Slowly getting into CNC Manufacturing business

You hit on the key to making a little bit of change. Don't sell your time to make somebody else's part. Sell the product somebody needs.

Karl

Karl, yes, hopefully, I can devise manufacturing processes that use little of my personal time, per additional item made. This is what I am working on right now, find stuff that I can make without spending too much time on, and sell.

Don't copycat somebody elses product, instead come up something new on your own and be the first one to take it to the market....patent if possible--because before you know it the cockroaches will be manufacturing a copy, thus flooding the market and selling it for peanuts.

Do you think that it is easy to enforce a patent against someone who copies one's design? Somehow, I do not think so.

It's easy enough. What it isn't is cheap.

Patents usually aren't worth the trouble for small-niche products. It's pretty rare that you'll attract significant copy cats unless there is some volume, or potential volume, in sales.

Many hobby-type items, especially if there is any modern technology involved, have a fairly short life span. The thing that most people fail at is getting into the market quickly enough. By the time you've tipped your hand with a modest effort at promoting it, someone else may copy the item and make a more professional marketing effort.

Good advice, but not so easy to do. I would look at making replacement parts for say vintage cars. Something where the original manufacturer does not want the low production rate, but where there is a fair number of people that will want the part. So not parts for vintage Mercedes, instead parts for vintage Fords, maybe the original Mustangs.

Dan

Yes, getting embroiled in patent wars is not my idea of fun.

Actually, right now I am into making novelty items and HO scale toys.

I think that plenty of people would pay for HO scale accessories made of real steel. Lots of HO scale buyers with money, and they want "the real thing" looks.

There is an entire business model that revolves around making patented products with the understanding that the holder won't be able to afford to pursue a claim. Yeah, I know a couple...

Exactly - your patent extends just as far as your payments to your patent lawyers, and there are plenty of places which do a bang-up business of simply running legitimate patent holders out of funds to defend their patents because they have deep pockets and can afford to do so. The patent system basically does nothing for "the little guy who's in the right." I don't know if it ever did, but it doesn't at present.

My main point was that if you are copyiing someone elses designs then if there was ever any real money to be made, most of it already HAS been made, after which point in reality you are simply participating with others in a race to the bottom.

That said, being first to market gives you a HUGE advantage, because so long as you can consistantly maintain the very highest level of quality control and customer service, it will be very difficult for anyone else to penetrate your market.

On the other hand, if it's another "little guy" who's copying your patent, then oftentimes a single letter is all it takes to steer him back onto the right path.

One other thing to consider is filing for a provisional patent, which IIRC only costs $99.00 and allows you to make the claim "patent pending" even though an actual patent was never in fact granted.

I do not want to get into any sort of a patent discussion.

Read some of Don Lancaster's thoughts on patents.

How about brass or Aluminum ? Seems like steel is heavy and hard.

Consider rust issues.

Mart> >>

I made some novelty items of aluminum and those do sell.

One of the things I wanted to make is "old rusted out steam engine".

I also made a moderately elaborate steel HO scale bridge and it was cute in very many ways. I made it for my 5 year old, but I can see how it would appeal to 50 year olds too.

Pics, please!

-- Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air... -- Ralph Waldo Emerson