Deleted
Deleted Member
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Survey
Mar 28, 2015 8:41:19 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2015 8:41:19 GMT -8
Well guys and gals, I am nearing the final bit of assembly for the Sea Wolf mouthpiece assembly.......most have seen CAD photos of this design. I am expecting to assemble and test my 3d prototype next week. Now for the bad news.......the molds for this have been quoted by several major injection molding companies in the USA and all have either bowed out due to liabilities over their insurance coverage or the molds quoted are extremely expensive.........in the 70-90 k range. The main reason is the complex internal design of the main housing for o-rings.......a special mold has to be made for this. I understand why no one has introduced one to the marketplace. So my concern is.......what are divers willing to pay for a state of the art airflow adjustable mouthpiece? I am looking at between $75-150.00 per piece. This ones features: Large intake and exhalation silicone valves: 34mm Interchangeable mouthpiece bit. ( you can pick your own type if the one included is not satisfactory) Rotatable inner tube to adjust or completely shut off the air flow. (mainly for surface free flow) For visual esthetics; concealable hose connections. This is a CAD photo showing the new horn tightening ring and the compression ring that fits over the hose cup. Only one side is shown and the other shows how the mouthpiece body looks sans the horn and rings.
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Survey
Mar 28, 2015 17:56:45 GMT -8
Post by nikeajax on Mar 28, 2015 17:56:45 GMT -8
Michael, seeing as the going price for a Hope Page is $75, IF, I say if, you can even find one at all, I think you're in a perfect price range. I know you based this one partially on the HP, but I know it's going to be superior, if that is even possible--go figure I personally can't wait to use it-- VROOOOOOM!Jaybird
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Survey
Mar 28, 2015 17:58:48 GMT -8
Post by SeaRat on Mar 28, 2015 17:58:48 GMT -8
I'm with Jaybird--I think this is a good price range. I'd be willing to pay toward the top of that range for a double hose mouthpiece system that did what you advertise.
John
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Survey
Mar 28, 2015 18:07:39 GMT -8
Post by diverdon on Mar 28, 2015 18:07:39 GMT -8
I too think it is a good price range. I have several Hope Page mouthpieces, all of which cost me $75 and up, so paying a little more would not stop me from adding one or to to my collection.
DD
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Survey
Mar 29, 2015 10:33:33 GMT -8
Post by scubadiverbob on Mar 29, 2015 10:33:33 GMT -8
I'd be interested. The real advantage to the Hope-Paige was it could be unscrewed form the hoses so a regulator could be hung up for the hoses to dry out. This was really convent when I was in Norfolk and used to dive in the Chesapeake Bay quite often. Wish I had kept all the stuff I had back then. I had all the overhaul tools for USD and Dacor double hose regulators with quite a few parts and a couple of Hope -Paige mouthpieces .... oh well ...
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Survey
Mar 29, 2015 10:39:11 GMT -8
Post by scubadiverbob on Mar 29, 2015 10:39:11 GMT -8
The quote on injection molding sounds reasonable. Usually, if a company has to design and manufacture the molds it's twice that much. Hope you can get a market. Maybe, look also into selling them to companies that make re-breathers?
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sidm
Pro Diver
Posts: 219
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Survey
Mar 29, 2015 14:34:06 GMT -8
Post by sidm on Mar 29, 2015 14:34:06 GMT -8
Mossback, I would be in for that price range for all the reasons mentioned above.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Survey
Mar 30, 2015 7:02:11 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2015 7:02:11 GMT -8
Well, this is not encouraging.......at this moment 129 views and only six who are interested..........
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Post by surflung on Mar 30, 2015 7:55:10 GMT -8
Michael, your mold tooling costs are out of sight for something that is untested in the marketplace. You'd have to sell a ton of these things just to pay those costs. On the other hand, a good machine shop could make them by machining from aluminum or even plastic in quantities of 100-500 for a much more reasonable cost. AND, if it turns out they sell well enough to justify investing in molds, then you could go that route... IMHO - A survey like this isn't going to tell you much. The only true gauge for what will sell is to actually try making and selling something and see the results. Anything else is a guess.
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Survey
Mar 30, 2015 9:39:44 GMT -8
Post by SeaRat on Mar 30, 2015 9:39:44 GMT -8
Michael,
Please note that the "views" include us going into this site multiple times per person. So it is not representative of the number of people visiting.
John
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Survey
Mar 31, 2015 14:48:41 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2015 14:48:41 GMT -8
Well, I found some manufacturers who had lower prices on their molds.........and I discovered that the design tends to lean toward the expensive side due to production factors and difficulty......so it is back to the drawing board. I have learned some interesting things about plastics and such........enough to actually be able to eliminate 4 pieces of the design........and simplify production.....oh yeah, 3d production printing and machine shop manufacturing of small quantities are not any cheaper.
Note to any would be inventors out there. Designing a great idea is one thing........taking that design and putting it into production is another.........cost and simplicity of tooling and manufacturing becomes lower priced if you consider how your design is to be made while you are putting pencil to paper. Fortunately I have some factory manufacturing experience and did not hit a great wall when I started soliciting bids for tooling.....just stumbled a bit until my feeble old brain remembered stuff I had forgotten. guess I need a shot of ozone....
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