UPSCALE: What do you think of my invention?

[BrianLateStart]

*** MODERATOR NOTE

THIS POST WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE SELL-ME SATURDAY
SELF-PROMOTION THREAD. DUE TO DETAILED DISCUSSION,
IT WAS EXTRACTED TO ITS OWN THREAD



Thanks MJ for allowing us to post our product on your forum. There's a lot of knowledge and talent here. In the name of transparency, as much as we'd like to sell our product, our product, website and my wife and I are very new to this business. We could really use any feedback on the product and the website that this community has to offer.

The problem: My wife and I were trying to manage our weight, but we just didn't have a place to keep our bathroom scale where it was convenient to use. We would stand it on edge, but often it would slide down the wall and break a foot off the bottom. We never would have even considered getting a larger, nicer, glass scale. We usually just skipped weighting ourselves.

One day my wife asked why couldn't I make something that could store a scale off the floor and out of the way? This got me thinking. After several years, countless CAD models and prototypes, my wife and I are proud to present:

UpScale

UpScale keeps your scale off the floor, out of the way and ready for use.







We believe UpScale can work in even the smallest 1/2 bath. It can even attach to the back of a door.





We hope once your scale has been UpScaled, you may want to decorate the bottom of it to enhance any bathroom! We use laptop decals, but, leaving it plain it fine too.



UpScale is made in the USA (my wife and I rivet them in our garage) and has a lifetime warranty.

As our introductory offer, we're discounting UpScale 10% with free shipping. We're also giving an additional $10 off if you use the checkout code Fastlane.

As I said earlier we welcome and appreciate any feedback. At the moment we're only offering it for sale in the US, but would love to here from forum members outside the US whether or not this product is useful in your country.

TheUpScaleScale

Thanks again MJ and Fastlane community!
Brian and Lisa

 

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[BrianLateStart]

Before I start replying to these messages, I just want to thank this community for all the feedback and advice I've been given. I've had more help since posting this yesterday than the entire time I've been working on this, and that will be 4 years this Septemver. I wish I knew about this community back when I started. Thanks MJ and everyone that's part of The Fastlane.

One other thing I've noticed . Not only are the people here great, but the forum software and moderation is better than any community I've been a part of. I'm the type of person that gets going on a project and goes deep with it. I've spent countless hours reading, learning and posting in forums. Everything from Engineering, photography, home automation, computers, forums on specific vehicles (cars and motorcycles) I've owned and maintained (I've heavily used many forums). I haven't seen forum software that is as functional and has a good look and feel as this one.

Thanks again MJ

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Before I start replying to these messages, I just want to thank this community for all the feedback and advice I've been given. I've had more help since posting this yesterday than the entire time I've been working on this, and that will be 4 years this Septemver. I wish I knew about this community back when I started. Thanks MJ and everyone that's part of The Fastlane.

One other thing I've noticed . Not only are the people here great, but the forum software and moderation is better than any community I've been a part of. I'm the type of person that gets going on a project and goes deep with it. I've spent countless hours reading, learning and posting in forums. Everything from Engineering, photography, home automation, computers, forums on specific vehicles (cars and motorcycles) I've owned and maintained (I've heavily used many forums). I haven't seen forum software that is as functional and has a good look and feel as this one.

Thanks again MJ

Thanks, glad you found value in it.

1) You're open to honest unvarnished feedback, both good and bad because I've discovered some
members on this forum are very sensitive and by feedback actually mean praise, agreement and ego
validation only, and that won't help you succeed.

I think he's already proven that he's open to critique. Many folks have cited concerns already and he's been most receptive. Win or lose with this particular product, I think he has a winners mentality.

 

[biophase]

Thanks AppMan. This is the first day I've offered them for sale, so no sales yet. I don't know if I could get them down to $20 and still make them in the USA and offer a lifetime warranty.

Most bathroom scales are $20-$30. I don't see someone spending $90 as a convenience to their $20 product. I agree that the price needs to really come down. $30-$40 at the most.

You'll find out fast by running FB ads or putting it on Amazon and reading the reviews.

 

[BrianLateStart]

You can buy a famous brand TV wall mount bracket now for $40.

File a provisional patent on this immediately.

Vigilante, I filed a utility patent on Aug 8th 2017. It was issued Tuesday. Two days shy of the two year anniversary of the filing date. I have an international patent application filed. I have a little over 8 months to file in the countries I want to file for a patent.

 

[Grinder20]

*** MODERATOR NOTE

THIS POST WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE SELL-ME SATURDAY
SELF-PROMOTION THREAD. DUE TO DETAILED DISCUSSION,
IT WAS EXTRACTED TO ITS OWN THREAD



Thanks MJ for allowing us to post our product on your forum. There's a lot of knowledge and talent here. In the name of transparency, as much as we'd like to sell our product, our product, website and my wife and I are very new to this business. We could really use any feedback on the product and the website that this community has to offer.

The problem: My wife and I were trying to manage our weight, but we just didn't have a place to keep our bathroom scale where it was convenient to use. We would stand it on edge, but often it would slide down the wall and break a foot off the bottom. We never would have even considered getting a larger, nicer, glass scale. We usually just skipped weighting ourselves.

One day my wife asked why couldn't I make something that could store a scale off the floor and out of the way? This got me thinking. After several years, countless CAD models and prototypes, my wife and I are proud to present:

UpScale

UpScale keeps your scale off the floor, out of the way and ready for use.

View attachment 26508

View attachment 26509

View attachment 26510

We believe UpScale can work in even the smallest 1/2 bath. It can even attach to the back of a door.

View attachment 26511

View attachment 26512

We hope once your scale has been UpScaled, you may want to decorate the bottom of it to enhance any bathroom! We use laptop decals, but, leaving it plain it fine too.

View attachment 26513

UpScale is made in the USA (my wife and I rivet them in our garage) and has a lifetime warranty.

As our introductory offer, we're discounting UpScale 10% with free shipping. We're also giving an additional $10 off if you use the checkout code Fastlane.

As I said earlier we welcome and appreciate any feedback. At the moment we're only offering it for sale in the US, but would love to here from forum members outside the US whether or not this product is useful in your country.

TheUpScaleScale

Thanks again MJ and Fastlane community!
Brian and Lisa

Hey Brian, I see the value in your product, very cool! As people have mentioned, your price is high, however, if you can land a contract with a high-end hotel with multiple locations, your price per unit would come down over night. Think outside of residential. Great work!

 

[ZCP]

TheUpScaleScale

how do we get to 49.99 and include a scale that works with it??

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I don't see someone spending $90 as a convenience to their $20 product.

That in a nutshell, is the huge issue with this. Not to mention, it's a one-off (maybe twice) product. I'll post a CENTS Grade here soon...

 

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[Vigilante]

Thanks MJ. I haven't started a thread. I did mention UpScale in some of my replies in my intro thread. I will start a thread to keep track of my progress.

I don't know if it's worth $90 for most folks either. Still testing pricing. Was hoping that a lifetime warranty would ease the pain a little. Most people will buy only one, maybe two at most and have them forever.

You can buy a famous brand TV wall mount bracket now for $40.

File a provisional patent on this immediately.

 

[Departed]

I have one observation/suggestion. A lot of people are saying things like "Cool product" "This is a legit product" etc. pp. This kind of reminds me of the typical answers you get when asking friends and family about your idea.

It is very simple: Don't say "cool product" but do say "This is a cool product. I have just placed my order on your website" or "Make it 29.99 and I am sending over the money TODAY" (like the one guy here in this thread). Especially, since we are talking about a household product. If the product is really good then there should be at least a couple of buyers here. Other than that, of course, it is the OPs job to find out if the product is a winner.

The same goes for the "hey this could work great for hotels" kind of advice. Do you know somebody that has a hotel? Would you recommend this product to them? In my view, its not always about the price or utility of a product. This might be a good addition. But hotels have on average 70 - 350 rooms. That means, buying the product, installing it, maintaining it, cleaning it, repairing it etc. for all 70 - 350 rooms.

Sorry for being so negativ and I might be totally wrong, which I hope I am. I wish the OP only success!

 

[BrianLateStart]

It doesn’t need to fold down so I can use it then fold back up.

Just needs to hold my scale on the wall so leaning it on the side doesn’t scratch my bathroom paint and cause it to crash down when my kids tear through.

Im fine to lift the whole thing up, put it on the floor etc.

Id imagine this reduces cost and complexity substantially.

I looked at making a simple pocket, like a magazine rack you see at a doctors office to put your scale in that's mounted just above the baseboard. I thought that was going to be the perfect solution for me. For some people it probably is, but I'll explain why it doesn't work for me.

I don't think this explanation is something I can quantify and show as a true benefit to the customer. It's all about degrees of freedom. Objects not attached to anything have 6 degrees of freedom they can rotate about the X, Y & Z axis. They can also be translated in each of those directions.

People don't realize how much coordination it takes to pick up a 5 pound scale, rotate it around and place it in that pocket attached to the wall. It takes coordination to get it out of the pocket, flipped around and placed on the floor. I'm not saying it's difficult. It's not. I don't think most people would do it with one hand. But, how many times do you need to repeat this motion before you accidentally bang it into the wall and chip your paint or crack a wall tile? Same goes when your putting it down. You're tired, it's first thing in the morning and you bang the corner of the scale into your tile floor when your setting it down. Maybe you didn't break a tile or crack your glass scale this time. But if you're older, a little shaky or if your kids want to weigh themselves. I'll bet an accident is likely to happen. This manual manipulation of a scale was more than I wanted to do every morning (I'll admit, I'm lazy).

Back to degrees of freedom. A hinge is a simple mechanism. Your bathroom door opens and closes with just the push of one finger. It goes to its fully open to fully closed position with great ease. This is because it only has 1 degree of freedom. Now, remove one of the hinges (or both) and try to open and close it. Not so easy, but it can be done. Too many degrees of freedom.

UpScale is not a hinge. It rotates your scale while guiding it above the baseboard. When you want to use your scale, Upscale rotates it, lowers it towards the floor and pushes it out from the wall (you can't use a scale that is tight to the wall). UpScale's greatest benefit is that it has 1 degree of freedom. This 1 degree of freedom means this entire motion can be done with 1 finger(with the biggest, heaviest scale you can find). It can't bang your scale into the wall and the control you have with only 1 finger allows your scale to be gently placed on the floor. Even when you're not fully awake.

People buy things that they think they're going to use (like a bathroom scale). But, if there's too much resistance to using it, it just sits unused. UpScale makes your scale very usable. I like to compare it to a coat hanger vs a coat hook. A coat hanger is very easy to use, but takes two hands. A coat hook is a one handed operation and is simple and fast. That pocket scale storage shelf is like a coat hanger. UpScale is like a coat hook.

 

[biophase]

The average scale I bought is closer to $39. I do have a $20 scale. You wouldn't want to use it if your were serious about monitoring your weight (these people aren't my target audience).

As much as I wanted to monitor my weight, having it in a closet or in a vanity under the sink was enough of a hassle I wouldn't bother weighing my self.

I appreciate all this feedback. Sounds like it's really an issue with price. I can deal with that!

Your argument doesn't make sense here.

People who are "serious about monitoring their weight" would not have the issue you are trying to solve, they would not have it in a closet or in a vanity under the sink . And it wouldn't be a hassle to then to get it out and step on it. If that stopped someone from weighing yourself, were they really serious about monitoring your weight daily? I'd think about your target person a little more.

I paid $150 for my scale, it's not stuck in a bathroom, it's actually in my living room.

 

[csalvato]

Most bathroom scales are $20-$30. I don't see someone spending $90 as a convenience to their $20 product. I agree that the price needs to really come down. $30-$40 at the most.

You'll find out fast by running FB ads or putting it on Amazon and reading the reviews.

@BrianLateStart i would buy one right this instant if it was a caddy that was $15-$30. Would be an absolute no brainer for me.

It doesn’t need to fold down so I can use it then fold back up.

Just needs to hold my scale on the wall so leaning it on the side doesn’t scratch my bathroom paint and cause it to crash down when my kids tear through.

Im fine to lift the whole thing up, put it on the floor etc.

Id imagine this reduces cost and complexity substantially.

i have this problem and it’s bothered me for over 2 years and would definitely buy something that solves this problem at a lower price point, even if it was less “perfect”. But this price point is way too high imo

EDIT: my use case is that I have a huge bathroom but for some reason it’s carpeted except for a smaller toilet room that just has the toilet and is tiled. I weigh myself in that tiny space. I’m making a solid annual income (at least 2x-3x the average in my area), so I have disposable income and highly value an organized home, so your product is speaking right to me.

 

[MitchC]

The price isn't carved in stone. Just started testing the waters. I've read that it's easier to start with a higher price and work your way down then starting low and increasing. I don't know if that's true, but that's the strategy I started with.

If I could get this out of my garage with a larger size order I could get much better pricing. Small batches are very expensive.



Thanks AppMan. This is the first day I've offered them for sale, so no sales yet. I don't know if I could get them down to $20 and still make them in the USA and offer a lifetime warranty.

Just going to post my thoughts on testing pricing because I’m not sure what you read but in my opinion it is terrible advice.

1. Gary halbert worded this the best. He said you want to test your best price, best copy, best placement, best ad first or you’ll end up spending more money later trying to work out oh maybe it will work if I drop the price or get better photos taken.

2. If you run Facebook ads you want purchase data so your ads can optimise, you can get this by having a lower price to start and that way Facebook can quickly find who if anyone will buy this.

3. If you start with a high price and lower it later you upset all your customers who purchased at a higher price. If you do it the other way around you can use the price increases as scarcity.

4. You can keep increasing your price until purchases stop being cost effective.

5. Just general thoughts on this product, you’ve solved a problem that people probably aren’t willing to spend a lot of money to solve. People hate being fat that’s why supplements can be sold for so much even though they cost nothing to make. This costs heaps to make but that doesn’t make it worth more money. I would get rid of the lifetime warranty and try to make it cheaper in China. The price needs to reflect how much people care about solving this problem. The added costs of a lifetime warranty and being made in USA aren’t enough to justify the value they add to the customer. (It may not be cheaper to make in China tho). Also in future let this be a lesson that you could have had one made or even just some mock up images and run ads to see if it will sell before investing too much money.

 

[Duane]

I've purchased 12 bathroom scales so far (testing them with UpScale). I know far more about scales than I ever thought I would. We're planning a YouTube channel to review scales. Huge difference between one scale and another. The average scale I bought is closer to $39. I do have a $20 scale. You wouldn't want to use it if your were serious about monitoring your weight (these people aren't my target audience). Many of the newer scales with biometric readings are closer to $59.

Accuracy and reliability isn't important to your average Joe, but there are people that accuracy is very important. Definitely with competitive fighters.

When I did weigh ins for fights and was dropping 20 lbs and had to hit my weight within 2 lbs, accuracy was very important. My scale was a lot more than $20, but I just kept my scale in my room on the floor under the drawer portion of my computer desk. I traveled with my scale quite frequently, so being easily movable would be important for the competitive fighter and weight loss audience.

 

[BrianLateStart]

Hey Brian, I see the value in your product, very cool! As people have mentioned, your price is high, however, if you can land a contract with a high-end hotel with multiple locations, your price per unit would come down over night. Think outside of residential. Great work!

A little over a year ago I learned that part of the Star ratings hotels get (4 Stars, 5 Star hotel) is based on the score for the number of amenities are available for guests. Bathroom scales add to the score. I talked to a couple of high end hotels (before I had UpScale ready for sale) just to test the waters. There wasn't a person at the hotel that could make that kind of decision. I haven't tried to contact corporate offices to see if there is interest.

So far in all my travels I've only had 1 bathroom scale in my hotel room. It was under a very large sink. I had to actually get on my hands and knees to pull it out. It was a brand of scale I haven't tried (I was in Wroclaw, Poland). I wasn't really wanting to weigh myself, just test the scale. It displayed that it was low on battery when I tried to use it. I have yet to find a hotel room that wouldn't have a convenient place for a scale if they had UpScale. Sometimes the only available space was the back of a door.

 

[biophase]

Thanks MJ for allowing us to post our product on your forum. There's a lot of knowledge and talent here. In the name of transparency, as much as we'd like to sell our product, our product, website and my wife and I are very new to this business. We could really use any feedback on the product and the website that this community has to offer.

The problem: My wife and I were trying to manage our weight, but we just didn't have a place to keep our bathroom scale where it was convenient to use. We would stand it on edge, but often it would slide down the wall and break a foot off the bottom. We never would have even considered getting a larger, nicer, glass scale. We usually just skipped weighting ourselves.

One day my wife asked why couldn't I make something that could store a scale off the floor and out of the way? This got me thinking. After several years, countless CAD models and prototypes, my wife and I are proud to present:

UpScale

UpScale keeps your scale off the floor, out of the way and ready for use.

View attachment 26508

View attachment 26509

View attachment 26510

We believe UpScale can work in even the smallest 1/2 bath. It can even attach to the back of a door.

View attachment 26511

View attachment 26512

We hope once your scale has been UpScaled, you may want to decorate the bottom of it to enhance any bathroom! We use laptop decals, but, leaving it plain it fine too.

View attachment 26513

UpScale is made in the USA (my wife and I rivet them in our garage) and has a lifetime warranty.

As our introductory offer, we're discounting UpScale 10% with free shipping. We're also giving an additional $10 off if you use the checkout code Fastlane.

As I said earlier we welcome and appreciate any feedback. At the moment we're only offering it for sale in the US, but would love to here from forum members outside the US whether or not this product is useful in your country.

TheUpScaleScale

Thanks again MJ and Fastlane community!
Brian and Lisa

Cool product. I would suggest listing it on Amazon. You don't address if this device skews your weight in any way. Is it held by tape?

 

[BrianLateStart]

This is a super neat product. I wonder if there's any way to eliminate those divots in the back, and maybe replace the black rubber pieces with white ones. That way it would just look like a piece of art on the wall.

Thanks ChrisV. I don't sell the bathroom scale with UpScale. Those divots are finger grooves built into the bottom of the scale. Same goes for the black feet. I have talked to American Weigh Scale (AWS) and they could make me a scale with a bottom however I would like. I'm sure they could even do white feet. In the future I would like to have a scale made with a slot that UpScale could just plug into and eliminate attaching it to your scale with double sided tape.

Cool product! Honestly, I went to your website to buy it... IMO, you will have to get the price point down. It is a problem solved, but I couldn't pull the trigger at that price. If you can move this thing out of your garage and reduce your cost, I think you could sell a ton of these.

Thanks Sizemore. The price isn't carved in stone. Just started testing the waters. I've read that it's easier to start with a higher price and work your way down then starting low and increasing. I don't know if that's true, but that's the strategy I started with.

If I could get this out of my garage with a larger size order I could get much better pricing. Small batches are very expensive.

Good idea , however the price is far of what I would expect from such tool , I would buy it from $10 but no way more than 20 ,
Are you getting any sales with that price tag ?

Thanks AppMan. This is the first day I've offered them for sale, so no sales yet. I don't know if I could get them down to $20 and still make them in the USA and offer a lifetime warranty.

 

[BrianLateStart]

Most bathroom scales are $20-$30. I don't see someone spending $90 as a convenience to their $20 product. I agree that the price needs to really come down. $30-$40 at the most.

I've purchased 12 bathroom scales so far (testing them with UpScale). I know far more about scales than I ever thought I would. We're planning a YouTube channel to review scales. Huge difference between one scale and another. The average scale I bought is closer to $39. I do have a $20 scale. You wouldn't want to use it if your were serious about monitoring your weight (these people aren't my target audience). Many of the newer scales with biometric readings are closer to $59.

I'm not disagreeing that $90 for even a $39 scale seems lopsided. The thing is, this add on product makes your $39 product usable. As much as I wanted to monitor my weight, having it in a closet or in a vanity under the sink was enough of a hassle I wouldn't bother weighing my self. Without UpScale, that $39 scale is just a block on a shelf. My wife and I weigh ourselves every morning. I don't know how to quantify it, but it could lead to being healthier.

I appreciate all this feedback. Sounds like it's really an issue with price. I can deal with that!

 

[ChrisV]

@BrianLateStart i would buy one right this instant if it was a caddy that was $15-$30. Would be an absolute no brainer for me.

It doesn’t need to fold down so I can use it then fold back up.

Just needs to hold my scale on the wall so leaning it on the side doesn’t scratch my bathroom paint and cause it to crash down when my kids tear through.

Im fine to lift the whole thing up, put it on the floor etc.

Id imagine this reduces cost and complexity substantially.

i have this problem and it’s bothered me for over 2 years and would definitely buy something that solves this problem at a lower price point, even if it was less “perfect”. But this price point is way too high imo

EDIT: my use case is that I have a huge bathroom but for some reason it’s carpeted except for a smaller toilet room that just has the toilet and is tiled. I weigh myself in that tiny space. I’m making a solid annual income (at least 2x-3x the average in my area), so I have disposable income and highly value an organized home, so your product is speaking right to me.

I thought of the same thing. Just a simple "scale holder." Then you can offer the other product as well for the more luxurious crowd lol

The price needs to reflect how much people care about solving this problem.

Boom. I love this.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

The UPSCALE Posts have been removed and extracted to its own thread, the Sell-Me Sat thread is about to be locked until next week.

 

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[Ernman]

I'm likely in the minority on this and I really like the creative thought, but is this really solving a need for anybody?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Just like the other invention we recently discussed here... (the brochure holders)

HOT! - Entrepreneur/Inventor Needs Help, Stationary Product

I have a product I invented and received a patent. This product answers the problem of 850 million brochures being distributed in the U.S every year and nothing to hold or organize them with. I invented the Brochure &business card organizer, however I have no marketing skills and as M.J pointed...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

I'm thinking your best bet might be B2B -- hotels -- where you can be flexible on the price point as sales would involve a sales process and an negotiation. Instead of selling 1 to a consumer (1 order) you sell 1 to a buyer and get (200). Also when consumers see the product in their luxury hotel, they might learn of the product generating other interest.

While this is not something I'd buy, clearly others have indicated interest. As johnny boy said, a focus group of 1 is not entirely valid, but the focus group here at the forum of 25 has provided some great feedback.

 

[Jay_Robles]

I have a small bathroom in my apartment and my scale is right next to the hamper . I move it with my foot or pick it up and weigh myself.

If I want the scale out of the way I’ll put it back in the closet were it sat in for years until I got into the keto diet.

Now I weigh myself at least twice a week to monitor my progress.

With that said there’s 2 main issues with your product.

1.How many people actually use scales enough to really need your product?

2. How many people actually buy scales?

Your product is geared towards people who already have scales, that they probably never use anyway.

What I would do is sell your product to a company that makes scales, so they can bundle it with their scales

or modify it for other things besides scales, it can be a multipurpose type of product .

When it comes to scales the only problem I have with them is having to look down. I feel like it puts a strain on my neck.

What I would like and I have no clue if it exists is like a screen that I can mount on the wall and when I step on the scale it’ll give me my reading.

Certain gyms have digital scales that do this but their usually bulky and the screen is connected directly to the scale.

So what I’m talking about is having a normal scale and then a separate small screen that I can mount on wall that displays my weight, Body fat percentage etc. and have it record all my weigh ins for me. That way I can better track my weight.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Here's my CENTS analysis based on the UPSCALE idea...

This analysis is BASED on proper pricing, NOT at $90. As for what proper pricing is, that remains to be seen... $20? $39?

GradeMyBusinessIdea.com: UPSCALE (Results)

Grade My Business Idea: Rate your business idea and discover its potential for massive marketplace success. Is your business idea worth pursuing? Or should it be forgotten? Based on the CENTS Framework authored by entrepreneur and best selling author, MJ DeMarco.

www.grademybusinessidea.com

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Pretty cool product. Another thought is to make a scale that is built with the lowering device in one piece. With the scale designed so the bottom is smooth and maybe curves into the wall on both sides. This way it blends into the wall and looks clean when in the up position. I could see people buying it just because it makes there scale disapear.

Even better, a button controlled automated wall unit (kinda like a doggie door installation) --that would open on pressing a button, and hide itself after completion. That could be priced like a luxury item, the highly-affluent who like tech/automation features in their home would love it. Plus it would be a conversation piece when discussing their latest one-upsmanship with the Joneses.

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

being made in the USA

I can look at what can be done to remove some of the cost.

Why does it have to be made in the U.S.?

Do a quick test, and I'm sure you'll find out instantly that people don't care, and if they do care, they'd still prefer an option at half the price even if that means it's Made in Asia.

 

[Jon L]

Here's another idea: a scale literally built into the floor. You could build a floor tile that measures weight, sends it to a laser display that shines the weight onto the floor and then goes back to being invisible when no one is stepping on it. If installed correctly, this wouldn't be visible to the average person.

 

[BrianLateStart]

How did you brainstorm and come up with a prototype at first ? I mean, designing the different pieces, how they work and interact together, how do physics apply (for example, say, what kind of pneumatic cylinder do I need to exercise a given force and move an object)...
Did you use a CAD software or just tried to build it physically and iterate through trial and error ?

At the time I was working as a mechanical engineer (I'm retired now) and worked in CAD all day. Building the CAD model was one of my strengths. Only, I learned different CAD software for my project than what I used at work. I use OS X and home and Windows at work. Did not want to use my work computer for personal project. Learned Fusion 360, works great on a Mac too.

Early on I 3D printed prototypes (uploaded them to Shapeways), even the parts that were sheet metal. The 3D printed parts didn't behave like sheet metal, but they were inexpensive and useful in the early stages. At some point I knew I would need real sheet metal parts. Those are more difficult to come by and MUCH more expensive. Even finding a place that would work with me was difficult. I did a lot of googling on prototyping sheet metal.

At one point I looked into adding a pneumatic damper so it would drop slowly to the floor. When you're using my device, lifting under the front part of the bathroom scale, there's very little forces on the mechanism. You're hand takes much of the load. But, when I tried to add a damper, the forces went crazy and the links were bending. Would have had to make the links much stronger. The damper was way too expensive anyway. Would have added too much to the cost.

I honestly didn't really know what I wanted when I started. I knew how high I wanted the scale be from the floor in the up position and how far out from the wall when down, but I didn't know what it looked like. I didn't have a clue how I was going to attach it to the scale without interfering with the scale's results. I didn't even know how I was going to lock it in the up position. It was a lot of studying and trial and error. If I wasn't doing the CAD myself, I never could have afforded to pay someone. Even as I got some of the details worked out, there's was always another issue that I wasn't expecting.

 

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[BrianLateStart]

Do you have a thread here at the forum discussing this product?

It looks super cool and convenient, just don't know if the need its solving will be worth $90 for most folks. It's hard for me to judge because I'm used to large bathrooms and don't mind a scale on the floor, or shoved in a corner somewhere.

Thanks MJ. I haven't started a thread. I did mention UpScale in some of my replies in my intro thread. I will start a thread to keep track of my progress.

I don't know if it's worth $90 for most folks either. Still testing pricing. Was hoping that a lifetime warranty would ease the pain a little. Most people will buy only one, maybe two at most and have them forever.

 

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