PDA

View Full Version : How I made quick money using a laser.


Doug Griffith
02-18-2009, 10:10 AM
It was actually before I owned one but a friend of mine did.

When iPods first came out, if you can believe it, there were no accessories for them on the market. Well, I had just purchased the first generation iPod so I could build tooling around it for another project I had cooked up. The thing was sliding around on my desk with nowhere to go and I got a "novel" idea... It needed a stand.

So I cranked up Illustrator, and put my brain in 3D mode. In about an hour I had a drawing I knew would would work. It was kind of funky looking but form had to follow function in this case.

From there, I emailed the file to my friend about 800 miles away. He immediately cut it out, assembled it, took a photo and emailed it back to me. It worked exactly as I had planned by interlocking together.

I then emailed that photo to an emerging company getting into the iPod market and got an order for 500 units. My next step was to create packaging.

Lasers allow us think outside the box and actually do something about it. I can't think of another process that would have allowed me to go from conception to final product in only a few hours.

Here is an article from 2001:
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/dogcollarlabor-modpod-ipod/

Cheers,
Doug
Angus Hines
02-18-2009, 10:20 AM
Kool idea....are you still selling them?
Doug Griffith
02-18-2009, 10:43 AM
Kool idea....are you still selling them?

Thanks Angus.

I quit selling them years ago along with my other iPod products. The market is is just too saturated now and has evolved past my quick and dirty offering. I've thought about it though.

Cheers,
Doug
Angus Hines
02-18-2009, 10:52 AM
The chinese injection mold strikes again......

.
John Frazee
02-19-2009, 12:59 AM
I need one of these for my Blackberry. Then it would only take one hand to watch the TV on it. Of course the one hand would be holding the magnifying glass! I like the angle it holds the ipod and would like one for my desk.
Rob Young
02-19-2009, 9:40 AM
I need one of these for my Blackberry. Then it would only take one hand to watch the TV on it.

And keep driving with the other hand? :eek::D
Niklas Bjornestal
02-19-2009, 3:15 PM
And keep driving with the other hand? :eek::D
no... thats for holding the coffee, you drive with your knee :D
John W. Love
02-19-2009, 7:05 PM
I saw a woman a while back with her leg up on the dash and she was shaving her leg while driving. Needless to say I got out of her way.
Bill Cunningham
02-19-2009, 9:47 PM
I have a similar little gizmo that clamps onto the dashboard heater vent (no one uses those things for heat anyway) it adjusts to several widths, and holds my GPS so I can quickly reference it and see who's lost, or my cell phone when I have no need to get lost.. My daughter uses hers for her I-Touch rather than be like one of the folks that hand hold their I-Phones while driving by using the standard apple diot fixture (as in I-diot);)
bryan henderson
02-22-2009, 10:12 AM
Doug

Would you be interested in sharing this corel file so that I can make one of these for my daughter's i-pod???

Bryan
Doug Griffith
02-22-2009, 10:41 AM
Hi Bryan,
it's actually an illustrator file and I created it so long ago it's backed up and off my drive. I'll see if I can find it.

Cheers,
Doug
bryan henderson
02-22-2009, 10:57 AM
Doug

That would be great


Bryan
bryan henderson
02-25-2009, 6:31 PM
Doug

I guess you had no luck finding this file, it is my daighter's birthday this weekend and we are giving here an I-pod and would like to make this for her also.

Bryan
Doug Griffith
02-25-2009, 6:53 PM
I just sent you a PM.