Well actually there are a couple games out there that have something akin to crafter raids. It COULD work, too.
A group of crafters is given an assignment that has to be completed in a certain amount of time, and they get rewards based on how fast and how well they accomplish it.
Kinda like item acquisition FATEs or gatherer leves, except they can be done as a group.
I've also always liked the idea of an actual combat raid that requires a gatherer or crafter, such as a boss that can only be defeated with a special concoction that has to be prepared on the spot, or a fished up raid boss kinda like that one hunt target.