Fabdesigns, Inc.

What is Fabdesigns’ business model?

Fabdesigns is completely independent. We are not subsidized by machine builders. Fabdesigns facility is a confidential textile, knit and product engineering innovation laboratory. We’re the sand box. You have ideas and we have solutions in advanced textiles, components, and materials. 

What type of clients work with Fabdesigns?

Start-ups, Fortune 100's, brands, designers, engineers, inventors.

Can Fabdesigns make me a prototype?

What good is a sample if the focus is only making one?  We focus on manufacturing from the beginning, putting your goals first and optimizing samples to reflect real production parameters.  You save valuable time and money, while making practical use of your company's resources.  You may have a short-term need of rapidly entering a market, with long term goals of leading that market. Getting your sample on budget is important but getting your production speed at optimum is critical to the success of your product, and ultimately, your business. Our techniques can save 25% or more on production time, over WYSIWYG off the shelf software from the machine builders.

What won't I find anywhere else?

There are no books for our type of innovation in textiles. Our core capabilities most in demand are technical knitted textile development with optimized manufacturing processes, combined with textile engineering, and business planning.

We build product at the same time the fabric is created. We create extreme flat knitted solutions, components, and materials to perform in diverse environments. This is not just making a sample. Building IP in product and manufacturing from the fiber up is how we approach R&D. Where something has never been done before, we build entire platforms – many times with proprietary IP that gives our clients the edge in not being knocked off easily. 

What services do you offer?

· Product Development

· Flat Knit Engineering for technical Textiles, Smart Textiles, Apparel, Automotive, Aerospace, Medical, Military, Architectural, Footwear, and Accessories

· Specifying and sourcing equipment internationally (Technical machine specs differ substantially from apparel. This is our specialty and we've set the bar in fine tuning technical textile professional specifications world-wide.)

· Professional equipment installation

· Focused Advanced Training

· Smart Prototyping

· Optimized Program Engineering

· Business / Product / Operations Planning Assistance

· Factory Planning

· LEAN Process Engineering

· Production Placement (US, Mexico, Asia, Europe, South America)

· Technology Transfer to Manufacturing

· Programming evolution from the beginning of programming Apple, Sirix, and M1+

· Machine knowledge from generations of mechanicals, circulars to state of the art ADF

· 3D knitting, 4D structures, smart fabrications

· Textile science - polymers, yarns, structures, and after processes

· Hard goods and softgood hybriding, molding, hardward

· Sourcing materials

· Materials development

What makes Fabdesigns different from the machine builders?

Machine builders focus on selling machines.  Our focus  at Fabdesigns is our clients, and advanced engineering  of their FIRST TO MARKET projects. We don't make you feel like you're at a used car lot, pressuring you to buy equipment.  We are completely independent and our ENTIRE  business is advanced textiles, 100%.  98% of all knitting machines sold by the machine builders regardless of brand, are for apparel.   WE ARE THE RARE 2%, ALL OF THE TIME.  Technical textiles DO NOT USE off the shelf machinery specs or off the shelf WYSIWYG programming.  If it did, everyone would be doing it, and they are not.  Technical textiles takes experience and know how to dial in a machine spec down to the gauge, needle type, sinker type, accessories, and in many cases we have to make parts that the machine builders don't even know exist.  Our textile engineers have hands on experience building proprietary parts, creating IP, and revolutionizing markets at some of the top companies in the world, utilizing: LEAN manufacturing, Medical ISO13485, Automotive SAE and MVSS standards, ASTM, ISO, and are on the IPC committee for standardizing Smart textiles and connectors.  Our textile engineers are recognized as industry leaders, regularly presenting at TechTextile,  IFAI, IPC, and mentoring at such organizations as Make it In LA and IFAI.  Our principal, Connie Huffa, was one of the few woman pioneers in flat knitting in the 1980's working on both Stoll and Shima machines, when flat  machine was considered a man's world.  Women at that time were less than 1% of programmers and there were even fewer female technicians.

How does it work?

Clients usually request a mutual NDA prior to discussions. We scope project and put a statement of work, (SOW), outlining budget, scope, deliverables and required resources. We then develop in a typical stages and gate system:

Phase 1) Developing Materials and Structures

Phase 2) First Prototype

Phase 3) Commercialization

We scope out and customize every project with a realistic timeline, budget, resources needed, and action items. We invoice deliverables based on that quote. And, all work is done in house, with as many of your team here as you want / need for onsite Q&A, and on the spot collaboration. We have many clients some know exactly what they want and other are 100,000 feet up. We bring their vision to reality.

Confidentiality?

This is completely your project and no other client is in our building while you are here. Your work goes with you and any notes or left overs are completely out of site and secure.  No one sees anything until you want. You own your product, not us. 

What are your rates?

We have very reasonable professional rates for Product Development and are sensitive to the fact that fees need to depend on the services required and the degree of involvement required.  There is no one size fits all fee, just like there is no one size fits all product.  Some projects require simple labor only. Some require working on your equipment in your facilities. Other projects require that we provide machine time, all equipment, materials, training, engineering, travel and other expenses. But don't worry. We'll break it all down in your quote. We don't charge for the initial conversation. We don't publish our rates online but would be more than happy to discuss them with you over the phone, skype, or via email, so we can fine tune to what you actually need and send you the correct information.

Costs of development will vary based on:

· If a client has its' own machinery

· Has its own yarns

· Has its own stitches chosen

· A detailed design brief

· Number of revisions

· How organized the client is

· The level of knowledge at client’s chosen manufacturing partner. It's up to the clients to vet them for their own supply chain purposes.  Everything is spelled out in advance in a mutually agreed SOW, and everyone is on the same page for budget and direction.  No surprises.

IP?

Our clients own their products 100%.  We can make other arrangements, it depending on what you require.

Does Fabdesigns do production?

Yes, we do!  We do production for 1 to a couple hundred units of clients' product.  However, our pricing structure is geared to Berry Act Compliance, Salesman samples, medical validations, limited editions and small runs.  If a client needs more cost effective solutions, we can help with finding manufacturing partners.

More Questions?  email us