Toys. Everybody loves toys. From Barbie to Fidgets to that new car or boat. However, as a startup or inventor, unless you get that prototype out to make the sale, you can kiss that new toy goodbye. Luckily, it’s How-to month at Flying Pig Designs, and in this article, we will show you a few fast and cheap ways to do exactly that.
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Prototypes can be expensive and time consuming, but are almost always needed. Being able to touch and feel your idea can make it more real in a prospective buyer’s eye. You will learn a ton about how to manufacture your product or if it will even work like you expect. The point is to get a functional unit as fast as possible so that you can have these things happen, but traditional manufacturing methods can take weeks. 3D printed parts are great, but they can be fragile and have that “printed” look. There are other options like Protomold (plastic injection molding), Rapid Sheetmetal (Sheet metal), and FirstCut (machining), but these can be a non-starter for a small budget and manufacturing tolerances may be less than desired. Luckily, there are other ways. Sometimes you just have to use a few cheat codes to get you there.
Toys are easy to hack, widely available, cheap to obtain, and are a great cheat code for developing a prototype that will blow your audience’s socks off. I’ve made some fully functional medical device prototypes for less than $100 and it took two days from starting CAD to demonstration. Very often, you can have fully functional prototypes in less than a week using toys, if not the same day, all thanks to some of my close personal friends, known as Legos.
Legos Rock
Legos rock. Think of the engineering that has to go into them. How many millions and millions of Legos are there in the world and they all have to fit together flawlessly every time. Furthermore, as Legos have become more complex over the years, they are offering capabilities you can exploit in electrical engineering, robotics, and mechanisms. Perfect for a variety of fixtures, products, and testing equipment, Legos are easy to find online and in stores. Best of all, they are dirt cheap compared to some of the other prototyping options out there.
Some of my top selections from Legos are their gear sets. With minimal backlash and a variety of sizes and shapes, these gears can accommodate virtually any design. They have axles, worm gears, U-joints, and more that can take your prototype to the next level.
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In addition, gluing and stacking a few of the longer Legos can serve as a solid base or structural component for your design. Using a little Cyanoacrylate (super glue), you can turn a handful of Legos into a virtually indestructible brick. I have used this design in a number of fixtures to great effect. Also, by combining these glued structures and some Lego gears, you can construct custom Robot arms and manipulators on the cheap. As a bonus, it will only take as long as next-day shipping and the time to glue the parts!
Ghosts of Christmas Past
Remember that old dusty VCR in your basement? Or how about that giant monster tube Television in your attic? Do you have a pack of franken-mice burrowing a nest in your computer closet? Well never fear, they don’t have to collect dust any longer. These old items are a wonderful collection of electrical components, especially for prototyping. You can pull resistors and other components from the printed circuit boards inside these great old toys. The best part is that most of them are larger components and are easy to unsolder by hand. Just be careful to use proper electrostatic discharge precautions like static mats, as you can still damage these components. VCRs are a great source for motors, circuitry, and magnetic heads. Printers are useful for cabling, glass, and tons of other bits and pieces. Use your imagination. Go wild. You would be shocked at what you can find and repurpose. One caveat, I recommend testing them before installing into your prototype, but this is usually easily done with just a multimeter on the bench.
In addition to electrical components, these old machines are a treasure trove of mechanical components and chasses too! Belts, screws, rubber feet, and more are available for the taking. With a little modification to a worn sheetmetal or plastic housing and you may just have the enclosure you are looking for. Some primer and paint and now you have a color-matching item with your customer’s logo too. By using a simple stencil and some spray paint, anything is possible.
Copycats
No, I’m not talking about turning an old Xerox machine into a robotic cat! Although that does sound like fun. No, I’m talking about looking at these old designs to influence the new! Toys are cheap, mass produced, and fun. So should your product. These old devices are a great educational tool that should be closely reviewed to inform your new design. Look at how they were joined. Screws? Ultrasonic welding? None of the above? Can you do the same and simplify your design? A simpler design is a cheaper one. How were these components formed? What manufacturing processes were used and can you do the same?
I think you are get the idea.
Other things to look for in old toys are usability, materials, colors, and textures. Are there mistakes you should avoid to make your product easier to use? Could you switch to one of these materials to make manufacturing your device more flexible or cheaper? How was color and texture used on these toys? How did those selections influence how you interact with that device? While material selection, color, and texture could be their own article, it pays to look at old designs and develop a reference library for these things. Collect cool gadgets, mechanisms, and textures. It will speed up your next design cycle and maybe even make your next product that much better. I have a huge library of old parts, toys, and gadgets that I reference when I am stuck on a problem. Most likely, if you are stuck on a problem, there is someone out there who has already solved it. Toys are ingenious for solving problems in simple, cheap ways.
Conclusion
Toys are great. Toys are fun. Most importantly, toys are a great starting point for an amazing prototype. Wow your customers and investors with a fully functional prototype in record time. With a few easy hacks, you can create electronics, mechanisms, and full electrical chasses to test your product ideas. It’s not rocket science, it’s just product development!
How have you used toys to improve your product development process? Let us know.
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