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.

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

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.

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.

 

 
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.

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

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.

(Morrisville, N.C.) Montie Design, an innovative concept-to-marketplace product design and development firm, is continuing a string of educational outreach events by hosting a November 15 Lunch and Learn featuring Paul Tome with EPEC Technologies. Tome will be leading a discussion called the “Secrets of Flex Circuit Design” at the Montie Design studios located just off Aviation Parkway in Morrisville. The event is free but requires advance registration online at https://www.eventbrite.com/event/2434228844. Continue reading “Luncheon Continues String of Educational Outreach Events to Manufacturing Sector”

Earlier in the year we sponsored a student design contest for students in NC and Virginia.  Nick Pennington submitted a contest winning slingshot design.  We liked his design so much that we invited him to serve as a summer intern at Montie Design and commercialize his design.  Nick managed to successfully complete two versions of his design.  Look to see both versions in the Montie Gear catalog in time for Christmas.

 

 

 

 

All the parts were finished this week, so Mason could start assembling his new table this week. He was one of our interns this summer. If you are looking for an entry level Industry Designer, then check out his LinkedIn profile.

Table is Made of Aluminum Plates for a High Tech Look

 

(Morrisville, N.C.) Montie Design, an innovative concept-to-marketplace product design and development firm, recently participated in the North Carolina Defense Business Association (NCDBA) Breakfast with a Prime event August 25th as one of the presenting companies. Held at the Research Triangle Park Archie K. Davis Conference Center, Breakfast with a Prime featured a main presentation by renowned government contracting group IEM and was well-attended by representatives of private businesses, local government and universities. Continue reading “Montie Design Participates in Defense Business Event”

Rob and Nick are putting the finishing touches on the new Montie Gear Slingshots. These slingshots were the winning entries of Nick Pennington in the 2011 Montie Gear Student Design Contest. Nick worked with us all summer to commercialize his entry, resulting in 4 different slingshot models.

Last weekend, we packed up again to Troublesome Gap to do more product testing.  This time we were testing a bracket system for a company called Ronin Metal Masters.  They have a really cool technology that allows you to ship a sheet metal part flat and bend it by hand when you need it.  They have turned this into a product line called BendAShed.  This is a big advance in metal folding technology in an industry where large press brakes are normally needed, because you can now do it by hand.  Al Ely of ADR Hydrocut in Morrisville, used their waterjet to cut out the stainless steel brackets that we use.

After some hardwork and a bunch of those really cool brackets we ended up with a picnic shelter.   The purpose of the picnic shelter is to use the challenging weather conditions at Troublesome Gap to test just how robust the Ronin Metal Masters design really is.

We also had the opportunity to test an assault rifle accessory that we are working on.  Seems like we also consume a lot of ammo on trips to Troublesome Gap.

 

Looking for How People Misuse Your Product

Some of the best product enhancements come from how users put make use of your products in creative ways.  This picture is a good example.

 

I also noticed how the cutting board grip (handle) didn’t fit into the Montie Gear Camp Rack slot, so a short length of 550 cord fixed that problem.  Similar situation for the black plastic ladel.  Future products and products enhancement goodness in this picture for sure.  By the third evening, Al had decided that the loft in the structure would be a great place to sleep, so after using enough clamps he gave it a try.  Thankfully he remembered that the first step off the cot is a big one.  I think that Mike was already rethinking some of his structure design when he saw Al’s creative use.

I will admit it was hard to come back to Raleigh after 4 wonderful days on Troublesome Gap.  Here are some pictures of why it is so hard to come back.

 

 

 

Now the only question is “Are you Troublesome Gap Tough?”  Come with us next time and find out!

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