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.