How do I hire a Mechanical Engineer and/or Prototyping Co.?

buckeyefarmer · Jan 31, 2019

My sons Sr project last year was to make an autoloader to load screws when surgeons were putting a scull back together after brain surgery. They built a working prototype, and a company is buying the patent rights from them, so they can build them and make millions, lol.
My son is supposed to get a couple k.

Shblack · Jan 31, 2019

I have a friend who is a retired ME, creative guy, has a machine shop in his garage. Lives in CA. Would this work?

CobyRupert · Feb 1, 2019

dstig1 said:
This is kind of what we do all day long at the Fortune 100 company I work at. What you are asking for is something we regularly do - work with outside vendors to ideate, prototype and fabricate equipment to do what we need.

I could give you the names of several firms we use that could do it for you, but I am sure you would not like the costs. Plus you may have a hard time getting the time of day from many of these places as they may not be very confident in working with a solo inventor. Solo inventors have a stereotype as being cheap and a bit batty, frankly, so a lot of shops are wary of them. So be advised that this is what these folks will probably be thinking of you before they even meet you, whether or not it applies to you. But also frankly, it sounds like you are looking for cheap, so maybe they are not so far off??

If you want to look locally do searches on Machine Builders or Machine Integrators or Automation. You could ask around a bit at appropriate suppliers in your area. If you can find a bearing supplier, I'd bet they know names. Industrial equipment distributors would be another option - someone that sells air cylinders, conveyors, linear slides, servos, etc. if you know any machine shops, they could possibly do it or would know some names too. Maybe metal suppliers.

Some of my thoughts from 27 yrs experience...

-Dave

:thumbsup:

YLee Kioti · Feb 1, 2019

Looks like you're on the ground floor of a great idea, for you.

I've used these folks for years and are a wealth of information. DO NOT use the scammers with the TV commercials and the boxer hawking his clean frying machine. From first hand experience they are scammers just one step above barely legal.

These folks are a different group.
United Inventors Association
Numerous resources from initial fab up to full marketing sales.
You will not get bored learning the full scope of an inventor/entrepreneur.

Regards...

MechE1 · Feb 1, 2019

Dadnatron. Here's some options. Look for a university with a senior design project requirement. UIUC has a program and they work with companies mainly. There has to be trust, opportunity and value for both sides. The up side is it's basically free. The downside is your resources last for 6 months and then they are gone. I hired a structural engineer that was retired to validate some things on a home remodel. Basic hand drawn sketches were $30-40/hr and that was a decade ago. Engineering work is not cheap. He was sure to investigate before committing and documented everything with pictures and sketches. "litigious" society and expensive software drive costs up. If I were you I'd try to find a person that was an engineer that was moonlighting. It happens all the time. Ask around. I found the structural guy by asking the local society for any retired CE contacts that they knew of that were looking for extra work. I did moonlighting work out of necessity, but had to buy software that was not cheap. I was charging $40/hr (cheap) but that was nearly 20 years ago. I would expect a by the hour minimum charge of $60-70/hr minimum. Anyone charging less is desperate or not serious enough for you to deal with IMHO. My company charges $130/hr as a comparison. You could buy software, and hire a person to work for you that's trying to learn mechanics and software. But the downside is they don't know very much and will be trial and error most likely.

Dadnatron · Feb 1, 2019

Thanks guys.

I'm not looking for cheap. But I'm not in the ballpark of $100K which is what was tossed around by the UK Chemical dept as a typical thing they work on. Down the road, that might be reasonable, but not at this stage. I have NO problem paying for the work I need. I absolutely believe everyone should be paid for their work. But I won't have the where-with-all to gain the attention of a big company at this stage.

Hourly is fine, if the person shows progress and ability. Per job is fine. etc. I'm not looking for cheap, but I have to be able to realistically afford it and its value at this stage has to be there as well.

My goal is to explain the situation, give the person my ideas and design, and have him alter/design and ultimately build it or give me schematics from which I can have someone else build it. I'm confident my design (or an altered/improved version) will do what I need it to do. I also know that I could likely build it myself. But I am SUPREMELY confident, that there are those people out there with the knowledge, ability, and understanding to do it better and faster than I would be able to do.

I'll try to look around and perhaps contact Purdue. They have a student accessible machine shop in which they can design and build things. Perhaps I can contact a Grad student who is capable and wants to either ground floor it or just take cash for work.

I'll also look into asking around for a moonlighting Eng. I'm just not sure even what 'type' I need to ask about.

Thanks for the input thus far. Any further thoughts and/or ideas are always welcome.

MechE1 · Feb 1, 2019

Mechanical. Industrial. Agricultural. More importantly, someone that's motivated and needs cash. A junior college may be a source. Not engineer grade yet but you may find a design "program" and for sure anyone that's heading down the engineer path at a juco may be more in need of extra funds, thus more motivated.

dstig1 · Feb 1, 2019

The one thing to watch out for with undergrad Eng students is that very few of them really know much of the real world. I know i sure didn't get that in college, and I went to an excellent Engineering school. As has been mentioned if you can find a school with a senior design project, you might have a chance. Otherwise your best bet with an undergrad would be to find someone who grew up doing stuff. Farmers are one key demographic to look for. Kids that worked on a project in college like the Formula SAE race car or Solar Car or anything where they actually had to make something real is another good indicator. And yes, you are basically looking for a mechanical engineer or mechanical design eng. A good screening question is "how would you go about starting to design this? How would you approach it?" and listen to what they say. They may not know how to do it, but they should know where to look and who to ask to find out how to do it.