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Archive for the ‘Design’ Category

Sneak Peek – Large Becker Patrol Pack from Bongo Gear

Tuesday, July 9th, 2024

Bongo Gear reports that the Large Becker Patrol Pack (LBPP) has completed prototyping and field testing and it is now in production. It goes on sale tomorrow, 10 July in Green and Tigerstripe.

Bongo Gear’s owner Tom G has worked with Ethan Becker, the originator of the Becker Patrol Pack and several knife designs, to produce a modern version of the famous pack and Ethan has approved this new design.

The LBPP was a project Tom decided to take on after multiple requests regular BPPs users who required more capacity. The answer was to go with a larger, external-frame version of the BPP with a few more outside pouches with a goal of 65 liters / 90 lbs capacity.

He related to SSD, “I was averse to adding more outside pouches because I’ve read studies which suggest five or six places is about the maximum for most people for remembering where things are. I know from experience too many pockets/pouches on a pack can be a bad thing.”

He found that his concerns weren’t an issue with the LBPP considering the lid registers as a separate entity while the main body, with its combination of buckled and zippered pouches, categorizes things into smaller groups (buckled and zippered) making it easier to remember what’s where.

Above you can see the new LBPP side-by-side with the current Mk II and the MOLLE 4000 while below is a great comparison of the two BPP models.

The LBPP will be supplied with an internal frame sheet and end-users can set it up with their preferred external frame. Tom says this is because, just like favorite flavors of ice cream, people have different favorite external frames. The pack can utilize legacy ALICE frames, the Marine Pack frame / MOLLE 4000 ruck frame (DEI 1606-MC), and the newer DEI 1622 Arch frame, among others.

bongogear.com

Carryology Presents: Mission to Mars | Designing a NASA Backpack

Saturday, April 6th, 2024

Carryology has shared a great video about the NASA x Mission Workshop BASALT EVIB.

In 2016, Mark Falvai, co-founder of Mission Workshop, received a call he’d always dreamed of. On the other side of the line was an engineer named Mike Miller. He worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. A government organization known to the world as NASA.

Mike had a top secret project and he needed Mark’s help. NASA was preparing for a Mars Landing, and they needed the perfect backpack designed for the mission.

And many months later, the NASA x Mission Workshop BASALT EVIB was born.

Read the full article here: www.carryology.com/projects/carry-collaborations/mission-to-mars-designing-backpacks-for-nasa

Mystery Ranch Special Projects Service

Monday, September 19th, 2022

At MYSTERY RANCH, we solve problems for our customers – we work with them to identify a solution that meets their needs.

MYSTERY RANCH builds the best load-bearing gear in the world. Period.  

In addition to designing products for commercial sale, we regularly work on Special Projects for government and other industry organizations. With our Special Projects Service offering, MYSTERY RANCH designs and manufactures custom products when no other load-carriage solution exists. That includes packaging weapons, comms gear, optics, sensors, connectors, cabling, and so on.

If needed, we collaborate with in-field experts that bring their expertise to the design and help deliver a rigorously field-tested product to the client.

MYSTERY RANCH has many patents on technologies necessary for special load-carriage requests, which cannot be found otherwise. Our Montana-based, in-house product development and production teams are structured to facilitate such specific design needs.

Our most recent Case Study is the ATM CWF – aka “THE ARCTIC RUCK.” Details of this service outlining the process and collaboration efforts with in-field professionals can be found here.

In many cases, the client comes to our facility to brainstorm a solution with our design team for their load carriage or packaging needs. They show us the equipment we need to design around. In other cases, the client may send us the equipment and then collaborate with us via video conference, phone, or email. When necessary, we travel to the client’s location to work with them directly or see or experience items or factors that cannot be brought to us.

If it needs to be carried by a human – let’s talk or visit our site: www.mysteryranch.com/Packs/Military/SP.

Whiskey Two Four Releases Backpack 00 Open Source CAD Pattern

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022

WTF just did something really cool. They released the CAD for backpack 00 as an open source download on their site www.wtfidea.com/wtfiles-backpack-00-open-source-cad-pattern

In addition to releasing it into the wild on a few facebook groups, they also offered $250 to the first person who uploads a public, comprehensive assembly video in an attempt to inspire those who can assemble stuff but need a little nudge with design.

No takers so far, but the CAD file has been downloaded over 400 times.

Sneak Peek – Alpen Design Works Webstore

Saturday, July 16th, 2022

“Slow and Steady”

New webstore and products launching soon.

The addition of an Alpen Design Works webstore can be summed up by those three words. Mostly slow. Steadily slow.

ADW has delayed the launch of their own product several times to meet client needs, but they’re almost there.

Visit the website and sign up for the email list to get all the details.

DEVCOM, Army Special Forces Collaborate with International Partner to Test Additive Manufacturing Technology

Monday, May 30th, 2022

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — On a battlefield in the future, Soldiers deployed to remote areas around the world will use sophisticated additive manufacturing printers to ‘print’ virtually everything they need, from food to shelter to weapons. The Army has made additive manufacturing a priority and Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, is supporting the effort with Project Prime, a collaboration with U.S. Army Special Forces and an international industry partner.

The Project Prime team consists of the U.S. Army 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), or 7th SFG (A); DEVCOM’s International Technology Center — United Kingdom, or ITC-UK; DEVCOM’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Combat systems, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center, or C5ISR; and Defend3D, a company based in the United Kingdom that enables secure transmission of remote 3D printing.

Special Forces Soldiers tested the technology by repeatedly adding and printing additive manufacturing files using Defend3D’s Virtual Inventory Communication Interface, or VICI. VICI provides a server application that manages the virtual inventory, assigns rights to remote manufacturers and provides the product in a ‘one-click-print’ format with minimal training for the end-user to securely stream.

“Despite a network connection categorized commercially as having low to no connection, VICI facilitated speedy, secure and accurate printing. Based on expectations set at the beginning of the project, VICI did everything we needed it to do, and 7th SFG (A) was satisfied with the system performance and endorsed the capability for further development and implementation,” said Dr. Patrick Fowler, DEVCOM Global Technology advisor at ITC-UK.

Each DEVCOM ITC has a Global Technology advisor who scouts technology in their area of operation. Project Prime began when a DEVCOM global technology advisor was scouting additive manufacturing technology in the Atlantic region, which includes London, United Kingdom; Paris, France; Frankfurt, Germany; and Tel Aviv, Israel. The ITCs, which are part of DEVCOM’s global enterprise, serve as the forward-deployed ‘eyes and ears’ of the Army Science and Technology Enterprise. Other DEVCOM ITCs include: North America; South America; Northern Europe; Southern Europe; Northeast Asia; Southeast Asia and the Southern Hemisphere.

VICI ensures end-to-end encryption by enabling organizations to store their designs locally and use the virtual inventory to manufacture parts in remote locations. For example, a deployed Soldier communicates a need, such as a spare part or a modification to an existing part, to the computer-aided design, or CAD, element at 7th SFG (A). The CAD element either designs the part from scratch or selects from a database of commonly used parts. This is then streamed to the Soldier in the field, who prints the part. Because the file is never sent, VICI prevents adversaries from accessing the information and identifying vulnerabilities in equipment and capabilities.

“We made it a priority to pursue avenues that will allow us to operate in environments that are not conducive to regular resupply efforts. For detachments to stay in the fight in these environments, we explored systems that operate outside the conventional supply chains. Project Prime’s deployable 3D printer and VICI software enables secure transmission and an easy-to-use interface,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jesse Peters, Innovation Cell, 7th SFG (A).

Other benefits of the technology include:

The 3D printer operator does not need to be an expert in 3D printing to print the required files.

The interface prevents overloading the network since forward-deployed Soldiers only see objects they have requested for their mission.

It securely stores files in a sharable repository, including files created by the Department of Defense and coalition networks.

“Imagine this scenario — a clever Green Beret on a remote base develops a novel attachment for an existing Unmanned Aircraft System, which is stored in VICI. Then, a clever Airman across the world at a remote airfield sees it and adds his/her twist. Next, a British Soldier prints it and starts using it in his/her own operations,” Fowler said.

During the training event, feedback was gathered in real-time as the deployed Soldiers communicated with the 7th SFG (A) Innovation Cell. Other information was collected after the training, including the pros and cons of the system, software interface, training requirements and long-term durability.

7th SFG (A) plans to train more of their Soldiers on the technology to support a U.S. Army Southern Command deployment. Once the deployment is completed, ITC-UK will document all of the activities and achievements of Project Prime and make it available to the broader Department of Defense community. The information will benefit other DEVCOM centers and research laboratory, particularly the C5ISR Center, which focuses on securing communications to the tactical edge. The technology may also fill gaps with other Army units.

“We’re looking for funding to further develop VICI to make it operable on a cell phone or a small device, including a Raspberry Pi, which is a very small computer that plugs into a computer monitor, TV, or similar small end-user devices. This will make the solution, which is currently used on a laptop, even more deployable,” Fowler said.

By Argie Sarantinos, DEVCOM HQ Public Affairs

Kadri Clothing T-shirt Design Contest

Saturday, March 12th, 2022

How do you define strength? In today’s society, we tend to use a very male-oriented view of strength and power–physical might, physical ability, physical prowess. We say people are strong based on how much they can lift, the number of pullups performed, or athletic ability.

But what about other definitions of strength and power? Is a mother who works a full time job during the day, takes care of the household at night without losing her shit, strong? Is a young woman driven by her ambitions to succeed in a male-oriented profession while ignoring the naysayers and battling cultural norms, powerful?

Show us your definition of women’s strength and power. Design an original graphic concept and submit by March 31. Entries will be showcased in April; the winner will be selected by social media votes.

The design will be used as a limited-run t-shirt, available for purchase on the website. The winner will also receive Valkyrie Field Pants.

Send designs via DM to the IG account, but we’d prefer an email to info@kadriclothing.com

Subject for email should be: Art Contest Submission

Happy designing!

FirstSpear Friday Focus: NEW Patented LaserFrame Technology

Friday, January 14th, 2022

New patented LaserFrameTM technology, FirstSpear continues to innovate and develop cutting edge technologies to give war fighters and first responders the utmost edge. LaserFrame technology comes in a full suite of pockets. LaserFrame is a hemless design and construction that dramatically reduces weight, decreases the pocket’s footprint and retains its shape when empty, all of which combine to allow for a sleeker overall platform.

The LaserFrame line will come with our 6/9 attachment system that is compatible with our laser fusion 6/12 platforms as well as legacy MOLLE platforms. Expect to see variations of rifle pockets, pistol magazine pockets and accessories like the popular Fight Strap as we’ll be adding more pocket variations throughout 2022.

For more information about FirstSpear, check out First-Spear.com or First-Spear.tech.