Need help with a prototype

[Josh Owen]

I want to design a charging unit for IPhones. I have made a prototype but it’s not how I want it to be. I want the two separate retractable mechanisms to be connected to one usb output which will stay stationary. The problem I have at the moment is both wires have to be pulled at the same time for it to work effectively. I believe it would be similar to a retractable extension lead but I have no idea what I’m doing!

 

[snowhead]

Slip ring(s) is what the O.P is looking for.
But I'd say the idea is at least £250,000 away from a decent pre production unit.
Prototype Injection moulding is very expensive.

And by the time it's ready Wireless induction for Phones will be the norm, making it obsolete before it hits the shops.

And the Forum is not just picking holes, it's trying to offer constructive criticism.
Have you seen Dragon's Den, they make mincemeat out of some pretty good but uneconomic ideas.

 

[Octopus]

Big. Blocky. Ugly. Mine is going to just fit under a table and hardly be noticed. Would you mind just trying to help me solve my problem please?!?

Then all you need is a shelf under your table .......... then buy the product thats on the market now

 

[Strima]

So basically you want us to design it for you and you take all the credit???

Have you thought about type approval rating, British and European standards compliance etc?

Did anyone else also receive a private message from the OP about this?

 

[Josh Owen]

Slip ring(s) is what the O.P is looking for.
But I'd say the idea is at least £250,000 away from a decent pre production unit.
Prototype Injection moulding is very expensive.

And by the time it's ready Wireless induction for Phones will be the norm, making it obsolete before it hits the shops.

And the Forum is not just picking holes, it's trying to offer constructive criticism.
Have you seen Dragon's Den, they make mincemeat out of some pretty good but uneconomic ideas.

Yes I have seen dragons den and they are business men and women who have succeeded and are willing to give constructive feedback. Most users on this forum however are not constructive. I’m just a 17 year old entrepreneur who has an idea.

 

[Josh Owen]

So basically you want us to design it for you and you take all the credit???

Have you thought about type approval rating, British and European standards compliance etc?

Did anyone else also receive a private message from the OP about this?

I want help and advice I’m not telling you to make the finished product am I?

 

[snowhead]

I want help and advice

You're getting advice.
You're just not listening.

 

[Josh Owen]

You're getting advice.
You're just not listening.

None of it apart from yours was helpful

 

[Andy78]

Yes I have seen dragons den and they are business men and women who have succeeded and are willing to give constructive feedback. Most users on this forum however are not constructive. I’m just a 17 year old entrepreneur who has an idea.

Not much of an idea of how to act though. You are being very demanding.

Please remember that this is a public forum where all are free to comment and people are giving you their time for free.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Some of us here have designed a lot of things and experience shows that you have to ask a lot of questions to get a feel for how something should be done, before looking at the mechanics of it. Otherwise it's like answering the question ' How do I make a car?' without finding out whether the asker has in mind a Lamborghini or a Nissan Micra.

To me, the most important thing you revealed was this:

Aimed more at bars and other waiting areas

I have considerable experience of retractable cable mechanisms in commercial use. They get KNACKERED!! Not just in public areas but in upscale offices and conference rooms. The high-end commercial units sell for upwards of £200 each and some last a year before they are pulled to pieces, springs broken, rollers jammed, connectors squashed and fatigue failures in the conductors. I have personally lain on my back in the middle of the night under boardroom tables fixing and changing them.

So, my advice to you, before trying to find a detailed solution, is to define as well as you can, what you want to achieve. How many mating cycles? How many retraction cycles? What maximum pullout force? Ballpark price? Then if you ask for help, communicate all of this in the enquiry, so that people can get a handle on what is needed.

 

[Josh Owen]

Some of us here have designed a lot of things and experience shows that you have to ask a lot of questions to get a feel for how something should be done, before looking at the mechanics of it. Otherwise it's like answering the question ' How do I make a car?' without finding out whether the asker has in mind a Lamborghini or a Nissan Micra.

To me, the most important thing you revealed was this:


I have considerable experience of retractable cable mechanisms in commercial use. They get KNACKERED!! Not just in public areas but in upscale offices and conference rooms. The high-end commercial units sell for upwards of £200 each and some last a year before they are pulled to pieces, springs broken, rollers jammed, connectors squashed and fatigue failures in the conductors. I have personally lain on my back in the middle of the night under boardroom tables fixing and changing them.

So, my advice to you, before trying to find a detailed solution, is to define as well as you can, what you want to achieve. How many mating cycles? How many retraction cycles? What maximum pullout force? Ballpark price? Then if you ask for help, communicate all of this in the enquiry, so that people can get a handle on what is needed.

Thank you for the highly valuable advice. Perhaps you could share some of your knowledge of retractable cables with me as I literally just came up with the idea I don’t know what I’m doing.

 

[Josh Owen]

Not much of an idea of how to act though. You are being very demanding.

Please remember that this is a public forum where all are free to comment and people are giving you their time for free.

I will act with respect when I am treated with respect sir

 

[Lucien Nunes]

1. There are basically two kinds:
a) where one cable runs from one end to the other, e.g. wound in an S-shape starting the middle, so that when one end is pulled out the other must unwind equally, either being captured inside the unit or paying out the other side. (e.g. cheap retractable headphone cord)
b) where the inner end of the retractable cable is connected to slip rings that complete the circuit between the reel and its fixed hub. (e.g. vacuum cleaner cord winder).

Sliprings are electrically impractical for some kinds of cable (e.g. HDMI) but OK for others probably including yours. I suggest searching patents on Espacenet or other online patent database, and studying the drawings and specifications, to get some background on how everybody else is making these mechanisms...

2. Avoid. Retractable cables will gang up with their mates the flip-up socket modules and come round one evening and give you agro. They certainly do this to me.

 

[Josh Owen]

1. There are basically two kinds:
a) where one cable runs from one end to the other, e.g. wound in an S-shape starting the middle, so that when one end is pulled out the other must unwind equally, either being captured inside the unit or paying out the other side. (e.g. cheap retractable headphone cord)
b) where the inner end of the retractable cable is connected to slip rings that complete the circuit between the reel and its fixed hub. (e.g. vacuum cleaner cord winder).

Sliprings are electrically impractical for some kinds of cable (e.g. HDMI) but OK for others probably including yours. I suggest searching patents on Espacenet or other online patent database, and studying the drawings and specifications, to get some background on how everybody else is making these mechanisms...

2. Avoid. Retractable cables will gang up with their mates the flip-up socket modules and come round one evening and give you agro. They certainly do this to me.

Thank you very much. The prototype i made used type A so you have just answered my question perfectly. Do you have a phone number or email I could contact you on if I could use your expertise anymore??

 

[Lucien Nunes]

No, sorry, I'm kinda busy. I don't mind offering a few pointers but actual projects I'm a bit overloaded with. Best of luck though...

 

[The Ghost]

I’m just a 17 year old

Your profile says 19