercraft as a remote power source.  This is a great example of cross pollination because technologies from different industries were innovatively combined to create a new product.  On a personal note, I want to try this new product.  But, I’m pretty sure I won’t be thinking about product development terminology as I’m flying through the air.

Want to talk product development or need help with a project?  Don’t hesitate to contact me at 919-481-1845 x107 or montie@montie.com.

Merry Christmas,
Montie

Montie Gear Adds Sturdy, Lightweight Slingshot to Hunting and Camping Online Catalog, Amazon.com

(Morrisville, N.C.) Montie Design, an innovative concept-to-marketplace product design and development firm, has added to its ever-expanding line of popular Montie Gear hunting and camping equipment with a fun new lightweight slingshot for outdoor enthusiasts of all ages. The high-tech slingshot features a sturdy aluminum frame for unrivaled strength, a tapered flat band and leather pouch assembly. Like all of the products available at www.montiegear.com or via the Montie Gear store on Amazon.com, the Montie Gear slingshot is made in the USA. Continue reading “Montie Gear Adds Sturdy, Lightweight Slingshot to Hunting and Camping Online Catalog, Amazon.com”

Recent Learning and Networking Events

Flex Circuits Seminar, and Networking Events

Paul Tome with EPEC Technologies  joined us for a lunch and learn event on Tuesday, Nov 15th.  He lead a discussion called the “Secrets of Flex Circuit Design”.  Paul has 15 years of experience designing flex circuits.  Paul is the Flex Circuit Product Manager for Epec Engineered Technologies (www.epectec.com).

 

IDSA Southern Regional Portfolio Review at VT

Last weekend was a lot of fun.  The industrial design students in our region have an amazing amount of energy and talent.  It was an honor to serve as a professional reviewer at the event.

 

PCB Carolina Show in Raleigh

The PCB Carolina show was held on Tuesday at the Raleigh Convention Center.  The convention center is an awesome venue for this type of event.  Shows like this are a great way to meet new clients and catch up with existing clients and friends.  You may be wondering why a mechanical design firm would exhibit at a show focused on PCB design and manufacturing.  All those printed circuit boards have to end up in some sort of enclosure (hint – think Montie Design).

 

DEFNET Event in Raleigh

Last night the folks at Wake County Economic Development put on the 3rd DEFNET event.  These events are designed to enable networking between the local companies that do work in the defense market space.  This event included a short speech by David Price.  Sign up for the event announcements by emailing Wayne Watkins.

Congressman Price speaking at the Wake County Economic Development DEFNET Event.