Crye Precision
Project Overview
Throughout my time at Crye Precision, my primary focus was designing specialized fixtures for automated sewing machines to enhance the efficiency and quality of sewing processes in the production of tactical gear and garments. The goal was to streamline manufacturing, reduce manual intervention, and ensure consistent, high-quality stitching in the creation of advanced tactical apparel.
My Roles
Product Designer
Product Manager
Collaborators
Sean Flaherty
Joe Avedisian
Tools Used
SOLIDWORKS, DraftSight
Background
Crye Precision is a company that designs and manufactures tactical gear and garments, such as uniforms, armor carriers, pouches and helmets.
The production of these products involves numerous intricate sewing steps, and my role was to improve both the efficiency and quality of these processes. Working closely with the Director of Manufacturing, I helped analyze the workflow and identify the best approach to address the challenge. Together, we decided to replace certain manual sewing operations with automated processes, utilizing specialized machines (such as the one shown below) to streamline production.
The Problem
We identified four areas or "pain points" we needed to address for the various manufacturing processes at the factory.
Accuracy: This refers to how close the product is to meeting accepted values. For example, each stitched part on a garment had an acceptable tolerance for how far it should be from the edge, the deviation from straightness, and the tension of the stitch itself.
Precision: This refers to the consistency of the products produced, or the reproducibility of results.
Speed: This refers to how much time it takes to complete one step in the entire manufacturing process.
Safety: This refers to the risks involved, including but not limited to injuries to workers and damages to products.
Design Process
Research Current and Previous Methods
This phase of the design process involves an investigation into both existing and past methods used to execute the manufacturing process we're trying to improve. This is so we can get a full understanding of the problem we're trying to tackle and avoid reinventing what has already been done.
Brainstorm Designs & Ideate
I grab my notebook and a pen, and draw out various designs and solutions that come to mind. Sometimes I walk across the room and run potential design ideas by other engineers. Other times, I find my team's technical designer (who is way more knowledgeable about the garment industry than I am) and ask her to elaborate on any constraints or limitations that might effect what solution I can design.
Refine Chosen Design
I schedule a design review meeting with my manager (the director of manufacturing engineering) and our team's machinist. I usually pitch 2-4 ideas, and ask for feedback directly in the meeting. We choose one design to move forward with. Then, it's my job to refine this design in SolidWorks.
Prototype
Once I'm done refining my design in Solidworks, I send the completed file to our machinist. He then creates a prototype for me using his CNC machine. This is the phase where my design comes to life.
Testing
Even though the prototype looks great, it usually doesn't work perfectly - at least not right from the get go. I have to test it. While testing, I observe any changes that need to be made to the design in order to achieve the results we want.
Redesign
Usually, we don't need a full redesign. Generally most prototypes just need a bit of tweaking. Once I identify what changes are needed to get it working better, I make a revision to the solidworks file, communicate with the machinist, and send the prototype back to the machine shop where it gets modified. In extreme cases, I'll decide to pursue a significantly different design. Phase 5 (testing) and Phase 6 (redesign) gets repeated for however many times it takes in order to achieve a solution that meets standards.
Handoff and Analysis
Once we've conducted enough testing and the results consistently meet our standards, we are ready to hand off the solution/product to the user. It was my job to deliver the product, provide instructions and demonstrations on how to use the product, and collect any feedback and data for post-analysis. This usually included a video of the user using the product.
Results & Takeaways
These tools saved more than 10,000 man-hours over the course of a year—equating to at least $300,000 in labor savings.
Over 10 innovative tools were designed, each enhancing accuracy, precision, and safety while significantly reducing the time required to complete key tasks. The improvements in accuracy and precision led to fewer rejections during quality inspections and a noticeable reduction in customer returns, further driving down costs.
During my time at Crye, I was able to go from shadowing my manager and other engineers, to leading my own projects. Other than designing the sewing fixtures, I also gained experience planning project timelines, coordinating with other departments, relaying technical information (sometimes in a different language), and analyzing product results and feedback to better tackle future design tasks.