February 2010

Mr. Patrick Turley (president, ballsystems technologies) told us about a very useful service that his 40 year old company offers to an independent inventor -- affordable help with the customized design, low- to mid-volume manufacturing, or detailed technical description of an invention (e.g., electrical, electronic, firmware, mechanical, packaging, software, 3D animation, or data packaging for service level agreements).

Talented engineers at the company are practical (all having worked at companies such as Delphi, IBM, and Raytheon) and spend most of their time working on projects for Fortune 500 (e.g., Allison Transmission, Delphi, Hewlett-Packard, Honeywell, or the U.S. Air Force), and other, clients worldwide.  But between those major projects, they help individual inventors.

Mr. Turley offered us some advice on how to minimize the cost of those services.

1. Do as much work as you can, before hiring the company, and be flexible about timing.  Quick projects that fit nicely between major projects are billed at the lowest rates.
2. Give the company a clear and definite statement of work.  Focus on features that will persuade your potential customers or investors that your invention really works; worry about the bells and whistles later.  Tell the engineers exactly what you need, so they don't waste time trying to figure out:
• what you don't know or understand;
• what you want designed or manufactured;
• your specific requirements (fit, form, function, technical specifications, etc.);
• when you want your project completed.
3. Realize that jumping straight from low volume production of a prototype to large scale production of a sales order is risky.

This company wants to help individual inventors protect their intellectual property, by signing nondisclosure agreements.  But remember that your strongest protection lies in filing a patent application.

Thank you for offering, and for telling us about, this very useful service, Mr. Turley!