Getting an idea prototype made

[WaftyCrank]

Any business folk on here know anything about inventions and innovations needing a prototype designing, building, testing and patenting?

I get regular ideas for things that may be useful and one is reoccurring so wanted to see if it were possible to look at ways of maybe taking it further? I'm not an engineer of any sort so this is all new to me

All advice would be welcomed.

Thanks folks.

 

[woopwoop]

I'm like you - full of ideas, not an engineer, started to make prototypes and taken some ideas further.

I've registered trademarks, EU design patents, and am about to get the ball rolling on a utility patent (US).

It's easy to waste a lot of money registering things and it really depends on what your idea is and how the potential market is - you could possibly do better going straight to market and being the first to establish yourself rather than spending 1-2k registering every project.

Re: prototypes, for my early ideas I made them with card/paper/glue/wood... just mock them up and test them. If you need plastics moulded (I do for my next project) then it will be expensive to get a one off mould made, but there are places at home and abroad that can do small/large quantities.

Prototypes vary hugely so would need to know more to offer advice.

Good luck and let me know if you want to bounce ideas...

 

[khalid]

One simple way to get a prototype made would be to get a cad designer to draw it and have a company print it using a 3d printer.

The latter usually do the former btw.

 

[monaghan]

3d printers are very good and have come down in price sufficiently that our kids school has just got one, so it may well be worth asking about your local engineering firms - given the economic climate, I'd suggest most would be glad of the chance to grab a little project and will probably have the experience of drawing up necessary trademark & patent applications for their own projects.

As mentioned above, tooling is expensive, so will considerably distort the per unit costs for a small volume production run.

 

[Systreg]

Brum has experience of this and could probably point you in the right direction, they brought a good simple product to the market, see the topic here: http://www.acorndomains.co.uk/website-reviews/94675-new-product-weve-launched.html

 

[theonemanyuri]

If it has moving parts you should get in contact with someone who has a rapid prototyper aka 3d printer, after all that is it's specific purpose in life. Find an engineering shop with one. We had one at my old place, part funded by Rolls-Royce. Quantities won't make much difference to price I would imagine, it's a machine designed to do singular jobs really, although bigger models may have come on the market since.

 

[dashu1]

Brum has experience of this and could probably point you in the right direction, they brought a good simple product to the market, see the topic here: http://www.acorndomains.co.uk/website-reviews/94675-new-product-weve-launched.html

I notice that the loft stilts aren't in B&Q any more (can't see them anywhere else either), and that there seem to be different types for sale now from different companies.

Have they gone and copied his idea?

 

[iain123]

and to think i was mocked here for 3d printing domains i bought over a year ago just saying
yeh if you know a little cad a 3d printer would be a good investment depending on size of what you want to print off even if you go to a 3d printing service its wont cost anywhere near as much as it would have before to get a prototype made times are changing real fast good luck with your idea