I’ve had a detailed engineered drawing done for a work stand that I had an idea for. I need help on the next step of getting a prototype made and developing it into what hopefully will become a saleable item.

I’ve contacted a few engineering companies locally to me (West Yorkshire) but they don’t seen to be interested in making a prototype.

Someone asked me if I’d contacted any universities about developing it but I’ve never come across anything like that before. Has anyone else worked with a university on a project before and was it worth it?

Any feedback greatly appreciated

been for a glass of vino in the university of warwick prototyping lab.

Theres a few out there, but it rather depends on the medium I think.

surely there’s a small fabricator that will do it?

Is straightforward if you are a member of staff at the uni. Are you?

[/quote] surely there’s a small fabricator that will do it?

You’d have thought so and maybe they would if I was placing an order for 100…

I’m not a member of staff at a university unfortunately.

Really? I have a light engineering works near me that would make that up.

You can easily get a local engineering firm to rattle out a proto for a price. A university is not likely to do this IMO as small prototypes of simple products is not their business. Most university engineering departments won’t touch it unless it’s ground breaking, the technicians won’t be allowed to do it without it being put through as a proper job so unless you can get them to do it on the quiet out the back door (hard even for those who work with them daily) you’re not going to get much fun there.

Try the local small scale/back-yard engineers, not the guys who do large scale work. I’ve had a few items made over the years, never struggled to find someone to do it for me, only struggle to get a price I like!

You might be able to get a plastic proto made by a rapid proto place but you’ll be looking (for example) at about £200 “mates rates” for a set of motorbike throttle bodies in ABS.`

I specialise in bespoke design and fabrication including prototype builds (mostly in different field but this should be OK). Components built either in my workshop or using local specialists then assembled and delivered. Drop me a line if you want to discuss some options. email in profile.

I’d like to contact them and have a chat. What’s the company name and whereabouts are they based?
Thanks

Whereabouts are you based Nick?

I work for a University (though not in your region) and do the sort of thing you want (though not for mechanical product design). Generally speaking a University won’t be the cheapest option for taking a generic design from concept to mass manufacture, that’s not to say that they don’t do it, but there’s a huge amount of hours involved from producing a proof of concept to a production ready prototype that many people just don’t appreciate, and if you’re paying someone else do do that, the costs may rack up quickly.
However, having said that it may be worth contacting your local University as they might be able to direct you to possible sources of funding.
For instance in the East of England there are innovation vouchers available which fund about 4-5 days of development time, and cost the applicant nothing http://www.eeda.org.uk/3572.asp, there maybe similar schemes where you are. You might also want to contact your local business development agencies to see if they can suggest something.

Universities CAN be an excellent way to get stuff prototyped, often for relatively low cost IF you aren’t in a rush. BUT universities can also be a complete PITA to deal with to get anything done because the people who work in them are completely out of touch with reality. Even if you find an academic who isn’t trying to squeeze money out you to fund the project he wants to do (rather than the job you need doing) then often there is someone in the “commercialisation department” who’s principle objective seems to be to ensure that they never let a great idea get away even if that means that 100 average ideas never even get the chance to come to realisation.

Are you set up as a company? Both universities and suppliers will usually treat you more seriously if you are.

Have you got full 3D cad drawings for your parts? Tolerenced engineering drawings? Thats what an engineering firm will be looking for. If you build a relationship some will do this work for you – but probably not unless you are flashing cash.

Do you have a budget? You MIGHT get a uni to do something for free or nearly free, if you are very lucky – but no engineering firm is likely to.

When we ask for prototype prices we always get volume prices too, this is a wee teaser for the engineering firm (although you might go there for low volume work you probably won’t go there for high volume stuff so don’t be silly with the numbers), but again shows you are serious.

Are all the parts likely to be made in one place. E.g. machined plastic parts (which might ultimately be moulded plastics) may not be made in the same place as welded steel. Some places will be more comfortable with assembling stuff than others. i.e. some companies will happily make you a plastic bit, but won’t want to bolt it to the steel frame.

How much “engineering” experience do you have? Is there a risk you will have something wrong and bits will need remade? If so who is going to pay for that extra work?

Whereabouts are you based Nick?

I’m in Bristol. I’m sure it’s better to find someone good locally, I use local suppliers as much as possible, but it’s taken me ages to build up a good network. You might get lucky so it’s worth trying as many as you can find. If you get stuck I’m happy to chat about different fabrication options or tweaking your drawings so the engineering firms are happy.

IME a university is a great place to get some good engineering done on the cheap. However, you need to be doing something that they want to do if you need it done anytime soon, and also be prepared to pay through the arse for it if needs be.

In my place there are two kinds of industrial project: ones that we want to do, where we will do it quickly, on the cheap and publish everything possible (not likely for a workstand unless you have done something truly amazing); and then the projects that we do for cash, where the work is fit in around everything else as a last priority and we will try to milk every last penny from you.

Hope that helps

Back in the day Huddersfield University had a product design course and a mech eng degree with a design bias (I know, I did it). Maybe they can help.

I have full 3d cad toleranced engineered drawings yes (which cost me a couple of grand in the first place). Everything’s steel or aluminium, apart from the jaw clamps. Unfortunately, I have no engineering experience, just an idea to make a workstand here in the UK. I’ll keep you posted!

If you have no engineering experience did the person who created you CAD model help you with design for manufacture before creating the drawings? There’s a lot that can be ironed out at the 3D design stage before costly manufacture. If you have some production engineering issues that might explain why the local firms are passing.

Yes, the guy took my idea and created it into 3d cad. Maybe he’s made it too complex and the local guys think it’s too much of a pain to do..?

If it’s a one-off metal framework you want, most places will have to build a jig first just to put everything together correctly, so they may well not be too interested unless you were throwing money at them!
Have you made any physical prototypes at all yet? Perhaps making a simpler version in something like wood or card might be an idea to get a feel for the design before spending lots of money.