Custom Designs

Two Hundred Thirty Third Post: Custom Designs

I was at www.makezine.com waiting for the next volume and on the Blog is a company called Big Blue Saw. The make customized machine pieces. You draw it in CAD and email it to them. Sounds like a good idea. If you are working on a project or fixing a car and you need a special piece just have it machined. Unfortunately there is much describing the company on their site.

So with companies on the web that produce printed circuit boards and companies that make machined parts the amateur has some pretty powerful tools at their disposal. Stuff that was just theory can be built, because building your own equipment would probably require more resources than having a shop put together prototypes.

There is one question what are the laws if an amateur was fortunate enough to come up with something new and revolutionary, how would they protect their work? The company probably keeps records on computer about all the customer’s design history. These people are technically capable so it wouldn’t be impossible to reverse engineer a design. In fact you just gave them the plans so there would have to be some legal agreement.

It is sort of like wood working projects. You can go to craft shops and pay a high price for a work that is ordinary or maybe it is a complex design. Either way once you buy the plans (and have some knowledge of wood working) and make your own. And if the project works and the tools are available you can sell them at your own shop. So the value of the plans has become more valuable than one piece.

So there are probably some legal issues, but the service is available if a part is needed. So until my Make magazine comes in the mail... May the Creative Force be with You