Karla and Jack

First, let’s cover the basic kinds of prototypes:
• First proof of concept (functional; can be relatively crude).
• Second proof of concept (functional; refined to match market niche or segment).
• Looks-like model (used for photography or to show and tell).
• Looks-like/works-like (the final product “on the shelf”).
• Virtual prototype (computer-generated; used for very large, very complex, or very expensive inventions that may otherwise be impractical to make as physical prototypes).

If you hope to license your invention, you’ll need a looks-like/works-like prototype unless your invention has the characteristics covered in the fifth bulleted type above. Many inventors hope to leave the burden and expense of prototyping to their licensee. If you’re desperate, and have little money, you might reason that an ill-prepared attempt to license is better than none at all. But licensing is a “selling,” effort, pure and simple. And the most effective selling means demonstrating.

Most prototyping is an evolution from crude concept to refined product. James Dyson made more than 5,000 versions of his famous “cyclone” vacuum cleaner before it was market ready. However few inventors will make more than half a dozen versions of their invention before arriving at the looks-like/ works-like model.

Perhaps the most important principle of prototyping is that of shaping your invention to match the market. One of the examples we use in our teleseminar is that of a small-tree puller. When first conceived, we imagined that no such product was on the market. (That’s a typical bit of inventor self-deception.) But after a Google search, we found two models for sale. These models had the capacity for manually pulling trees as large as those having a one-inch diameter trunk from the ground using human effort and the device’s leverage alone.

Thus, we’ve identified a niche market—that of the need for removing trees such as oaks and maples that are, let’s say, around a foot tall or even smaller. (If you’ve ever tried to pull out such a tree you’ll know that it’s impossible without a slip-proof grip and super strength.)

Now, when we examine the design of the two tree pullers that are already on the market, we find that they use grippers that have sharp teeth that penetrate the tree’s trunk. For our small-tree version, we can get by using a plastic cam arranged so that the harder one pulls, the tighter it grips the slender trunk. Such design is much less expensive to manufacture than the toothed design. And, of course, we incorporate the cam in our second prototype, if not our first.

The The “looks-like” prototype is like a Hollywood movie set: all frontal appearance, and little substance. But that’s all that’s needed to take a photo for your sell-sheet (also known as a sales brochure). A looks-like prototype, if fully developed to appear like the final product, can be used for demonstration purposes, especially if the product’s main benefit is its appear-ance. In some cases, the looks-like prototype can be made more easily on the computer than by having to create a physical prototype, and photograph it.

Virtual prototypes can also be animated using CAD (computer aided design). This is very expensive, and is generally used to show internal workings that can’t be shown by other means, to show large equipment in action, etc. The advantage is to demonstrate your prototype by e-mail or DVD, which is very cost effective if you need to show your prototype to com-panies in several parts of the country or world.

Learn more about and finding the right method to prototype and manufacture your invention based on your goals and your budget from our new book “Producing Your Invention On Your Own” available at www.KarlaAndJack.com
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