Anyone here ever brought a hw product to market?

I'd be interested to hear of real world examples!

I've got a few ideas...& I reckon the needed circuit, & dare I say - code - can be knocked out in short order - but it's the presentation I'll likely stumble at.

To make it look pro, yoiu need to get a custom enclosure - but where/how do you get one of those?!!

I only need a small enclosure not much bigger than a 9V battery ....a few holes drilled in it (for a couple of LEDs & momentary switches)...but then there's the printing/graphics etc....hmmm - what to do?

Hi,

You can always have a look at one of my favorite stores www.enclosures.com.cn . I buy boxes in single numbers from their Beijing store and the prices are really nice and they have alot of different shapes and styles in stock.

I can totally agree when you say the enclosure is the most hard thing to solve to get a nice looking product. For small volume products it is just to find a currenly avaliable box and squeeze the design to fit it.

In the same mall they also sell PCB, overlays, dome foil solution and tons of connectors and components.

If it looks home made.. it is not really a good start for the sales.

/me

Have you looked at sparkfun? They have a tie up with pololu and others to give you custom enclosures. I haven't used their service, but, it may be helpful to you,

HankMcSpank,

There are many manufacturers that have premade enclosures that can be customized. To mention a few,

http://www.pactecenclosures.com/
http://www.serpac.com/
www.polycase.com

However, the site that Jumper mentioned www.enclosures.com.cn seems to be a good option because it should be cheap.

Robert

Thanks for links & feedback gents ...still pondering whether to bother! (it's not just the enclosure, but then the printing etc)....an all this for something that wouldn't likely sell for a great deal of money anyway!

Anyway, I'll digest the URLs you've given me & take it from there.

I've brought many products to market. I wouldn't get hung up on the enclosure; that is the least of your worries.

I'd say take a step back and look at the bigger picture; how much of your time and money do you have to devote to the project? What will your sales outlet be? Internet is fine (and I'm a big proponent of it) but then keep in mind you have to have a website, how you'll collect funds (CC, Paypal, etc.).

I wrote an article for a magazine once where I outlined the task of bringing a simple product to market. The magazine later told me they had one of the biggest repsonses to that article, almost all saying how utterly depressing it was! Once you get past ordering your first run of boards, ordering components, populating, testing, installing, writing directions, inventory - I'm free-wheeling here... it soon makes you wonder how anything makes it to market. And if it's any good, here come the knock-offs.

Didn't want to ran on anyones parade... figure out first if you really want to do it.

Hi Hank,

I'm coming in late to this conversation, and I'll second what mtripoli says. One item he didn't mention was after the sale tech support, which can suck the will to live right out of you...8^)

I've brought a handful of products to market, most of them intended for little niches. For the most part anything I've designed that sells more than a hundred units is a "hit out of the park." On the other hand my prices are reasonable but by no means cheap. I don't know the nature of the product you're considering but I do believe there is something to be said for operating in the niches. It's small enough that a lot of the problems are surmountable--maintaining parts isn't much, it's not lucrative enough to worry about knockoffs, etc.

There was a series in Nuts and Volts maybe 10 years ago (?) called (I think) the Design Cycle. I wouldn't be too surprised if one of those articles, the one about taking a "project" and making it into a "product" was the one mtripoli was referencing. I remember a lot of negative reader feedback on it but I found it to be highly accurate. I'm not afraid of adversity and I'm not above tilting at windmills.

But it is hard. A lot of the best things, the best accomplishments, are hard. Go into it with eyes open, because all of those negatives are real, but if you want to do it then damn the consequences and just go for it!

Best Regards,
Paul

Hi Hank,

I think the hardest part of selling a product is advertising it, getting people to know your product. There are many well known companies that sell products designed by somebody else. For instance, Sparkfun.com is always adding new products to their webpage. You can send them a prototype and maybe they like your idea, just a thought :). On the downside, I personally would be worry of somebody else stealing my ideas :(. Patenting a design costs a lot of money and many times it is not worth it.

Robert

Marketing is most important.
1) The best product for a very low price and no one knows about it.
2) A piece of junk all over TV and the internet, great made- up reviews, 1-800-SEND-MONEY, with a actor saying “you got to get this”. We have all seen this one and yes we bought it.
I have put into production too many products. When someone comes to me with a “great ides…make a million”, I want to see a line from here to money. Who will send money? Why do they want this? How will they see this? I don’t want to see the idea until these questions are resolved!

I found this video blog very helpful. Maybe some of you know these tricks, but, for the others, look here

EEVblog #127 - PCB Design For Manufacture Tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/user/EEVblog#p/u/4/VXE_dh38HjU

You probably won't make any money selling low-priced items. There are exceptions, but if you develop a great little product that sells for $50, and you make it for $20, you would have to sell 2 or 3 thousand a year to make any money. And then there would be support. And documentation. And promotion.

If you *REALLY* have a hot item, it will eventually get the attention of a larger company and they would make something similar in China. They could sell it at $25 and still make decent money.

You are better off finding a niche industrial market and selling 10 products for $5K each and $40K NRE.