I want to create the "Best Sanding Blocks Ever"

A problem I see with that is, once the "cat is out of the bag", the Ho Chi Mins of the world will use the info and flood the market with cheap junk copies. Sad but true.
I'm in for a set of yours!;)
I think that could easily happen even if tooling and manufacturing is in US. Easy enough to buy and ship a set to be cloned. Hopefully the patent process will prevent that.

I don’t think I have seen any knockoff Durablocks even though they are manufactured in Taiwan.

Don
 
I think that could easily happen even if tooling and manufacturing is in US. Easy enough to buy and ship a set to be cloned. Hopefully the patent process will prevent that.

I don’t think I have seen any knockoff Durablocks even though they are manufactured in Taiwan.

Don
Agree. In talking with the patent attorney, she made that point. Having a patent gives you the exclusive right to the product but it is not a guarantee that someone, anywhere, won't copy it. Apparently, a large part of a patent attorneys work is in prosecuting patent infringements.

She said the best thing is launch a great product with strong branding, visibility and reputation. The brand can become more important than the patent.
 
I have worked my whole life in the metal stamping tool trade. Admittedly I have little knowledge albeit somewhat related to molding tools but have heard several stories of the exact same thing happening to individuals making molded products dealing with Chinese manufacturers. IMO You can't trust the Chinese... Not speaking of Chinese Americans! Never heard any negitive stories about dealing with Taiwan. Their products are far superior regardless.
 
Dean not sure if this is any value or not.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20220810-155926_Outlook.jpg
    Screenshot_20220810-155926_Outlook.jpg
    110.1 KB · Views: 221
Mr. Downer here. Having manufactured several hobby products over the years I would like to make some comments. First off if your product is manufactured overseas and successful expect it to be ripped off. Most likely by the very folks who you contracted to manufacture it in the first place, or their relatives who in turn will sell if for cheaper. (They didn't have to buy molds!) Your US legal protections mean nothing to them. If Apple and Microsoft can't protect themselves you can't.

The best way to do limit the damage from this is to be able to flood the market and develop the brand name quickly. Expect to lose a lot of sales to inferior copy cats. The cheaper the production cost is the more likely it is to be ripped off. Your best hope is to become the Kleenex of sanding blocks. Choose your brand name carefully! Your going to be competing against a product that has that kind of brand recognition. Irregardless of who manufactured the block. "Hey Joe toss me that DuraBlock." is the conversation in the shop.

The world is littered with dead companies with good products and poor marketing and conversely the world is overwhelmed with profitable companies with great marketing who sell junk.

In retail you need to make sure your marketing is directed to the people who will use the product. In America you will need a Hispanic marketing program. The average age of auto body workers is between 45 and 50 years old. About 15-20 percent of those are Hispanics and as retirements occur that percentage is growing.

In addition developing world wide sales through folks like Amazon is a must. Who are your competitors in the UK, Europe, Canada, or Mexico?

This may not be your dream but the way forward for your product to have long life in the market is to develop it into a company with a pattern of good sales and a new product *****!******, and then sell your company to a bigger company. And retire!

Best of luck sir!
 
Update: New CAD files done for blocks 2 5/8" wide per the feedback I received. Now working on bids for tooling design and for manufacturing.
Different length blocks will have different hardness factors, and different rod diameter configurations. It is not simple.

Should have it finalized in about 2 weeks.

FYI, I am getting "schooled" on domestic vs. offshore work. My intent was always "Made in the USA."
For example, creating the injection molds for each size is ~$3K each offshore. It is $100K+, each, domestically. Seriously?

I'm seriously conflicted about this. I'm a patriot, a veteran, and I want to support the US economy and workers. But that price gap is a show stopper.

I may have to have the tooling and initial production run done offshore, and then work to bring the tools and manufacturing onshore.

I know Made in the USA is a big deal to most of you, so I wanted to be transparent about this.

The project economics have to work.

Your thoughts?
Dean I do a lot of injection molding projects at work as well. I never thought I’d get into plastics and materials engineering and mold and tool building when I got into science, but as it turns out the consumables for the products I design are plastic and need injection molded. And the design of that part has a very specific function to the biological interactions at play so here I am…

All that being said we work with both Chinese and US manufacturers. I’m telling you something is off in your price comparisons. We might see half or a third the price for molds made in China but never the difference of $3k vs $100k (and by the way Chinese molds are no longer considered for us).

Are you sure you were quoted for only the mold inserts and not the mold bases in China? The inserts are the most inexpensive part of a mold but the mold base is the most complex part of the mold and they are also the most expensive. No way somebody can build a mold base AND inserts for only $3k.

Second—how many cavities are these molds you’re having quoted? A low cavity mold like a 4 cavity will be cheaper to produce but higher cost per piece vs a larger mold like an 8 cavity piece that has higher initial cost but lower cost per piece to shoot.

Then WRT making parts in China—the tooling may not have guarantees or covered repairs with it. This is where it can nickel and dime you. As the tooling wears it requires repairs and if the tooling is made poorly it will wear faster. Then you start to receive bills to repair the tooling which can get very costly.

Having the tooling built and then sent elsewhere for the shots can be tricky as you need to be sure the tooling will be compatible with the presses at the molding house.

All that being said, you’ve got to make the economics work. Taiwan would be a much better option than China…and they’re not our enemy.
 
Update:

After many, many discussions and quotes for tooling and production costs, in several geographies, I've had to modify the design.
Seems that is a part of the whole invention process.
Bottom line was the design I had would be very difficult, nearly impossible to injection mold.
The one company that said they could do it came in with costs higher than I could sell if for :mad:

So, new design. Only change is that the ends are squared off, instead of being contoured.
Everything else is the same (flexible rubber/foam handle, tension adjusting rods, polycarbonate base)

Here is rendering of the latest:

Update 9-21-22.JPG


This change allows it to be "extruded" (think Play-Doh toys) vs. "injection molded."
Brings the cost for tooling and production WAY down.

I've ordered the tools and expect to have first samples in 3-4 weeks.

Pretty excited to finally have found an economical solution and be able to move forward.
 
Where is the the tooling going to be built and where will it be run?
Initial tool and run will be in China. Not my first choice but, that is what is available at the moment and it will move the project forward quickly,
with low cost for proof of concept and to test market acceptance.
Intent is to move it before going to larger volume, hopefully to US.
Good news with this new design is even if I have to have new tooling made to move it, it is not that expensive.
 
Dean,
Hate to be the bearer of bad news , but so you are aware in my search for AFS blocks ( I was looking for them on this site as well ) I located the widow and the kids of the AFS block (the Wheeler family) who are supposedly in the works of getting blocks up and running again. I honestly don't care who starts making them they are needed. However just hopefully you have your attorneys check everything so you don't get burned. I know the patent expired recently ( March 2021, fee related ) but there may still be other patents raised by the family or if there are any intellectual property rights etc.. Just things I was made aware of when attempting to figure out something similar to these blocks as well.
 
Dean,
Hate to be the bearer of bad news , but so you are aware in my search for AFS blocks ( I was looking for them on this site as well ) I located the widow and the kids of the AFS block (the Wheeler family) who are supposedly in the works of getting blocks up and running again. I honestly don't care who starts making them they are needed. However just hopefully you have your attorneys check everything so you don't get burned. I know the patent expired recently ( March 2021, fee related ) but there may still be other patents raised by the family or if there are any intellectual property rights etc.. Just things I was made aware of when attempting to figure out something similar to these blocks as well.
Thanks for letting me know.
Yes, my patent attorney is confident we have enough differences that we can defend our design and are not infringing on anyone else's.
 
I haven't been getting notifications on this topic so here's a content-free post to kick the forum software in the right direction...
Looking forward to buying a set of these!
 
Here is the latest rendering of the current design. 8", 16" an 24" blocks, which are planned for the initial set.
(FYI, the tensioning rods will actually extend about 1/2" out of the blocks to make them easy to remove)
Getting very excited to have production samples in hand!

table 3 rendering.JPG
 
Are you doing pre orders?
My car is a ways out so waiting is not a problem
Yes, that is my intention.
Right now the tooling is being created and the factory will so a small run of about 5 parts to confirm everything.
As soon as I have the first production samples in hand and confirm that the tooling and manufacturing are correct, then I will offer pre-orders of the first production run.
These pre-orders will be at a discount to the retail price and hopefully help fund the first production run.
Thanks for your interest - stay tuned!
 
Back
Top