Low Cost Invention Prototyping and Small Volume Production

It is very important for inventors of all stature to produce a prototype of their invention. Not only is it one step closer to selling your invention in the market place but it also provides you with s surreal dream come true experience when holding a professional manufacture of your own idea. This type of inspiration can make it easy for an aspiring inventor to have the fortitude to endure the long road to getting your idea on the market place. Once you have the prototype however you will immediately want to go into production which is understandable but hard to do unless you have the funds. That's why using small volume production runs will help you achieve your dreams without breaking the bank.

To be able to produce a prototype you either have to produce one yourself or pay for someone to make it for you. Having a company produce one for you is pretty self explanatory and expensive so I will cover how to make one yourself.

You first step is to make a rough draft of your invention prototype. You can use many different mediums to make the first rough draft prototype of your invention such as clay or wood. The most important thing to remember when producing your rough draft prototype is to have the size down correctly. It is hard to get the perfect size and that's the step you want to perfect if at all possible when producing your prototype. Don't think you are going to make just one either. You will find that you will get half way through the first one and have tons of ideas about what to do with the next one. Don't let this ideas distract you however. Focus on completing each model and gather your thoughts on note pad for the next version. When you are finally done getting your hands dirty you can move onto the next step.

Produce a three dimensional model of your invention for use in small scale production. The most common three dimensional prototyping software in use today is CAD or computer aided design. These files are important because they can be read by a three dimensional printer that will spit out three dimensional molds of your product. You can see what a powerful tool this is when it comes to small scale production. Cad has a pretty steep learning curve but it is not impossible to learn it yourself. It only takes time. An easier way to get your CAD model made would be to post a craigslist ad for a college student to whip one up for you. It will cost marginally less and most engineering students are with out a doubt skilled at using CAD as part of their extensive course work covering the tool.

Source:
http://www.uiausa.org/ , uiausa