Post and Spin: by Inventors Digest, Inventors Digest Magazine April Issue 2008 by Salem Honey
June 18, 2008
04:45 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment
Previously, I have been posting articles which I have written, or interesting articles I liked in the past. I like the candor of fast company, and believe this could be a great opportunity to "brain storm" in a research-like fashion with others.
Meaning, I do a lot of research online. Product, feasibility, SEO (I'm still learning the mid-level basics) and more. Combining my thoughts, and interesting finds will hopefully give others a jumpstart on their own companies.
Cheers!
-Salem Honey
VP Marketing,
Design My Idea
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May 27, 2008
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Article in a sentence: Download Sketch Up so you can begin experiencing your invention in 3D for FREE!
Inventors time to Sketch Up
by Brian Gates July 2007
If
you have ever sketched on a napkin or played around with drawing in MS
paint to express your invention, boy do we have a solution for you!
While these methods are great for getting your ideas out of your head
and into the heads of everyone else, they lack the ability to change
the viewing angle without you having to redraw everything. Well that
has all changed thanks to the 3D modeling program called Sketch Up.
Sketch
Up has been around for a few years and is by far one of the easiest 3D
modeling programs around. Users start by drawing a simple 2D shape that
can be pulled or pushed into a 3D form. From there users can add
different surfaces or features to arrive at a final design. The
interface is extremely user friendly with the modeling experience being
very straight forward. Even if you are new to the 3D modeling world
Sketch Up provides you with the perfect balance of ease of use and
quality of model.
This all sounds well and good but how much does this application cost?
Ready for this…NOTHING, ZIP, Zero. It’s 100% FREE!
In
2006 Google bought the company that produced Sketch Up and began
offering the program for free to everyone in hopes that users will
eventually model the world. If you are familiar with Google Earth you
will remember seeing some 3D models of buildings as you explored large
cities. Those 3D models of buildings were all modeled in Sketch Up and
the two programs, Sketch Up and Google Earth, now work seamlessly
together.
While Sketch Up was targeted to help the
architectural community in its ability to quickly create 3D shapes, the
simple modeling method is perfect for creating you invention. If you
haven’t tried the application, I highly recommend downloading it to
give it a try. Sketch Up will have a huge impact on the inventor
community as it will allow us to begin moving from the 2D realm of
design, to the 3D world, just like the big companies.
Design My Idea & Sketch Up:
Why
are we advertising a program that impacts our services? Well to be
honest, it makes our services that much better. A Sketch Up model is
great for getting the proportions and style of your invention, but the
application lacks the precision of a 3D CAD package.
When
an inventor has created a Sketch Up model of their invention, we are
able to add the precision and exactness required for production. The
Sketch Up model saves us time, the inventor money and ensures that the
product reflects exactly what the inventor envisioned on the first try.
(A Sketch Up model is not required for any services by Design My Idea)
Additionally
if the inventor has requested us to model the invention from scratch,
we are able to provide them with a completed model to view and
manipulate in Sketch Up. Not only does the inventor get photorealistic
renderings of their invention provided by Design My Idea, but they now
have the ability to spin the model around, remove parts and even print
out their own views.
Pretty cool stuff, in my opinion… Download Sketch Up Here >>
PDF Tutorial by Design My Idea, LLC
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May 27, 2008
02:31 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment
inventor resources - august 2007
Article in a sentence: Informal focus groups, NDA's, DIY prototypes, a professional appearance and trade shows can help your inventions cause.
Five tips for creating, developing and selling your invention
by Brian Gates August 2007
When
it comes to developing a million dollar invention, unfortunately there
are no sure- fire paths to success. However, there are several things
with which you can do to increase your odds and ensure your invention
has enough potential to succeed. Below are five general tips that you
should consider when developing your invention:
Tip One – Research, Research, Research
Make
sure you spend a great deal of time not only investigating if your
invention already exists but if there is also market potential. One of
the simplest ways to do this is to conduct a focus group with your
friends and family. Have them all over for a dinner or party and then
informally ask them if your idea would be something they would buy.
Their responses not only tell you if there is market potential but also
may provide you with some clues on how to refine your concept.
Tip Two – Protection
We
always suggest talking to a patent attorney about your invention. Many
patent attorneys are willing to talk with you free of charge to
recommend if you should pursue a patent. When sharing your idea with
companies, always try to get them to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. A
NDA is a contract that claims the parties involved, that are reviewing
your idea, will not disclose, compete or share you idea. The following
NDA was provided by Gene Scott of Patent Law & Venture Group for inventors to use when shopping around: Non-Disclosure Agreement
Tip Three – Prototypes
Developing
a prototype doesn’t have to cost you thousands of dollars. For
first-time inventors, the best way to see if your invention will work
the way you want it to would be to make it yourself. Your initial
prototype doesn’t need to be made of high quality materials or look
like a well polished product. The concept is to see if what you
envisioned has potential and prove it will work. If everything looks
good then consider investing in either a digital or physical prototype.
Tip Four – Presentation
Image
is everything and when it comes time to present your idea, it can make
all the difference. A well-designed graphic or polished design can make
the sale and acceptance of your idea that much easier. This is where
your research and the help of a professional designer can put you above
the rest. High quality and informative graphics provide credibility
while educating and exciting your audience. The faster they understand
and the more they are wowed, the better chances for your invention.
Tip Five – Marketing
One
of the best ways to get your invention moving is to attend a tradeshow.
There are tradeshows for just about everything and attending one can
easily put you in front of a variety of companies, buyers and
distributors. These websites can help you locate a tradeshow that is
right for you: Trade Show Network or Business Trade Shows
While
we could go on and on about the do’s and the don’ts for inventors, keep
in mind that you are the master of your destiny and you can do well.
Provide yourself with the information, tools and motivation to make
your invention a success. Stay persistent, get creative and don’t take
no for an answer.
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May 27, 2008
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Article in a sentence: For 1-5 units use Rapid Prototyping, 5-50 Rapid Tooling, 50+ Rapid Injection Molding.
Plastic Prototype Solutions for Inventors
by Brian Gates, President, Design My Idea, LLC. October 2007
Ok, so you have a CAD model
and are ready for prototyping, but which method or approach should you
use to produce your invention? There are a lot of options out there and
some companies will sell you on the highest priced solution regardless
if it will fit your needs. This article while help you to determine
which method you should pursue based on your production and accuracy
needs.
Rapid Prototyping - One-of-a-Kinds
Rapid
prototyping describes the method of producing a part by building up
layer upon layer of material to create a finished prototype. The
produced parts typically look like a deck of cards and will require
some finish work to sand and smooth the surfaces. The parts can then be
painted to resemble a production-ready part. While this method works
great for 1-5 units, if you require larger quantities you should
consider using a different method to lower costs and increase
consistency. All of the following solutions are rapid prototypes: 3
dimension printing, fused deposition modeling (FDM), laminated object
manufacturing, selective laser sintering and Stereo lithography (SLA).
Rapid Tooling – Few-of-a-Kinds
Rapid
tooling uses a rapid prototyped part to develop a simple mold to be
used for small-scale prototyping runs. The mold provides the ability to
use plastic injection to create the part and some mold materials will
produce up to a 100 units without failure. The only catch here is that
you will have to pay extra for the mold development and this will
increase the time to develop the products.
Rapid Injection Molding – Some-of-a-Kinds
This
approach uses your CAD model to mill out a metal mold that can be used
for injection molding of your product. The choice of materials for the
part is significantly broader than rapid tooling and will allow for
small-scale production runs of up to 5,000 units. This can be a cheap
and quick alternative to developing a traditional injection mold and a
better solution than rapid tooling due to greater longevity and quality
of the product. The costs for mold development can be in the thousands
but unit production costs will be cheaper.
Rapid Prototyping (RP)
Rapid tooling (RT)
Rapid injection molding (RIM)
Form and fit
Good
Good to excellent
Good to excellent
Function
Poor to good
Fair to good
Excellent
Non-recurring costs
$0
$100-1000s
$1000s
Recurring costs
$10s
$1s to $10s
$0.10s to $1s
Ideal quantities
1-10
10-100
25-5,000
Lead time
1-5 days
5-10 days
3-15 days
Other considerations
Good for complex shapes; limited material choice
Limited material choice
Can be used for bridge tooling or production
Table from IDES "Plastic Prototyping: How Methods Measure Up" by Brad Cleveland.
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May 27, 2008
02:24 pm | 0 recommendations | 1 comment
Article in a sentence: Tradeshows can help you get in front of a lot of quality people for minimal investment.
Trade Shows: Maximize your sales, and get your product going!
by Salem, VP Marketing, Design My Idea, LLC. November 2007
Taking a cue from our successful client Neal Avery and Plane Clean Air, we are giving you some key tips for using an incredible sales and networking tool. The Trade Show.
A
trade show brings together vendors, customers, suppliers, distributors,
manufacturers and more. Dependeing on the show inventors can use the
trade show as a catalyst to help kick things into high gear.
The
position of your trade show is the first step. Common knowledge
suggests high traffic areas; water-cooler, bathroom, corners, islands,
entrance and exit. You are hedging your exposure to the trade show
attendee’s.
The actual physical layout of a booth for a
trade show can have an enormous impact on your return for renting the
space at the trade show. Different layouts can give a calm, exciting or
informative view on an invention. From a wavy pop-out, to a noble
columnesque design, numerous available structures are available to help
with the success of your invention.
Note also the
importance of eye-catching necessity; the majority of attendees at
shows will not immediately approach a booth (even if they are
interested), rather, they will walk up an aisle looking left and right,
“So you better have something that will attract them from mid-aisle”
(Gapp Enterprises, 1998).” When thousands of people, vendors and more
are moving through one space, you must make sure something is making
you stand out.
A full-fabric banner spanning the booths
dimensions is always an eye-catching feature do just that. With all
trade show graphics your goal is to get the potential client to the
demonstration. You must also make sure your logo and branding of the
overall product is reflected throughout the display. Design My Idea has
the specialty to ensure consistency runs through all designs related to
your invention and your graphics won’t appear hodge-podge.
Now that you have your potential clients to your booth, what else can help?
Having
a visual representation and “24/7” sales tool running constantly during
the trade show will greatly increase the odds of a successful day of
sales and networking. Use an animated Flash demonstration,
a 3D video of the invention in all its uses including contact
information, the vision of the inventor and the products potential.
This can be run through a monitor, placed strategically to catch the
traffic-flows attention. This 24/7 sales tool can cover much needed
product information while saving time for you, the inventor to discuss
information more related to sales and purchasing information. Let the
Flash Video do the initial sale and setup you’re your invention.
After finding oneself wowed by the physical layout of your display
booth and the Flash Demonstration depicts exactly why one should
purchase the invention, take-away items are then required to ensure
follow-up contacts with potential clients.
Business Cards for the inventor should also be included as a mainstay of business-networking, additionally, Sales Sheets
should be available for people to clients to take with them. Sales
sheets are a twin-sided sheet-sized flyer in the theme of a magazine ad
for the front cover for aesthetics, and a reverse side for the
specifications, pricing and sales information. These sheets are a
primary sales tool for trade shows and specifically manufacturers and
distributors.
Combine these with a simple Brochure,
and your idea can be spread throughout the trade show to ever corner
and a massive amount of potential clients. Disperse this information
with business cards, Sales Sheets, brochures and the like throughout
the show, saturating the “market” of the trade show with your
information.
Preparedness can be your best friend when
attending a trade show, and understand a tradeshow could be that “big
break” you are waiting for. Be sure your materials are up to snuff.
When
attendees of the trade show have left and are examining any number of
your takeaway items, allow them the luxury of re-familiarizing
themselves with your idea through a website,
running with consistency with your logo, packaging and vision for the
product. These can be a simple 3-5 page spread with information and
aesthetic qualities, or a super-eRetail shopping website linked through
PayPal.
See below for some good information with more tips on networking, placement and other trade-show related goodies.
Good luck!
-Salem Honey
VP Marketing, Design My Idea
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May 27, 2008
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Article in a sentence:
Industrial Designers offer the ability to improve your inventions
usability, aesthetics and ergonomics, increasing your inventions
perceived value and potential.
Industrial Design and your Invention
by Brian Gates, President / Lead Designer, Design My Idea, LLC. December 2007
We
have all seen excellent examples of industrial design mastery such as
the iPod or Wii where the products design, function and form all play
together beautifully.
Yet how does an inventor achieve the same level of dynamics in their own invention?
The solution is to work with an industrial designer to fully develop your idea.
To get a better understanding of what industrial design is, let’s look at the three main traits of a well-designed product.
Form / Ergonomics
Industrial
designers are trained to recognize how different shapes and sizes play
with a user. In order to illustrate this point and others let’s look at
the following examples of a TV remote control design.
The
remotes pictured on the right show two completely different designs.
The first design (Example A) is very blocky and uninteresting. The
edges of the product are sharp and would feel very uncomfortable in the
user’s hand.
Example B has flowing organic curves that
mimic the user’s hand. These traits improve the ergonomics of the
device and the comfort experienced by the user while using the product.
Based purely on the form of the invention the second image may have
broader appeal and will stand out compared to the first image. This
difference increases the perceived value of the product and thus
creates a greater desire for the consumer to purchase this product over
the latter.
Function / Usability
Usability
is a relatively new term but the concept has been around forever and is
the reason why a lot of inventors are here and are successful. The
majority of inventions are improvements on current products based on
the usability of the device. For this reason a lot of industrial
designers focus on how the person experiences the product. Industrial
designers have the schooling and ability to get inside the consumers
world and project how the product may be used. By doing this they are
able to adjust, foresee or even develop completely new solutions to an
invention, improving the products ease of use.
To
continue our remote design example let's look at the button layout.
Example A has all the buttons arrange in rows with no real reason for
the arrangement of the buttons. Example B on the other hand users color
coding and key groupings to allow the user to quickly find the
necessary keys. Additionally, the shape of the remote allows for a
“natural” position for the users hand that places them on the more
commonly used keys. Furthermore, the keys are arranged in a hierarchy
of most used functions to least used at the bottom of the remote to
further aid in the user experience.
Materials / Aesthetics
Material
selection in your invention can make a world of difference in not only
the cost but the overall success of the product. Industrial Designers
have a broad understanding of the types of materials available to
inventors and how those materials work with each other. They are able
to correctly specify the materials and colors so the product is
attractive and user friendly while being cost effective.
Example
A has a black body made completely out of plastic with a black silicon
key pad. There is little contrast between the body and the keys making
the remote boring and unintuitive. Example B has a plastic body with a
rubberized coating along the bottom for added grip. The top has an
attractively painted plastic body with a silicon keypad. Special keys
contain an epoxy coating which further highlights the keys and improves
the appearance of the remote.
Summary
As
more and more inventors race to get their ideas to market it is
extremely important that the expertise offered by a competent
Industrial designer not be overlooked. The designer’s ability to
understand the end user, materials, ergonomics and appearance of the
product can greatly improve the potential success of the invention.
Design My Idea
provides you with the ability to work hand in hand with an industrial
designer to take your invention to the next level at inventor friendly
prices.
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