TNG BACKPACK
2 WEEKS - 2020, INTERNSHIP PROJECT AT TRUE NORTH GEAR
DESIGN STATEMENT: Design a bag to hold a Thermo Scientific™ TVA2020 Toxic Vapor Analyzer, a machine used to quickly detect fugitive emissions of organic and inorganic compounds for Method 21 compliance. Any materials visible on the exterior of the bag have to be flame-resistant (FR) as the user will be working in the chemical industry where a flash fire could occur.
Prototyping
TNG BACKPACK / 2 WEEKS / INTERNSHIP PROJECT AT TRUE NORTH GEAR
Final Product
TNG BACKPACK / 2 WEEKS / INTERNSHIP PROJECT AT TRUE NORTH GEAR
Takeaways
TNG BACKPACK / 2 WEEKS / INTERNSHIP PROJECT AT TRUE NORTH GEAR
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Paper modeling is incredibly valuable when it comes to quickly addressing size questions
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Digital Patternmaking with Optitex is quite intuitive and beneficial when quickly prototyping
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Pinning together the foam panels helped to explain my ideas to the rest of the team and finalize the design
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Creating a physical prototype is helpful when sending the product off to be sewn by someone else as they can more easily visualize your process was and what you want the final to look like
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Assessing cost, the simpler the design is to sew the less expensive it will be as it will take less time.
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Fine-tuning a design often results in a sample being requested multiple times from the different sewing locations to be checked by the company before the desired result is achieved and at an acceptable price point and then production begins
Next Steps
TNG BACKPACK / 2 WEEKS / INTERNSHIP PROJECT AT TRUE NORTH GEAR
This bag began as a custom commission for one technician to solve a problem, the need for a fire-resistant bag to hold an instrument that is used to detect gas leaks. True North was approached to do this work because of their work in fire-resistant materials and bag designs for the backcountry firefighting industry. After the initial design and production of the bag Tyndale, a large lineworker clothing company, showed interest in having True North further refine the bag with a possible eye toward production for a larger market. This would be a potential new market for True North as there are currently very few fire-resistant industry backpacks in the market today.