Whether penned on the back of a scraggly bar napkin, mended together on your basement floor, or designed using the latest 3D modeling software, every product starts with an idea. But bringing that idea to a fully functioning, marketable prototype takes time, money, and more often than not, a few expert opinions.
Luckily, there’s been a recent emergence of tools, resources, and groups to help do-it-yourself innovators bring their sketches to life. “We are living in a fantastic renaissance of innovation right now,” says Bre Pettis, co-founder of MakerBot Industries and the NYC Resistor, a hacker collective. Groups like NYC Resistor bring together like-minded hobbyists to collaborate and build ideas with laser cutters, rapid prototyping machines, and electronic-building software. The group has even given rise to products, including Pettis’ very own MakerBot, a 3D printer available for under $1,000 (3D printers, typically costing several thousands of dollars, create objects by stacking plastic or metal layers on top of one another).
While creating a professional-looking design still may require outside help, it’s now easier and cheaper than ever to get your prototypes in front of customers. Here’s how to efficiently develop your idea and bring it to market.
Developing a Prototype: Doing it Yourself
Before you begin with any elaborate plans, why not take a stab at trying to build the thing yourself? Eventually, once you start to sell the product, you’re going to have to know it inside and out. Putting all the initial pieces together will not only give you an idea of manufacturing details, but it will make you more prepared for speaking with professional prototypers in the future.
A little more than a year into business, Pettis has shipped more than 3,000 of his MakerBots to what-to-be inventors throughout the country. He says the device can make almost anything up to 4”x4”x6′. The device converts 3D CAD files into tangible, plastic models of any shape or size. It may take a little while to build the machine and master the software, but costs a lot less than what a development firm might charge you. “You can feel really comfortable coming up with ideas, printing it, making mistakes, and re-printing it,” Pettis says.
A number of products, and even companies, have spawned from the likes of MakerBots and hacker collectives as well. Pettis says the founders of the social network Diaspora met putting together a MakerBot in computer science class at NYU. Tinkerers can even share their homemade designs on a site called Thingiverse.com, which features everything from toy cars to salt- and pepper-shakers to robotic arms. With more ease of use and collaboration, DIY modeling today acts almost as a natural prelude to prototyping.
[...]
