Re: Invention Idea
- From: "John Eric Voltin" <jevoltin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 08 Jan 2006 16:52:01 GMT
Luke,
As noted by several responses, you face several very serious obstacles.
Here are my thoughts on the subject.
First, having three engineers tell you the idea defies the laws of physics
is extremely important. If you don't agree with their assessments, can you
explain your reasoning? Your first priority should be to learn enough that
you understand why the engineers responded as they did. If your idea has
merit, you need to also understand the mistake made by all three engineers
when they reviewed your idea. Unless you accomplish this task, everything
else you do will be a waste of time and money. If you can't do this
yourself, you need help with the conceptual development. Looking here for
help might be a good idea. Otherwise, talking with friends and family
members with engineering and/or physics backgrounds would be a wise course
of action. If you can't fund this project yourself, you are going to need
volunteers.
Second, your $5,000 budget is probably very unrealistic. Autodesk Inventor
retails for $5,000 by itself. Add in a computer and you have already
exceeded your budget. Do you have any experience with 3-D modeling or CAD
software? How about mechanical design, drafting, 3-D geometry, etc.?
Depending upon your level of knowledge and experience, the cost (both in
time and dollars) of training yourself to design and model the invention can
easily exceed $750. I am not familiar with the complexity of your idea, but
a propulsion system based on pneumatics and magnets is likely to involve a
level of detail that will pose a serious challenge for a beginner. You
never mentioned the size of your prototype or the number of components, but
$750 doesn't go very far in the world of rapid prototyping. For $750 you
can possibly fabricate a small, simple assembly. In your case, you
presumably need a working prototype, so the requirements of your prototype
parts will be more critical. Therefore, you may need to purchase prototype
parts that are more expensive than the cheapest ones you can find.
Unfortunately, I can't provide any more detail without knowing more about
your project.
There is an alternative to buying a computer and Inventor, learning to use
it, and taking the time to design everything yourself. You could hire some
design/engineering help. This would allow you to progress much more rapidly
and eliminate all of the uncertainties associated with training yourself.
An experienced designer/engineer should bring much experience to the project
and help avoid making mistakes. There are two down sides to this approach -
cost and convincing the hired help the project is viable. If the hired help
really believes in the project, you might be able to work out a project
where they would be paid at a later stage of the project. Otherwise, you
will need to pay them up front. Without knowing more about your project, I
can't even guess at the number of hours required for this project. I can
tell you that hiring experienced help with such a project becomes very
expensive very quickly. If I was talking to you about this project, I would
provide our standard quote of $75 per hour and offer a discount if you were
pre-paying for 100 hours or more. Even two days of assistance will cost
$1,200.
If you wish to discuss this further, you are welcome to contact me.
--
- John
John Eric Voltin
Mechanical Engineer
Agile Technology
512-633-0394
<taylorluker@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1136613044.066091.72130@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Hi everyone!!
>
> My name is Luke Taylor and I am new to the group.
>
> If you are interested I would welcome any advice you might have on my
> project. Basically I am looking for resources and/or advice to move my
> invention to the next step.
>
> I have an invention idea for a "method of propulsion." The concept
> includes pneumatics and magnets. My idea is different from anything
> currently on the market. I have had 3 consultations with engineers or
> experts and they have all have told me that the invention will not work
> and contradicts basic physics. I disagree and now that I have clearly
> identified why they say that idea won't work, I would like to build a
> basic prototype to demonstrate that the idea will work. I am done
> designing the idea conceptually, and I know think that I need to move
> to actual physically making the prototype. I plan to design the
> prototype on the Autocad Inventor Series and then used a 3D printer to
> print out the design. Here is the ballpark $5,000 budget:
>
> Research via Google Answers $200
> Text books (in order to research/purchase specific components) $200
> Desktop computer optimized for Autocad $1500
> LCD flat screen $500
> Components of prototype $170
> Autocad Inventor software $500
> 3D Printing of prototype $750
> Misc. costs $200
> Autocad Instruction Class $750
>
> If the prototype works it would create significant leverage to develop
> a real prototype instead of just a basic conceptual prototype. At
> that time I would like to hire a team including mechanical engineers,
> etc.= whose expertise will be invaluable in developing a real
> prototype. If the basic prototype doesn't work than I know that idea
> will not work in its present state.
>
> What do you think? Any advice? Any idea of how to find financial
> resources ($5,000)?
>
> Thanks
>
> Luke
>
>
.
- References:
- Invention Idea
- From: taylorluker@xxxxxxxxx
- Invention Idea
- Prev by Date: Any Small Hobby Water Turbines?
- Next by Date: Proe 2001 with Win XP and Win 2000
- Previous by thread: Re: Invention Idea
- Next by thread: Re: Invention Idea
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
