Guidance Going From Prototype to Production

Projects General Guidance
21

Have you obtained permission from your employer’s lawyers to accept any liability? Does your employer approve of you, an admitted inexperienced individual, doing this as opposed to hiring a consultant with decades of experience?

22

That seems like my boss’s job to figure out. I’m sure that will be one of many determining factors when deciding on what solution to go with, which is not up to me. I am simply providing as many options as I can, I am under no illusion that my solution would be the best one when compared to vendors, but it seems good to explore an in-house solution as a possibility as the alternatives are very costly.

The point of the post is more so how to design a half decent device, which of course includes maintainability, but it’s not really my concern who has to do that maintenance once I’m gone.

23

My opinion is that some people are throwing rocks on your road. That said i don't know exactly what you are trying to do, but

Eh.. What could go wrong ? I mean liability, yeah sure, but what could realistically go wrong.

  • The battery powered part, and the charging of the battery is something to have a really good look at.
  • Who is going to use this device ? You and some colleagues ? If everybody signs a waiver and nobody is pressured into using it, liability is no longer an issue (if it ever really was)
  • It's a data gathering device, so it doesn't actually do anything.
  • If the components individually pass local legislation, combining them in a responsible matter will suffice in most cases. (If the USB hub is FCC approved, and the motherboard is, you can mount them in a box and use them)
  • Make everything lead-free.

There is so much stuff coming in from China that is used on a day to day basis in many businesses, that it is just ridiculous to make a huge fuss about something that doesn't actually do anything. If you start to control a robot, forklift or conveyor belt, the situation changes.

For the rest i think i have shared what i think is the way to go, but share how you want to power and charge your device. There something could go wrong.

24

Sorry but this is 100% wrong. This is not how approval works.

25

If i compile a desktop computer from lose components. I can sell it. I don't need the whole box homologated.

26

I think something is being lost in translation here.

  1. lose components are not the same as approved sub assemblies.

  2. What is homologated ?

  3. Some people have trouble understanding the law. We had one member, from India, who insisted that if something was not specifically mentioned as being illegal was permitted. He wanted to fire a powerful IR Laser into the eyes of people in oncoming traffic to give them the “welders flash” headaches. He couldn't understand that would be a crime of common assault.