Maybe a little sidetracked but very important to realize. It is wonderful if you can make your own prototype. So many inventor friends I know need $500,000 to build a prototype and they are looking for a manufacturer to do it for them with no track record of inventing.

My two big inventions (the second will change the shape of most writing/scribing instruments) were picked because I could make a functional prototype, leaving the manufacturer not much work to build the production model prototype. This is SO important.

I have lots of other ideas that take a chunk of money to get fully manufactured. I realize I will have to wait until I have a better reputation so a manufacturer is willing to invest big bucks in R&D/ Product Development for my idea or finance it myself with the profits I made from the other inventions that I was able to run ONLY because I was able to build a decent prototype myself.

I say, if you are just trying to nail that first hit invention, try to pick one of your ideas that you can make a functional prototype yourself. It matters ALOT to the manufacturer you team up with as it is very hard to get them to invest without something they can try first.

My functional prototypes were pretty damn ugly and my opinion is partial. Jake, “Is it worth it”; sure is, you picked an invention that you can start yourself “working” and relatively simple which hopefully will get you into mass markets. Most times the simple stuff goes to masses and complex goes to custom, smaller markets.

Just an opinion, but I see too many inventors get a complicated idea which makes the whole process of success complicated too.

Know what I want to do one day? Invent a few pet toys. So simple, sells millions, and none of them work anyway. Pet toys, simplest invention you could ever take a crack at and the easiest sale you could make…pets aren’t too smart. I never wanted to talk of my pet toy market opinion, keep it secret but it might help someone here. I do have an ergonomic dog leash I will be launching shortly. Will sell many. Ergonomics for the dog AND the owner walking the dog.

Ron Komorowski
Inventor of Handi-Straps
www.handi-straps.com

Hi Rafael:

Thanks for the reply. I have heard of the silicone molds (I forgot to mention that in my first post), and may use that method to make a couplel of prototypes to bring to an EE casting call.

I’m using a industrial design firm that has a silicone mold making department in their bag of tricks.

For me, the development process surely is slow. I kind of like it that way, though… because it helps me avoid costly mistakes— as mentioned in your first post above…

I’ve found out that throwing money at the problem doesn’t necessarily make it better. Sometimes all you get is a dwindling bank account, and not necessarily an improved product ideation.

Persistence, investigation, and much deliberation (the due diligence factor) has saved me tons of money.

Paul. Not sure of the parts you’re talking about. But you may consider paying for a “rough” rapid prototype, and then duplicating the rough part on your own, using two-part silicon rubber to make a mold. Then use two-part self-curing plastic to make many copies from the mold. You may then be able to modify the copies, carve in or layer on the more intricate details onto the copies. Check out www.sculpt.com to see how to do it.

Ooops- it’s early yet, sorry about the above post with no text…

The do-it-yourself prototyping sounds great! Kudos!

One ideation of my product concept involves a very small/intricate part(s) that are hard to get accurate without having them rapid prototyped on high-resolution machines.
(I’ve thought about machining them, too— but the RP method is faster for me)

If someone knows how to create these type of detailed parts without using expensive rapid prototyping machines like the Objet or Viper, please let me (and EE’ers) know.

Thanks!

Paul

Your message…

I really enjoy working on my prototypes- of course they are no-tech things. But it really gets me thinking about how it will be used, and the right materials, and cost effectiveness. The first couple of attempts are always that- just attempts, but then I end up with something decent! Learn by doing!

Just my little story on one of my inventions. I got estimates of between $2000 and and $10K to create a prototype. Luckily my wife would have bit my head off if I had gone for it. So I started to build a prototype myself. After 6 attempts at various methods that didn’t work, I finally came upon a method that’s so easy and works so well, I can churn out good, attractive, durable prototypes at will. And each one costs me less than $10 to produce. Sure, I blew about $150 trying inappropriate, dead-end methods, but that’s a heck of a lot better than the $10K I might have blown.

Working on another invention, I paid a 3D CAD printing company about $200 to create a 3D plastic part that would have been the frame of a flower making machine. They were great. And it was well worth it. I was able to use various techniques from www.sculpt.com to make many copies and many variations for about $2 each. After dozens and dozens of failures, I put the project in mothballs for a while. Just recently, though, I came up with an entirely new approach that is much more simple, easier and cheaper to construct, and far superior in every way. So now, instead of scrapping a $10K prototype, I’m scrapping about $300 worth of do-it-yourself prototypes. Besides, after plopping down $10k on a prototype, I’m quite sure that I would have been very reluctant to give it an impartial opinion and ultimately find it inferior to my new design. I bet that $10K outlay, if I had gone for it, would have kept me going down the wrong track for years.

Yes, there’s invaluable knowledge to be gained from making prototypes yourself. Also, at least for me, that’s where most of the fun of inventing comes in. Why pay someone to take away all your fun?

Great advice Matt. A number of times when making a prototype at home you can see the issues a manufacturer will run into and fix them prior to going to a company for a finished product. This saves you a lot of cash and wasted time.

Remember what Edison said about prototypes… “I never failed once. It just happened to be a 2000-step process.”

The key is to learn from each one. And take a tip from James Dyson – change just one thing about each prototype so when you’re done, you have a library of knowledge that will strengthen your product. The goal of prototypes isn’t to demonstrate an idea as much as it is to perfect your invention. The demonstration part is just a bonus.

- Matt

I made almost all my prototype myself. As long as it can clearly demonstrate how it functions, it’s working.
Sometime I have to make a second prototype for show purpose. Base on experience gain on the first one, plus visual effect in consider. I can make a good enough prototype for showing. Few times I made show only prototype which won’t function.