When the HVAMC got started, we really wanted to help support the development of new products from inventors in the region. There have definitely been some successes. HeartMoves and Plant Seads are both companies where we helped at the prototype stage and they have subsequently gone into production with the help of our friends at USEHCO. The very smart folks behind these two companies, Paul Widerman at HeartMoves and Bryan Meador at PlantSeads, either had significant experience as an entrepreneur or training as a product designer.
However, there have been a lot of other potential inventors we have helped get to the prototype stage where there hasn’t been much further progression so I wanted to offer some suggestions to anyone who is thinking about building the next great mousetrap, but doesn’t have much experience.
1. Intellectual property is not all it’s cracked up to be. We’ve seen a lot of inventors who have spent considerable time and money getting a patent because that’s often held out as the first step. The reality is that much of the work to make an idea valuable is in the detailed work that goes into the design and marketing and you are probably better off perfecting the design first to make sure the idea works before investing in the patent process. I’m probably going to get some pushback from any patent attorneys who read this and I welcome the discussion.
2. We often see inventors with a single idea. The successful inventors we have worked with have a LOT of ideas, most of them lousy, but they keep generating idea after idea and then sort out the best ones. If you have one good idea, great, but you should have a bunch.
3. Turning an idea into a product is a long and involved process. There is a reason that people major in college industrial design programs. There are many things you have to think about to get to a product that someone will pay you for. The two most important things are a good prototype and a very critical eye. Expect to go through many prototypes before you reach a final product.
4. Before you pay for having CAD drawing made and a 3D printed prototype, make a prototype from cardboard, duct tape, etc.. You will be amazed at how much you can learn.
4. Think about scale up from the beginning. It’s very unlikely that 3D printing will be a method for making your final product because it is too expensive for anything other than very specialized and complex objects that have a high value. This means that you will need to use something like injection molding, thermoforming, etc.. Become informed about these processes and what their requirements and limitations are. Be prepared to spend money. Cutting a mold for these processes can easily be from $5000-$50,000 or higher in addition to the per part cost. However, you don’t even want to think about scale up until you have a really good prototype.
5. If your invention requires electronics and/or software, the design cost and complexity goes up exponentially.
What can the HVAMC do? First, we can prepare a CAD model from your drawings which is necessary to make a prototype using any digital fabrication method such as 3D printing. What we ask for are detailed drawings with accurate dimensions from which we will prepare the CAD model and prototype. We can give you some basic feedback such as how small can something be and still print or what kind of tolerance can you expect. Will the first version suck? Yes, that’s very likely. We will make suggestions and help you move the process, but it’s your design. Yes, going through a bunch of prototypes will cost some money, but if you are going to be an inventor, this is what you need to do. The HVAMC can also connect you to the regional ecosystem of design and fabrication firms that can supply a huge range of expertise. There are incredible resources in the Mid-Hudson Valley and New York State and it’s a good idea to take advantage of them.
My point is not to discourage anyone from trying their hand at inventing. It is a very satisfying and exciting process, but go into it with your eyes open!
Keep on Printing!
Dan