How should I do the design process?

[Siberia]

Hi,
May be was better before you started with an engineer you did not define if your idea is an invention or an utility model.
That is if it is something that does not exist in the market or if it exists and can be improved.

After answering this question why you have not done a good research to understand the state of the art in relation to your new product idea.

Finally, look for companies that produce similar things and contact them to gain a little more experience.

And only after it take the decision begin the process to create your product.

 

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[DistressedDenim]

Plot twist!

I'm working on this project again. Forget all of my excuses. This business follows CENTS very well, so I'm going to do whatever it takes to make it work. If I can execute this, It'll likely get me to my first rest station; free from the scripted life.

I started designing a product to fill the Need yesterday, and I now have an outline that describes the basic way it'll function, plus I have drawings.

I've run into a problem, however. Although I know how the product will function overall, I don't know how to design the small, technical aspects.

To jump this hurdle, I have multiple options. There are two that stand out to me right now.
1. I have access to Solidworks 2015, so I can somehow learn to 3D model all of these little things. Keep in mind, my product isn't "basic" like an innovated paper clip or something. Instead, it's somewhat complex and must have a (possibly 100% unique) locking mechanism to function.
2. Outsource it to these guys: CAD Design & 3D Engineering Contests for Freelance Designers | Cad Crowd . I have a couple of questions about this. One, do I need a patent before I expose my idea to these designers/are they likely to steal it?? Two, is this type of service going to create a high-quality product that fits my needs?

Also, I'm still open to the idea of working with engineers face-to-face. I only listed those options because I think it might be enjoyable to build the design myself, plus the Cad Crowd thing sounds really cool to me.

Hi,
May be was better before you started with an engineer you did not define if your idea is an invention or an utility model.
That is if it is something that does not exist in the market or if it exists and can be improved.

After answering this question why you have not done a good research to understand the state of the art in relation to your new product idea.

Finally, look for companies that produce similar things and contact them to gain a little more experience.

And only after it take the decision begin the process to create your product.

My product is an improvement of an existing product, but the product that exists does not truly do what the market is asking it to do. Therefore, my product will be a 10x improvement for much of the targeted market.

I've researched my competition thoroughly and defined a plan for how my product and marketing will help me monopolize this relatively small, but large enough, niche I am in.

Thanks for the advice on contacting others in the game. I'll probably do this if I run into something I don't know, like where to manufacture my product or something. However, I don't see why I need to do it before I get started working on my business. Can you explain?


Extra info: I've done patent research with multiple patent search engines, and found one thing that matches my idea. However, it doesn't match what my design will be Whatsoever. Plus, it's recorded to have expired about 10 years ago. Looks like a green light, right?

 

[iizu]

If your product has some unique functional feature, then you could file a provisional patent yourself.
If it's unique in just the way it looks, then you'd need to file a design patent.
I would not try to file a full utility patent myself.

Cad Crowd is probably good for beautiful designs, but it will be hard to find qualified mechanical engineers with DFM knowledge from there.

If your product is made of metal, I might be able to help. Just send me a PM

 

[DistressedDenim]

If your product has some unique functional feature, then you could file a provisional patent yourself.
If it's unique in just the way it looks, then you'd need to file a design patent.
I would not try to file a full utility patent myself.

Cad Crowd is probably good for beautiful designs, but it will be hard to find qualified mechanical engineers with DFM knowledge from there.

If your product is made of metal, I might be able to help. Just send me a PM

It will include a small amount of metal, but it will be mostly plastic.

 

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[amp0193]

I'm working on this project again. Forget all of my excuses. This business follows CENTS very well, so I'm going to do whatever it takes to make it work. If I can execute this, It'll likely get me to my first rest station; free from the scripted life.

Cool thread. Rootin' for ya kid, you'll go far.

Don't ever let lack of money, or your age, be a reason you think this can't be done.

It can always be done.

 

[iizu]

^What he said

Maybe you should open a progress thread?

But to keep this thread on track:
-Learning to use CAD is definitely not a bad idea. That's a skill you can use to make money later.
-Things to learn: Injection Molding, 3D-printing, CNC-machining.
-You might be able to get help from older engineers. Ask around. I'm sure most of the old-timers are delighted to see young people wanting to learn this stuff.

 

[DistressedDenim]

Cool thread. Rootin' for ya kid, you'll go far.

Don't ever let lack of money, or your age, be a reason you think this can't be done.

It can always be done.

Thanks for the kind words and the Rep .

The market doesn't care how old I am, because, in this business, my customers will never know.

^What he said

Maybe you should open a progress thread?

But to keep this thread on track:
-Learning to use CAD is definitely not a bad idea. That's a skill you can use to make money later.
-Things to learn: Injection Molding, 3D-printing, CNC-machining.
-You might be able to get help from older engineers. Ask around. I'm sure most of the old-timers are delighted to see young people wanting to learn this stuff.

Thanks . I'll probably start a progress thread soon, but I need to learn a few more things first so I can make a rough timeline for each part of this process.

I think I'll do 3D modeling myself since I have plenty of time but not enough money. I would also like to develop the skill as a backup plan so I could freelance using it.

 

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[Vadim26]

@Will-v-the-World

I've stumbled on this thread because I have the exact same problem now. Either to design the product myself (which seems a bit too complicated to me with my knowledge base) or hire professional engineers.

Curious to know what stage are you at now?

..wait and you are only 16? I wish I was reading books at that age.. oh well it's never too late!

 

[karakoram]

^What he said

Maybe you should open a progress thread?

But to keep this thread on track:
-Learning to use CAD is definitely not a bad idea. That's a skill you can use to make money later.
-Things to learn: Injection Molding, 3D-printing, CNC-machining.
-You might be able to get help from older engineers. Ask around. I'm sure most of the old-timers are delighted to see young people wanting to learn this stuff.

I hate to be a sourpuss but I do this for a living. Its not trivial to "learn CAD", and its even more difficult to use CAD correctly (there are CAD models, and then their are correctly made CAD models), and even more difficult than that is designing parts that can actually be MANUFACTURED.
At my day job, we often get startups that come to us with some ridiculous design (i.e. almost impossible to manufacture and/or exceptionally difficult and costly to manufacture), because its very apparent to me that their "designer" doesn't know shit from shinola. When we get an RFQ for these types of projects, I send back a "No Quote".

 

[karakoram]

I'm in an area that has a lot of light manufacturing and custom design engineering, because of a history of high tech medical entrepreneurship in the area.

Last year, I had a client who had an idea for a product that he wanted to mass product. The client hand built his prototype. He then found a design engineer who has a day job at a company that builds complex small medical devices, and who does some moonlighting. The engineer took the design, put it into the CAD/CAM system, and ran simulations showing how it could be successfully manufactured.

The key component is a plastic piece a few millimeters across. The engineer figured how it could be injection molded flat, then folded to snap together.

The delicate part was the hinge design. The software simulation is very precise. It shows how the hot molten plastic cools and shrinks over the milliseconds it takes to spread the plastic across the mold. This is the kind of thing an experienced manufacturing engineer will know needs to be accounted for in the design, but you and I don't know to even ask the question.

The engineer's bill was a few thousand dollars. Through his connections at work, he could get the molds made and some small batches of parts manufactured for another few thousand dollars. He also had connections for how to offshore the production to China so that for a few tens of thousands of dollars up front, the cost per unit would drop way down. He recommended doing the small batch locally for quick turnaround, same language and time zone, and expertise. Once the design was proven, then outsource it.

The client was working on a Kickstarter campaign to get funds for the next steps. At that point he flaked out on paying me or even talking about tasks and budget for my part of the project, so I gave up on him and don't know what happened next.

I hope this provides some useful context for you. I don't see where you're located?

Mostly accurate information. I do a lot of molded part designs, assembly designs, and I do a lot of tooling (mold designs). I have contacts locally - injection molding shops in my town, and I have contacts in China - more tooling shops, etc. I spend most of my days doing a lot of solid modeling (CAD) in Solidworks, along with Moldflow simulations (google Autodesk Moldflow). Other days I spend running in new molds I designed. This is where I prove out the mold functions as designed, and make any necessary revisions (modifications) to correct any issues encountered. For example, I just spent the past 2 days with my customer on-site, running 2 molds they purchased from us.

 

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[karakoram]

I was planning to have it made overseas because it's kind of a simple product, it's just made of plastic and a little metal. It is sort of large though.

When you say I need a comprehensive plan, do you mean a "business plan", like an official one?

I don't have any prototypes, patents, or anything like that yet. I do have the niche market identified. My meeting with the design engineer was delayed until Monday/Tuesday, so still looking forward to that.
I'll let you guys know how it goes.

If you want a little consultation, we can speak on the phone. PM me if you are interested.