10 Mistakes Inventors Make (Post 4 of 10)

Mistake #4: Getting Too Attached to Your Invention

For the past couple weeks our blog has been dedicated to helping you avoid the pitfalls of new inventors. This week we present another "mistake" and how you can avoid it. The designers and engineers at frethot are here to work with you every step of the way to bring a marketable product into production. Feel free to visit our website and contact us with any questions or to get more information on how to prototype your new invention.

With all the time it takes to come up with a really good idea, draft the idea, make the modifications, and prototype, it's easy to become deeply attached to your invention. After all you have invested a lot of time (not to mention money) in this idea. And After all it is a great idea. This attachment can be dangerous: after prototyping you may find your invention doesn't work quite like you thought it would. A part that worked well in theory can often fail. This doesn't mean it's time to give up but it does mean it's time to rethink that original idea. Perhaps a different material or new part will solve the problem.

Working with frethot can help you avoid this in two ways: 1. We can give you a fresh look at your invention. 2. We can work with you to correct any problems (whether it be material selection or redesigning components) and continue moving forward. The designers and engineers of frethot have over 11 years of experience making products work. If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog or need assistance with the design, engineering, specifying for manufacturing, graphic design, packaging design, prototyping, or manufacturing of your product, please visit our website at www.frethot.com.

Check back next week to see how to avoid Mistake #5: Revealing Your Invention Too Soon (Patience is a Virtue).

10 Mistakes Inventors Make (Post 3 of 10)

Mistake #3: Believing in Promotion Company Hype

For the past couple weeks our blog has been dedicated to helping you avoid the pitfalls of new inventors. This week we present another "mistake" and how you can avoid it. The designers and engineers at frethot have over 11 years experience and are available to work with you every step of the way to make a successful product. Feel free to visit our website to view our portfolio, or contact us to get started on your latest project.

An inventor can try to sell or license their invention to a manufacturer that would market it and pay royalties. Finding such a manufacturer can be overwhelming and extremely time consuming. Because of these difficulties many inventors fall victim to the flashy advertising of an invention or patent promotion firm.

Promotion companies often offer a "One Size Fits All" type of service. As an inventor you're aware that all ideas do not fit the same mold. This can be the biggest problem with promotion companies, because they do not take individualized time with your product they are often unsuccessful.

These companies offer bogus research in exchange for high fees and rarely produce any results or hard goods. Do your research on any company before doing business with them.

As an alternative the members of frethot are available to work with you and provide several competitive options for prototyping and manufacturing your invention. Over the years we have built strong relationships with local and international vendors. In addition we are local and you can speak with one of our designers or engineers in person. If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog or need assistance with the design, engineering, specifying for manufacturing, graphic design, packaging design, prototyping, or manufacturing of your product, please visit our website at www.frethot.com.

Check back next week to see how to avoid Mistake #4 - Getting Too Attached to Your Invention (The Captain Doesn't Have to go Down with the Ship).

10 Mistakes Inventors Make (Part 2 of 10)

Mistake #2: Failing to Make your Invention

New inventors often make some common mistakes. Last week we discussed one of the Top 10 most common mistakes. This week we will continue with another "mistake" and how to avoid it. The designers and engineers at frethot are available at any phase of your invention and can be especially helpful in avoiding the mistake of "Failing to Make your Invention". Feel free to visit our website www.frethot.com and contact us with any questions or to get more information on how to prototype your new invention.

It's a cold hard fact that no one is going to purchase just an idea. But companies may be willing to invest in that idea if it comes in the form of a prototype. A home made prototype can be an important step in the development process, but once you've decided to really go forward with the product you will want to move on to a process such as rapid prototyping (see our blog about 3D printing). This process provides you with a working prototype that will allow for evaluation and testing. Producing a quality prototype is an essential step towards bringing your product to market.

The members of frethot have the resources and skills you need to create a high quality product. If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog or need assistance with the design, engineering, specifying for manufacturing, graphic design, packaging design, prototyping, or manufacturing of your product, please visit our website at www.frethot.com.

Check back next week to see how to avoid Mistake #3 - Believing in Promotion Company Hype (The Importance of Using a Proven Company).

10 Mistakes Inventors Make

Mistake #1: Failing to Record your Inventing Progress

New inventors often make some common mistakes. Over the next several weeks our blog posts will cover the Top 10 common mistakes and how to avoid them. The designers and engineers at frethot are available at any phase of your invention to help you avoid the pitfalls of new inventors and bring your product to market. Feel free to visit our website www.frethot.com and contact us with any questions or to get moving on your next invention.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office awards a patent to the inventor who FIRST came up with an invention (you must also show diligence in developing your idea). An inventors notebook is a good way to keep track of your ideas and can also be used as proof of conception date. Below are several important items to keep in mind when keeping a log book.

1. You can start a log book as soon as you think of an idea.
2. Keepinig good records can be vital in proving conception date and continuous activity (these issues commonly arise during the patentint process).
3. Your log book should be bound and each page should be numbered consecutively. Also if you leave a page, or portion of a page blank, draw a line to indicate it was deliberate (this way it is evident if pages have been added or subtracted).
4. As you fill log books, start new ones and assign each book a consecutive number.
5. Keep these notebooks in a secure location.
6. Each entry in your log book should have a heading including the date, project number, and subject. The end of each entry should be dated and signed by any participants. If possible the entries should be signed and dated by a witness or Notary Public.
7. Use lots of detail.
8. Tape or staple loose materials (if possible) such as photographs, print outs and drawings into the notebook.
9. Make reference to any samples, models or prototypes.
10. Use pen, not a pencil.

If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog or need assistance with the design, engineering, specifying for manufacturing, graphic design, packaging design, prototyping, or manufacturing of your product, please visit our website at www.frethot.com.

Check back next week to see how to avoid Mistake #2 - Failing to Actually make your Invention (You Cant' Sell Ideas).

Thermoforming

There are numerous manufacturing processes to choose from when you are ready to bring your product to market; the tricky part is deciding on the appropriate method. The designers and engineers of frethot and can help you choose the best method of manufacturing based on your individual project. If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog or need assistance with the design, engineering, specifying for manufacturing, graphic design, packaging design, prototyping, or manufacturing of your product, please visit our website at www.frethot.com.


Thermoforming is a term that encompasses manufacturing processes that heat sheets of extruded plastic and then form them into a finished product. Included in thermoforming are the processes of drape, pressure, and vacuum forming. Vacuum forming is the most common thermoforming method and will be briefly detailed below.

Applications

While most commonly used for packaging it can be applied in many industries such as aerospace, consumer goods, agriculture, automotive, building and construction, electronics, furniture, and medical.

Some products include: food containers, prosthetics, bathtubs, boat hulls, lawn mower covers and more.

Vacuum Forming Process

Before production can begin the tool (or mold) must be designed, created, and prepared. A vacuum forming tool must be appropriately finished and it must have vent holes.

There are 5 basic steps in the vacuum forming process.

Afterwards the excess plastic is trimmed from the formed part. which can now be cut, drilled, polished, or decorated as needed.

If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog or would like to suggest a topic for a future post feel free to comment or contact us via our website www.frethot.com

Injection Molding

When is comes to manufacturing your product there are numerous processes to choose from. Below we briefly discuss just one of the choices: Injection Molding. The members of frethot are designers and engineers and can help you choose the best method of manufacturing. If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog or need assistance with the design, engineering, specifying for manufacturing, graphic design, packaging design, prototyping, or manufacturing of your product, please visit our website at www.frethot.com.

Injection molding is one of the most common manufacturing processes for plastics. The process produces parts from both thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics. Injection Molding is used to produce packaging, bottle caps, automotive dashboards, pocket combs, and most other plastic products available today.

Below is short illustration of the process.

• Materials (1) are fed through a hopper (2) into a heated barrel(3).



• Melted materials are then pushed by a screw(4), through the nozzle (5) into a mold(6), and cooled.



• The finished part is then ejected from the mold.

The British Plastics Federation has an animation of the process

If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog or would like to suggest a topic for a future post feel free to comment or contact us via our website www.frethot.com

5 Steps to Become an Inventor

Before quitting your day job to become an inventor check out the 5 steps below.

Below is a summary of an article that appeared in Popular Mechanics (popularmechanics.com) If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog or need assistance with the design, engineering, specifying for manufacturing, graphic design, packaging design, prototyping, or manufacturing of your product, please visit our website at www.frethot.com.

1. Cultivate and Idea

• You're idea needs to be new, useful, and nonobvious (search the database of issued patents at patft.uspto.gov).
• Expect to spend double the time you originally thought and quadruple the dollar amount you anticipated.
• Keep detailed notes.
• Be sure you're idea is worth committing to and that you can commit to it.

2. Build a Prototype

• See our previous blog about prototyping materials (link)
• Build a prototype yourself or have our experience designers and engineers assist you with the process.
• Troubleshoot your product and get outside opinions (make sure to get confidentiality or nondisclosure agreements from those you share your idea with).
  

3. File a Patent

• See our previous blog exploring the differences between Provision and Non-Provision Patents (link).
• Patent approval takes and average of 3 years.
  

4. Test the Market

• You may want to find a business partner.
• Perform market research.
• Visit Trade Shows

5. Sell it or Make it

• An inventor can choose to license a product and earn royalties or manufacture their invention.
• Many inventors find that they can-not successfully license the product until a product is designed and specified for the manufacturing process. This is where frethot's experience is essential. frethot can generate technical drawings for your product and provide the specifications that manufacturers need to produce it.
• If you plan to manufacturer your product, frethot can also help. In order to have a product produced or even quoted to be produced by a manufacturer, the manufacturer will need detailed 2D drawings and a Bill of Materials (and many times 3D CAD files also). This is where frethot’s core services lie. frethot can provide the documents required by a manufacturer to quote and produce your product.
• frethot is a manufacturer's representative and can help you locate a reputable source either domestic or international.

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