Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Market-Driven Product Development Part #1: Avoiding the 1-800 Patent Scam



There’s an Uncle Joe and Aunt Martha in every single town in the United States. Aunt Martha is the loving wife. Uncle Joe is the hardworking middle class guy with a lot of great ideas, many of which are in his garage and basement in various stages of assembly. The day finally comes when Uncle Joe breathlessly tells Aunt Martha that he has an invention that will “revolutionize the industry!!!” Being the supportive wife that she is, Aunt Martha succumbs to Uncle Joe’s excitement. In fact, friends and family are also excited…this is it! Uncle Joe has finally come up with “The Home Run”…and everyone fastens their seat belts because this ride is all downhill into the pot of gold, and the ride is being “taken” at very high speed.

The operative word in the preceding paragraph is “taken,” and the misunderstanding is who or what ultimately gets the “pot of gold.” No, this isn’t a short story about the big, bad, company stealing Uncle Joe’s great idea and going on to make millions. This is about the much more common occurrence of Uncle Joe and Aunt Martha going down the 1-800-INVENT-IT path, spending thousands of dollars to ultimately get bubkiss…and the hundreds of so-called “professionals” who are only too happy to offer their services in the process. It is important to state here that companies which are in the serious business of developing technologies and products for any given marketplace generally do not use 1-800-U-CAN-GIT-A-PATENT firms, because most of these firms are not credible, they do not specialize in patent law, they are not “well-connected in the industry,” and the work product that they most often produce has little or no real value. But they are slick advertisers, they do know how to appeal to the public-at-large, and they will take your money…to add to their growing pot of gold.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has estimated that only 3% of all issued patents ever produce any revenue for the assignee (the patent’s owner.) There are countless reasons for this, one being that an issued patent alone is not in itself an indication that what is being protected is necessarily a good idea. Other reasons include the invention being too difficult or expensive to manufacture, while many more simply have no demonstrable market or a market that is not easily penetrated.

If you’re Uncle Joe: Do your homework and do the hard work before jumping off the high dive.  If you’re Aunt Martha:  Force Uncle Joe to read Part #2.  If he refuses, empty the pool of water, fill it with broken glass, make sure his life insurance premiums are up-to-date, and then tell him to go ahead and jump…

Coming Soon:  Market-Driven Product Development Part #2:  The First Steps – The Homework and the Hard Work

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Who We Are

A whiteboard is an indispensable tool for an engineer. But for several nth engineers, it’s an area to share their wit and wisdom.  This is their space and their thoughts. First up: a brief background.

Scott, Director of Engineering and Manufacturing:
Right out of college I started assembling circuit boards, then wiring and programming control panels.  I had the opportunity to be around machinists and taught myself how to work metal with their help.  I began to build and install the machines, and soon I was programming.  I traveled around the United States and as far as Canada and England installing the equipment we built.  Years later I became interested in printed circuit design due to necessity of the surroundings I was in and with the help of an engineer and some books, learned the techniques needed to design printed circuit boards, even before computers were widely used to aid in design.  Since circuit boards fit into product enclosures, it seemed fitting to learn more about mechanical design.  I taught myself AutoCAD and mechanical drawing.  I have been on several design teams and managed production floors.

Blogger’s Comment: The company owners will tell you that he’s the sharpest jack-of-all-trade engineer they’ve ever known.  Scott can create and build anything, from inception right through production.  His biggest asset, who occasionally accompanies him to work: Auggie, his Jack Russell Terrier puppy.

A.J., production manager:
I have always been interested in how things work, as well as how they are made, so this challenging business has been right up my alley.  I was offered a job at nth Solutions and I have been soaking up as much knowledge about product design and manufacturing as I can.  I program, implement, and maintain robotic and pneumatic pick-and-place machines that populate printed circuit boards, build single prototype circuits – for instance, hand-soldering surface mount and through-hole parts – as well as repair existing circuits.  I enjoy using the metal lathe and vertical mill center, and I oversee production of all our products.
I was born in Virginia but raised in Chester County, Pa.  My hobbies include snowboarding, fishing, and woodworking.  I have been happily married for 5 years to my high school sweetheart.

Blogger’s Comment: Like Scott, A.J. can build anything.  He designs, maintains and optimizes our production lines to keep things running smoothly and efficiently.

Jim, Secret Weapon:
When I first graduated with a BS in mechanical engineering, I was directed to obtain some sort of specialty.  Since some of my early co-op assignments had involved experimental stress analysis, I spent several years after graduation and in my first job with Westinghouse in this field.  However, Westinghouse was just entering the jet engine business and I was attracted to the engine test activity.  I accepted a transfer to Kansas City where the company was setting up an engine production and test plant.  Since I had some engine test experience I was offered a supervisor position and was in management for the rest of my career.

Blogger’s Comment: Jim is coy about his work on government projects, but he was instrumental in the development of the F-4 Phantom and the Minuteman and MX missiles.  More on his background here.