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Podcast: Building Sales with Test & Evaluation Units

Generating social reviews is a great way to economically launch your product to your market.  These reviews are also invaluable when customers are making a purchasing decision.  We drive these expert reviews with our test and evaluation program.  Montie Gear uses test and evaluation units to drive social reviews.  Lets spend a few minutes talking about how that program works and who should participate.  This program has been very successful for Montie Gear, driving sales to over 100k in 3.5 years with almost no advertising.

Call 1-800-722-7987 today or email montie@montie.com to find out how we can do this for you.

 

Test & Evaluation Units

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Podcast: Delivering Great Customer Service

Customer service is one of those topics that we all groan when we think about.  During the daily pressures and responsibilities its easy to put off that email or phone call that means so much to a customer who is waiting for a reply.  Lets spend a few minutes and talk about customer service and what can be done to improve it.  Thanks, in advance, for listening.  Please don’t hesitate to call, or email, with comments or questions.  We’re ready to put our experience designing great products to work for you today.  Call me at 919-481-1845 or email montie@montie.com today.

Delivering Great Customer Service

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Montie Design May 2013 Newsletter

In this Issue:

  • Sign up for Customer Requirements Lunch and Learn on June 4
  • Last Chance to RSVP Last Stand on Troublesome Gap Event for Montie Design Clients and Friends
  • New Class – Getting Your Product To Market 101 – Taught by Montie Roland
  • Product Design Win – Slingshot Holster
  • Spring Intern Update – Coco’s Bench and Rachael’s Utensil Holders

Sign Up for “Difficulty Getting Real Customer Requirements” Lunch & Learn on June 4th

Andy Roth will give us practical tools and advice on gathering customer requirements.  Andy has almost 15 years of experience managing complex corporate projects while at Tekelec.  Put his experience and knowledge to work for you at this insightful Lunch & Learn.  This is a great way to sharpen your project management skills and network with other engineers and project managers.  Click here to sign up.

The Montie Design Lunch and Learn series is developed to connect professionals involved in the technical or business side of designing and producing innovative products and technologies with one another as well as with speakers, who have agreed to share their knowledge, professionalism, and willingness to support entrepreneurial growth.

Upcoming events include:

June 4 –  Difficulty Getting Real Customer Requirements?

June 18 – How to Size a Battery

June 28 – Final Friday End of Quarter Networking Event

July 18 – Flex Circuits 101

Aug 7 – Social Reviews 101

Aug 21 –  Designing Rubber Keypads

Sept 11 – Personalities & Personas

Sept 25 – Rapid Prototyping, Rapid Machining and Rapid Sheetmetal

Sept 27 – Final Friday End of Quarter Networking Event

 

RSVP by Friday and Join Us at the Last Stand on Troublesome Gap

Every year Montie Design staff, industry peers, and clients meet up in the mountains out at beautiful Troublesome Gap, NC for a weekend of fun on Memorial Day Weekend.  Sit by the campfire and relax, and be sure to join in the fun of our first annual Zombie shooting course and competition.  In order to complete the course, you engage the Zombie targets with a rifle, pistol, shotgun and slingshot.  The event is free, but an RSVP is required.  RVSP to montie@montie.com.  The brochure is available for download here.

 

Getting Your Product to Market 101 – How to Design, Prototype and Manufacture Your Product

A two day seminar that provides participants an overview of product development, prototyping, product manufacture, and low cost public relations tools to develop a “buzz” about the product.  Hosted by Product Design Veteran and design firm owner Montie Roland

Class Description:  Montie Design, an innovative concept-to-marketplace product design and development firm, has announced that Company President Montie Roland will host a two part class “How-to-Design-A-Product” in Morrisville on Tuesday, June 11, and Thursday, June 13.

Roland, a product design veteran, will be generating a casual dialog where attendees can learn about how to develop a product or service from concept through the patent process all the way through to the point of manufacturing and selling the product.

With a small manufacturing facility in Spring Creek complimenting its main operation in the Triangle region of North Carolina, Montie Design has a successful history of taking products from concept to marketplace. The firm’s team of product design professionals has over 140 years of knowledge and experience helping clients realize products that are economical to manufacture, elegant and robust. Paying special attention to achieving excellence in functionality, operability, value and aesthetics regardless of market or industry, Montie Design staffers have helped turn over 750 exciting product ideas into reality.

In addition to serving customers in a myriad of industry sectors, Montie Design produces its own Montie Gear line of outdoor equipment, including a slingshot; ultralight knife; multi-purpose tree hook archery rest for sturdy support of a bow, crossbow, or rifle with a sling; a camp rack designed to hold pots, lids, serving bowls and utensils off the ground to dry after cleaning; and the popular X-Rest and AR-Rest shooting supports for hunters and recreational shooters.

All equipment in the Montie Gear line is heirloom quality, Troublesome Gap tough. Located near the peak of Hap Mountain overlooking Spring Creek, North Carolina, Troublesome Gap is a rugged mountain area where Montie Gear prototypes are tested and evaluated. 

Sign up at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6546126641/eorg

 

Design Win – Slingshot Holster 

The mighty Montie Gear Y-Shot slingshot now is even better with a rugged and locally made holster. We call it a win because the initial production run is almost sold out before the die cutting tools are even complete.  Call or email us today to find out how we can make your product a winner too!  Click here to see the holster on the www.montiegear.com website.

Intern Spotlights: Kitchen Utensil Holders, Campfire Bench

Spring 2013 Montie Design interns Rachael Hughes and Coco Feng have been working on some very interesting concepts for additions to the Montie Gear line of outdoor camping equipment. Rachael is closing in on a final design for something to keep utensils from setting on surfaces typical to camping, such as picnic tables or coolers — where they may attract wildlife and collect bugs or harmful bacteria – while Coco is working on an outdoor wooden bench design which solves a customer need for hanging backpacks, coats and garbage bags.

We are proud to say that the wood for the bench was sawn on site at our Spring Creek facility from locally harvested timber.  Otherwise the sizes of lumber we used wouldn’t have been commercially available.  The seat is made from a single pine board over 16″ wide by 1-3/4″ thick.  The final shapes were cut from 20″ wide boards using a water jet giving a very precise fit.

Designs can be viewed online at blog.montiegear.com. Montie Design has a long history of hosting interns from colleges throughout North Carolina and from Sweden in order to prepare them for their chosen fields and help them build a portfolio of solid work for prospective employers.


Finally A Way to Hang Your Hand or Bath Towels to Dry


Towels and Sponges Kept Off the Ground to Dry


Finally A Way to Dry Your Silverware and Untensils after Washing


Silverware and Untensils Hanging to Dry

Sit by the Campfire in Style!

Prototype Bench – yes, the seat is a single board 16″ wide by 1-3/4″ thick!


Prototype Bench – come by and give it a test sit

 

We Can Help!  Call Today

Want to talk product development or need help with a project?  Don’t hesitate to contact Montie Roland at 919-481-1845×103 or montie@montie.com.-7987

About Montie Design 

Montie Design is an innovation and commercialization firm with core competencies in mechanical engineering and industrial design. Active in the product design, defense, and technology sectors, we leverage years of industry leadership and extensive technical capabilities to help clients take products from concept to marketplace that are economical to manufacture, elegant and robust. Montie Design is a North Carolina company headquartered in the Research Triangle region with clients across the country and overseas. We are dedicated to economic development throughout our home state and furthering excellence in design and engineering. For more information, visit www.montie.com or download the capabilities statement in PDF format here.
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Coco’s Campfire Bench and End Table Concepts

A bench needs an end table. Coco has been hard at work on putting together the design for the matching end table. Here are the results.

2

The wings on either side are a place to put personal items, maybe a book or a flashlight. The top surface can hold a plate, drinks or cell phone.

3

Putting it all together makes for a comfortable evening by the fire.

1

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Podcast: Rightsizing Your Product

“Right sizing” your product means designing products that fit the market and can be practically produced.  Waiting to long to release a product to manufacturing and the market can be worse than releasing too early, because if you wait until its perfect then you’ll never get it out the door.  Lets talk about the concept of having just enough features and benefits for your product to succeed.  Solve a simple problem in a simple way and you’ll have a great product.

2013 April – Rightsizing Your Product

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Intern Update – Kitchen Set Prototypes

THEY’RE BACK!!  Prototypes of the Kitchen Set (Cooking Utensils Rest, Eating Utensils Rest, and Dish Towel Holder) from my last blog are back from the water jet cutting facility.

The prototypes were made using 3/16″ Aluminum and 1/8″ ABS Plastic.

Here is a look at the Cooking Utensils Rest and Eating Utensils Rest in Aluminum and in Plastic:

DSC_6372

This picture shows the thickness comparison of the two materials:

3/16″ Aluminum vs. 1/8″ Black ABS Plastic

 DSC_6374

The aluminum Kitchen Rest Set:
DSC_6376
3/16″ thickness aluminum

 

The plastic Kitchen Rest Set:
DSC_6377
1/8″ thickness Black ABS Plastic

 

Let’s put them to use!  In this configuration, campers can keep their utensils on the picnic table:

 

ALUMINUM Set on the table:

DSC_6378

DSC_6401

DSC_6403

 

 

PLASTIC Set on the table:

DSC_6420

DSC_6422

 

 

Another option is to hang them from a carabiner:

 

Hanging Option

Front View of the Plastic Set, Hanging:

DSC_6425

Rear View of the Plastic Set, Hanging:

DSC_6429

 

 

 Observations of the Utensils Rests:

My observations of the 3/8″ Aluminum Utensils Rests:

Pros:  rugged look, feels like a quality product, durable

Cons:  rather heavy, limited color options

Recommendations:  I would like to see this material in a thinner version.

 

My observations of the 1/8″ Plastic Utensils Rests:

Pros:  lightweight, cheaper production, multiple colors

Cons:  thin features (on handle) could break

Recommendations:  If this material was used, it would need to be textured on both sides to look and feel like a finished, quality product.

 

Now let’s take a look at the Dish Towel Holders:

As I wrote in my previous blog, I had designed three different versions of the Dish Towel Holder.  We created prototypes of all three versions, and here they are, also in 3/16″ Aluminum and 1/8″ ABS Plastic.

Option A:

DSC_6558
Option A in Aluminum and ABS Plastic

Option B:

DSC_6557
Option B in Aluminum and ABS Plastic

Option C:

DSC_6555
Option C in Aluminum and ABS Plastic

 

The Dish Towel Holders in Use:

Option A in Plastic and Aluminum:

DSC_6559 DSC_6560

Option B and C in Aluminum:

DSC_6408

Option B and C in Plastic:

DSC_6540

 

Observations of the Dish Towel Holders:

In my personal opinion, Option A is not as aesthetically pleasing as Options B and C.  I have decided that Option B and Option C would make a great pair, since they are the same overall shape, but offer slightly different functions.  Either of these options could extend well beyond the kitchen aspect of camping by hanging other items that would otherwise be taking up valuable surface space.   The teeth on Option B could be used for any fabric item such as a beach towel or wet bathing suits.  The hooks on Option C could be used for things such as a flashlight or keys.

Next steps:

I will be visiting the water jet cutting facility to explore some other options for materials and thickness of the materials.  I have also decided to decrease the height of the Eating Utensils rest, since there is a lot of extra material in the gaps between the smaller silverware.  The Cooking Utensils Rest will stay the same size.

If you have any opinions or questions, feel free to leave me a comment, and thanks for reading!

-Rachael

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Podcast: Fuzzy Front End

“Fuzzy Front End” is a funny term and one you rarely hear about outside of product design circles.  Let’s take a few minutes and talk about what the term means and how use this stage of the product design process to refine your product vision and gather the data and feedback you need to design a better product.

2013 April – Fuzzy Front End

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Montie Design Participating in 2013 NCDBA Expo & Symposium April 9

MORRISVILLE & PINEHURST, N.C.–Innovation and commercialization firm Montie Design (www.montie.com) will be participating in the 2013 NCDBA (North Carolina Defense Business Association) Expo & Symposium April 9 at the Pinehurst Resort as an exhibitor, showcasing competencies of interest to defense industry contractors. By actively participating in this well-respected annual event, Montie Design is able to lend insight and experience to conversations among attendees on best practices essential to achieving excellence in product design. “We’re pretty active in the NCDBA community as event participants and committee members as it helps us showcase our core competencies in mechanical engineering, industrial design, engineering analysis, prototyping, and product commercialization” Montie Roland, company president, said. Continue reading “Montie Design Participating in 2013 NCDBA Expo & Symposium April 9”

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Fun Stuff – EMP Resistant Box

I think its fitting that the parts for the EMP Resistant box came back on the same day as the first night of the new season of Revolution!  No irony is lost there.  For those of you who don’t follow Revolution, its a TV show about an EMP like device that takes down life in America as we know it.

You can see below where we have assembled the shell for the lower portion of the box.

IMG_2767

Then we check to make sure the box is square in the fixture.

emp box_inside

As Hannibal (A-Team) said “I love it when a plan comes together”.  The fact that just about everything fit together first try without any major “Adjustments”  resulted in a lot of smiles.

EMP Box_Mike Smiling

The next step is to make a small adjustment to a some minor parts on the bottom of the main chassis, deburr the plates, reassemble and carry to the welder.

Have a great day and enjoy Revolution tonight, as you’re wonder if you need an EMP resistant box too.  I’m pretty where you can get a really nice one to keep all of your electronics safe.

Have a great evening!

Montie

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Intern Update – Rachael Hughes

Hello Montie Design community!  I am Rachael Hughes, a design/drafting intern here at Montie Design since January 2013.  I am currently a senior at North Carolina State University in Technology, Engineering, and Design Education with a concentration in Graphic Communications.

My most recent project at Montie Design grew from a challenge from Montie to design a product for family car camping.

 

The Concept:

I decided to design a product or products that would keep your utensils from setting on the surfaces typical to camping, such as the picnic table or the top of your cooler.  (The current design is at the bottom of this blog.)

 

The Design Process:

The first design was a simple, flat product that could be hung up and held cooking utensils, eating utensils, and dish towels.  To hold a dishtowel, a slot could be used, but then the moisture from one towel could be transferred to the other, so I instead used a keyhole design, so that the corner of the towel could be inserted into the larger end and pinched tightly into the smaller end of the keyhole.

Version 1:

0DryingRackSingleSlots 0DryingRackSingleDims 0DryingRackSingle

Version 1 Prototype:

 

0DryingRackProto

The prototype for this version proved to be very crowded when all functions were used, so I went back to the drawing board (in my case, SolidWorks) and began to redesign.  To alleviate the issue of crowdedness, I decided to break the product down into three pieces.

 

Version 2:

Cooking Utensils Rest:

1CU

 

Eating Utensils Rest:

1EU

Dish Towel Hanger:

1DT

The Cooking and Eating Utensils Rest idea developed into a design that could be used by hanging from a carabiner or at the picnic table like the prototypes show.

Version 2 Prototypes:

Cooking Utensils Rest:

A

 

B

Eating Utensils Rest:

C B

A

Dish Towel Holder:

A

B

During testing these prototypes, I was able to make sure that this design could also hang from a carabiner and still efficiently hold the silverware as well.

It was during this phase that I also developed an idea for a Paper Towel Holder.

Version 2 Add-On:

Paper Towel Holder:

1PTwCord

Using the same shape as the Dish Towel Holder, a wire could be permanently connected at one corner, ran through the paper towel roll, guided through a small notch for  stability, and a loop on the end could attach right to the carabiner.

 

Version 2 Add-On Prototype:

A

B

 

The four items comprised The Clean Kitchen Set, Version 2:

1ProtoSet

1Cara4Set

 

The Current Design:

After consideration, the this specific Paper Towel Holder has been excluded from the set because ideation sessions with Montie yielded a completely different configuration to be pursued at a later date.  The Cooking Utensils Rest, the Eating Utensils Rest, and the Dish Towel Holder, however, have continued to develop.  The design of the Cooking Utensils Rest and the Eating Utensils Rest are as follows:

2CU

2CUDrawing

2EU

2EUDrawing

 

The final design of the Dish Towel Holder has not yet been decided on, but here are the  three contenders:

Option A:

DT-A

DT-A Drawing

DT-A Proto2

DT-A Proto

 

Option B:

DT-B

DT-B Drawing

 

Option C:

DT-C

DT-C Drawing

DT-C Proto2

DT-C Proto

(If you have any suggestions, or preferences, please feel free to leave a comment for me!)

 

Current Status:

The Cooking Utensils Rest, Eating Utensils Rest, and all three possible versions of the Dish Towel Holder are currently being cut at a water jet cutting facility nearby.  We are testing these designs in both aluminum and ABS plastic.  I will update soon with pictures of the prototypes when we receive them.

 

 

 

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Podcast: Rapid Prototyping Options

Morning,

Please join the discussion about Rapid Prototyping options that are available for us to use in building your prototypes.

Rapid Prototyping Options

Cheers,
Montie

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Intern Project – Campfire Bench

coco and her assignment

I am coco, an industrial design graduate student at NCSU. I am an intern at Montie Design this winter. I am now working on the outdoor wood bench design. This bench design focuses on the customer need which has a hanger for people to put their back packs and their coat when they feel hot and a hook for people to hang on the garbage when they talk with their family member and take some snacks.

sketching

The following picture shows how the concept developed.  Fist I have three different ideas about the bench and then narrow down to one idea. Secondly I started to have different styling about the concept and at last I decided the assemble method.

Sketching / Ideation Process

final design

This is the outdoor bench. In order to matches the whole environment, the design comes from the tree branch and also matches the function of it.

The higher one on the right is the hanger of the coats or backpacks. The small one on the left is hook for people to hang on the garbage bag or other paper or plastic bags. The first purpose of this bench is setting around the camping fire. So at the bottom of the bench, there is a shelf for people to store the fire wood.

Montie Gear Campfire Bench

Montie Gear Campfire Bench

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Montie’s Product Design Podcast: Designing for the Prepper Marketspace

[audio: https://montie.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012-Designing-for-the-Prepper-Marketspace.mp3|titles=2012 – Designing for the Prepper Marketspace]

In this podcast I share how to dig in and  understand a marketplace.  Understanding is key to designing products that fit with the needs and desires of a specific market.

This prepping series of podcasts came about through a lot of research.  Understanding your customer on this level helps you better design and engineer products for that customer and avoid mistakes that occurred because of a lack of understanding of the customer and market.  This prepper market is very interesting.  I hope this podcast is engaging on a personal level and gives you great examples of how to put a market into a context that helps you design better products for that market.

If you like how we think at Montie Design; please give me a call or email so we can help your company with your next product or prototype!

Have a great weekend,
Montie
montie@montie.com
800.722.7987
www.montie.com

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Weekly Podcast: I Just Need A Protoype

I Need A Prototype

Inventors often come to us and say “I just need a prototype.”  Lets take a look at how we can get that prototype to you.