Since 2002, Kris Stewart has played an instrumental role in getting various QSC digital products to market with our in-house team. Through dialog and review of QSC’s product concepts, she is able to produce thoughtful mechanical and industrial designs that meet our product requirements. Further, Kris’ suggestions and contributions during the design phase often enhance product reliability, aesthetics and help to reduce overall cost.”
Projects: Custom sheet metal chassis enclosures, EM integration, Misc. Design.
Our old design contractor was moving very slowly and not delivering results. We called Kris to make a change. She started with an unfinished assembly that already had too many parts (most custom) and she:
Reduced the overall part count by about 25%.
Combined part functions to reduce the number of injection molded parts from six to four.
Replaced 3 other custom components with off-the-shelf part s. One of these is a sheet metal part that would have required a complex progressive mold to manufacture.
Improved the overall assembly method for easy wiring and installation of our electronic components.
Delivered rapid prototype samples to check fit and function at critical decision points.
Redesigned the assembly to meet the UL specs we identified. The design passed UL review with no mechanical changes required.
It is tough to estimate the cost savings in part, tooling, production and assembly costs that these changes will contribute compared to our original path, but clearly it will be substantial. Suffice it to say, we are elated with the results and our decision to make a change….we highly recommend Kris’ work and will not hesitate to use her again on future projects!”
Project: Custom injection molded plastic enclosure, EM integration, Misc. Design.
Kris is a very competent professional engineer with excellent communication skills. Kris always gave me reason to feel confident the the job will get done right and on time. Kris integrated in to our team easily and became one of us, with a clear dedication to customer service.” -from LinkedIn profile
Projects: Consulting, Engineering organization, Vendor Liaison, Misc. Design.
Mechanical Partner’s injected plastic case design was key to the successful delivery of our consumer avionics product. Their tight integration of our electronics exceeded our requirements while meeting an aggressive schedule.”
Projects: Custom sheet metal chassis enclosures, EM integration, Misc. Design.
I first met Kris in 2005 as we worked together to create the Los Angeles Chapter of the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA-LA). I found her to be thoughtful, insightful, and creative in her work with PDMA-LA.
In 2006 I was able to leverage the technical skill that Kris has into solving a number of challenges while I was leading Discus Dental’s Device Development effort. She made significant contributions to the the development of the Zoom2 Dental Whitening Lamp as well as a number of other projects. I appreciated she was able to not only complete the design engineering work but also was able accomplish vendor liaison and prototype testing for me as well.
Kris would be a good complement to any development project. Try her out and you’ll see can quickly work as part of your team to deliver results.” -from LinkedIn profile
Projects: Plastics design, Design Review, Misc. Design and Testing.
I was fortunate enough to work with Kris on a development project involving concept, prototype, and production of a plastic housing. She was able to work closely with the electrical design team to ensure a tightly integrated design with both the electrical components and the mechanical envelope. Her knowledge of plastic design and experience with plastic fabrication, made the design process and transition into fabrication go extremely smooth. I will definitely use Kris for my next design project and highly recommend her services.” -from LinkedIn profile
Project: Custom injection molded enclosure, EM integration, Misc. plastic part design.
Kris is an outstanding design engineer. I have had the pleasure of working with Kris on several projects with a common client. We worked with plastic parts and the design always kept in mind the manufacturing process and detail required. I had a great working experience with Kris and hope to again when the opportunity arises!” -from LinkedIn profile
Project: Custom injection molded chassis enclosure, EM integration.
Kris Stewart’s work on QSC’s latest digital platform program was exceptional.
She was able to digest our electrical design files and conceptual renderings and produce mechanical chassis components that support our industrial design concepts and the extensible nature of our program architecture. Kris’s suggestions throughout the development cycle produced a product that is easy to assemble, test and configure.
When we were up against extreme deadline pressures and were forced to make last minute design changes to meet our regulatory requirements, Kris’s commitment to our program and flexibility in work schedule allowed us to not only meet these requirements but to be able to deliver our products to market on time.
I think I can speak for the entire engineering team at QSC when I say that Kris Stewart’s ability to integrate with our document control system and our electrical and mechanical CAD programs has been crucial to communicating design requirements and development status and has been a big help in reducing time to market for our programs. We look forward to continuing our working relationship with Kris in developing future digital products at QSC Audio.”
Projects: Custom sheet metal chassis enclosures, EM integration, Misc. Design.
I worked with Kris on several projects for a key customer while at Accurate Metal Fabricators. Kris’s experience and detail in her work allowed my team to do their job quickly and efficiently leading to the best possible quality and on time delivery.” -from LinkedIn profile
Projects: Custom sheet metal chassis enclosures, EM integration, Misc. Design.
Kris has come to our rescue on many occasions, helping us sort out our engineering challenges, clarify our goals and communicate needed product changes to our overseas factories with clear, easy to understand 3D CAD images that transcend the language barriers with which we commonly struggle.” -from LinkedIn profile
Projects: Design Review, Misc. Design.
Kris was hired to design an enclosure for one of our products that previous engineers wasted thousands of dollars and months of time failing to do. Her work was outstanding, she provided solutions that no-one had thought of and did so with speed, precision and perfect results. The product later went on to receive an industry award. We will continue to use Kris for all future projects.” -from LinkedIn profile
Project: Custom injection molded chassis enclosure, EM integration, Misc. Design.
Kris was selected as an expert witness based on her unique combination of engineering skills, product development experience, and background in consumer products similar to those in our case. She was prompt, thorough, creative in her approach, and communicated very well in her written presentation and in her testimony at hearing. We were very pleased with her work.” -from LinkedIn profile
Project: Expert Witness Services
I greatly appreciate how Kris has the incredible ability to take bits of fragmented thoughts, randomly thrown her direction over the course of a conversation, listen patiently to each one, carefully analyzing how they each interact and effect the desired results. Then later, when she presents the design concept, she gets it better than initially envisioned! Without a doubt, she will be the first one I call when I am ready to start my next product design!”
Projects: Custom product design, Injection molded plastic design, Vendor liaison
I would highly recommend Kris to anyone who needs a knowledgeable mechanical design engineering consultant. She is easy to work with, communicates well with her clients and her work is accurate and on-schedule.” -from LinkedIn profile
Projects: Enclosure work, Conceptual
We have great confidence in our overseas manufacturer, but were having difficulty communicating exactly what we wanted in our new products. Working with Kris, allowed us to flesh out 3D assemblies (with just the level of detail required) in SolidWorks and make revisions quickly until the model represented exactly the product we were looking for.
This saved us on overseas travel, as well as the cost of delay and headache of prototypes ‘not hitting the target’. On our projects with Kris, we got from the factory exactly what we asked for….because we provided instructions that were clear, specific and detailed. Our factory applied their tremendous knowledge and experience to do the rest.
The investment made in design services with Kris were not inconsequential, but we are earning ROI with the new products we have on the market as a result of completing these projects.”
Projects: Cast metal parts, Conceptual design
I first met Kris when she was working with one of our customers doing a new product design. I was impressed by her knowledge of plastics, plastic molding, and tooling. She understood our concerns and adapted her design to accommodate them. The project was a success and was on time.
Kris has worked with me on several projects where she took my design concept sketches and made 3D CAD drawings that were used in presentations to customers such as Gulfstream, Airbus, and Boeing. She has a unique ability to understand what the application requires and where I was going with the design. The drawings she created were excellent graphic representations of what I was proposing. It allowed our customers to understand what we were thinking and how it would work.
Kris is a first rate designer and engineer.”
Projects: Virtual CAD Prototypes, Plastic molded parts
I have hired Kris for many projects requiring mechanical engineering work over the past five years. Kris is a pleasure to work with and integrates extremely well with any project team. We have especially valued the collaborative teamwork approach she employs to produce top notch products. I would not hesitate to hire Kris for future products and I highly recommend her outstanding work.” -from LinkedIn profile
Projects: Custom sheet metal chassis enclosures, EM integration, Misc. Design.
