I'm working on two projects: one is a water filter that fits in your pocket (currently, I'm designing it in 3D, similar to a bottle cap), and the other is a non-invasive device For vertical height growth, to replace that limb surgery. This one in particular is proving more challenging than the other since it involves biology; I'm still designing it, but The baseline projections are already at 75% of the final target (gross percentage; there are still many errors to be corrected and tests to be carried out). Finally, I need help finding a lightweight website where I can do 3D modeling. I've already tried OnShape, but it crashes too often and doesn't read many files. Does anyone have any suggestions for a mobile version?

Who can recommend someone or a company that is experienced in licensing deals with companies. We do have a prototype and is patent pending.

*** I am not offering service with this post, merely getting a feel of the environment ***

Just wondering if there would be an interest in (up to) 4 axis CNC work

Typical materials:

• 6061 aluminum
• 7075 aluminum
• Brass
• Copper
• Other machinable non-ferrous metals
• Wood
• MDF
• Foam
• Delrin
• HDPE
• Acrylic
• Similar machinable plastics
• unhardened steel (maybe, it is rather rough on the CNC I've got)

Pricing would range from $35 to $125 an hour depending on material typing and required work.

Thoughts?

I’m looking for some advice from people who invent/build their own products alongside a normal job. What kind of job did you do which allowed you to continue to invent on the side.

I come from a marine design/engineering background and I’m proficient in CAD and technical problem solving having worked in the industry for the last 10 years.

About 7 months ago I was laid off and I’ve spent the last 6 months developing my own product, which is now a fully working prototype and pretty much ready for commercialisation. Having solid block of time definitely allowed me to get the idea over the line. The process made me realise this is genuinely what I want to spend my life doing.

The problem is that I need a stable income again.
I could go back into marine design/engineering, but I know I’ll spend all day problem solving and on CAD, then come home with very little energy left for my own ideas.
I’m happy to earn less I just need enough to pay the bills while still having the energy to invent.

I have considered taking a job as a night security in a building so I could focus on designing during the day as a potential option.

So, the main question is what jobs have other inventors done to support themselves which allowed them to pursue their passion? What would you recommend?

Hi r/inventors,

I’m a UK-based product designer. Working across CAD for manufacturing and prototyping, electronics, and software.

I design products for a very specific, narrow industry for a living. I’m the designer behind 4 products (nothing complex) currently selling across the UK, Europe, US, and Canada, and I’m actively designing more. Can’t share references or show the actual designs due to how niche and identifiable the space is, but I’d love to put the same skills to work on something completely different, and build up a broader, shareable portfolio while I’m at it.

What I can help with:

CAD for real manufacturing with proper technical drawings

Arduino/Raspberry Pi, software, and automation.

Turning a rough idea into something buildable. Like strategy, design, prototyping, refining the concept. I just love it.

For the first few projects that genuinely interest me, I’ll help for free, no charge for my time. If it reaches physical prototyping, the inventor covers materials/parts directly, nothing else.

I just want to work on real projects with real passionate people.

If you’ve got something specific you’re stuck on, I’d genuinely like to hear it. Drop a comment or DM and let’s talk about it!

Every time I bump into new inventions - ans I get to see many because I work in an ecosystem where invention is just daily routine - I have this obsessive thought that a truly glorious invention solves a problem in the manner of this rat trap = simple, affordable and irrevocable as a solution (no doubts and double meaning, no confusion on whether the problem is solved or "it is still questionable").

What do you think, inventors?

NIRMANA AI, an AI-powered platform for taking physical products from idea → validation → design → manufacturing → commercialization in one workflow.

Today, the first step is simple: describe what you want to build → generate 2D/3D designs → iterate → export STL / OBJ / STEP.

The bigger vision is to connect the entire journey: validate whether people actually want the product, develop the design, find a path to manufacturing, and eventually bring it to market.

But I don’t want to build this in a vacuum.

I’d genuinely like your honest take:

1. Would you actually use something like this? What would you use it for?
2. Where does your current idea → CAD → manufacturing workflow hurt the most?
3. What would you need to trust an AI-generated design enough to manufacture it?

I’m opening 100 founding members spots — 50 creators + 50 manufacturers — to help shape and validate the platform.

If you think this is a bad idea, tell me why. That’s more valuable than a signup right now.

If it resonates, please claim your spot (no credit card required): https://nirmanaai.com/

~ Thank you

you can buy this idea off me for 1 million dollars

Working through an idea and want the brutal-honesty version of feedback before I go further.

The idea: a genuinely thin, sticker-style Bluetooth tracker (vs. the puck shape most trackers use) aimed at parents tracking kids' stuff — backpacks, shoes, keys. Ring-on-demand through an app.

I know this isn't a new category — Tile (owned by Life360) already markets almost this exact use case, and AirTag covers similar ground. So I'm not asking "is this a good idea in a vacuum," I'm asking: is there a viable way into a market like this as a solo founder, or is this the kind of space where you simply can't compete against an entrenched player with retail distribution and an existing app ecosystem?

Specifically curious about:

• Anyone here gone up against an established player in consumer hardware — how'd you find (or fail to find) a wedge?
• Is "thinner/more sticker-like" a real enough differentiator to build a business on, or is that a feature, not a business?
• Would you pursue this as a standalone product, or look for a narrower angle (a specific niche, a bundle, a different go-to-market) instead?

Not attached to the idea — happy to hear "don't bother, here's why" as much as "here's the actual angle."

I'm about to go all-in on starting a company and I've got three ideas I can't decide between. I don't want validation, I want the holes poked in these before I sink time into the wrong one. Brutal honesty appreciated.

1) Food waste app

Scan your groceries/receipts, the app tracks what's in your kitchen and flags what's about to expire, then suggests recipes built around using THAT stuff up first — instead of "what should I cook," it's "what do I need to use before it goes bad." Shows you stats on food/money saved over time.

2) Modular school bag

One backpack, swappable internal modules that snap in/out (magnets or similar) depending on what you need that day — a wet-item pocket for boots/umbrellas, a snack module, a secure pocket for important stuff, a divider for books/tech. Pitch is "one bag, infinite setups" instead of just another bag with more pockets.

3) Snack brand

Developing a new snack concept and would love to hear what people think before I take it further.

The idea: chocolate-covered granola shards (think raw-cology style — irregular, shatterable pieces rather than a uniform bar) mixed with rice puffs, so you get two different crunches in one bite — dense granola clusters and crisp puffed rice, all coated in chocolate.

I'm aiming it at people who already care about ingredients and food quality (Whole Foods/Wegmans type shoppers), but I want it to be something you'd grab because it looks and sounds genuinely craveable — not because it's "the healthy option." The better-for-you part is meant to be a bonus you discover after, not the whole pitch.

Would love to know:

- Does this sound like something you'd want to try?

- Any snack format/texture combo like this you've seen done well (or badly) before?

- What would make you actually pick this up off a shelf?

What I'm looking for:

- Does any of these sound like something you'd actually pay for, or just "neat idea"?

- Does something like this already exist that I'm missing?

- What's the obvious flaw you're seeing that I'm not?

Go hard on me, I'd rather hear it now than after I've spent money.

How are you guys actually using AI in your builds?
I see a lot of “AI slop” comments, so I figured I’d show one way I’ve worked it into my process.
The first picture is an AI mockup for something I’m currently building. I already knew what I wanted, but I’m not a concept artist. I could spend hours in Photoshop trying to communicate what’s in my head, or I can spend 15–20 minutes talking through the idea, changing proportions, materials and layout until I can actually look at it and say, “Yeah, that’s close enough to start engineering.”
Then I go build it.
The second picture is a cross-cut of the actual wood going into the project. That’s where being wrong starts getting expensive.
The last two pictures are probably the best example of why I use AI this way. They’re early scale prototypes I printed while working through the design.
Neither one is what I’m building now.
That’s the point.
They were cheap enough to be wrong.
If a render is wrong, I make another one. If a scale print is wrong, I lose a few dollars of filament and make another one. If the CAD is wrong, I change it.
Woodworking is different. I can plan everything, draw everything, measure everything four times and still destroy a $70 board with one bad cut. Once I’ve spent hours fitting and machining a piece, every operation after that is risking everything that came before it.
On the actual face for this project, I spent hours trimming some of the visible openings fractions of a pencil line at a time with a router, then finished them by hand with a file. A CNC could have done the same operation dramatically faster, but either way, by the time I’m doing that work I don’t want to still be deciding whether I like the design.
The finished cabinet will have roughly $1,000 worth of wood in it. That’s a really shitty place to discover that the proportions were wrong.
So AI hasn’t replaced CAD, engineering, prototyping, woodworking or fabrication for me. It’s just added another really cheap place to be wrong before the expensive work starts.
Visualize cheaply. Prototype cheaply. Build expensively.
I’m curious how other people are using it in real projects. Where has AI actually earned a place in your workflow?

Hello, I’m an experienced automotive technician who cares about the environment and I would like to a develop a product for the automotive sector that is designed to reduce the amount of oil that leaks into the water supply via runoff. We have all seen oil stains in virtually every parking lot you pull into but have you ever considered how much oil leakage and drips from vehicles impacts our environment?

A lot.

It only takes 1 gallon of oil to contaminate 1 million gallons of fresh water and it is estimated that 180-193 million gallons of oil leak onto our roadways per year. When it rains this oil is mixed with runoff creating slippery unsafe conditions for cars before running off into streams, rivers, lakes and the ocean. When conventional oil was used to lubricate engines and moving parts this was not as big of a problem because it was easier to breakdown through natural processes however premium treated oil has additives designed to prevent this.

My idea combines existing technology with bioremediation to absorb, collect and neutralize the toxic elements of automotive fluids to prevent embarrassing and ugly oil stains in addition to limiting the damage to the environment caused by leaks.

My idea can be implemented by multiple industries like aviation, marine/boating, and even industrial equipment and tractors used for farming. Currently in the USA, large truck fleets are already required to have some sort of oil catch device installed but my design can replace what the existing methods with one cleaner and more efficient.

I’m looking for anyone with experience or skills that can assist in developing my idea into a product that can be licensed to other companies or sold to consumers. I have a basic business plan along with rough drafts of the design but need help with where to go next and someone to bounce ideas off of and collaborate with.

Please feel free to dm me or post any questions you may have.

Here are a few of the many links to organizations which have been working to address the environmental issues caused by runoff.

https://www.wastormwatercenter.org/permit-assistance/municipal/dont-drip-drive/

https://www.need.org/88-2/

https://www.greenwood.in.gov/egov/apps/document/center.egov?view=item;id=5632

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Hey everyone, I’m currently looking for a mentor who can help me take my idea from concept to a real, viable company.
I’m developing Jaya Vision, a wearable technology concept designed to help people who are blind or visually impaired navigate their surroundings more independently. The glasses are intended to combine cameras, sensors, AI, voice guidance, haptic feedback, and other technologies into one wearable device.
I’ve been working on the concept, product specifications, CAD/prototype planning, crowdfunding, and early business strategy, but I’m looking for someone who has real-world experience in hardware startups, consumer technology, AI, product development, engineering, manufacturing, or fundraising.
I’m not looking for someone to simply give me money. I’m looking for someone willing to share knowledge, challenge my ideas, help me avoid expensive mistakes, and teach me how to build this the right way.
If you’re an entrepreneur, engineer, product developer, investor, or someone who has successfully brought a hardware product to market—and you’re open to mentoring an early-stage founder—I’d genuinely appreciate the opportunity to connect.
Even if you can only spare an occasional conversation, I’d be grateful for the guidance.
Technology That Guides.
Feel free to comment or DM me. Thanks for reading.

Does anyone here possess the skills to take a concept from sketch to real? Please comment if you can help.

Hi Everyone, recently I have enrolled in a Capstone Engineering class at my high school. My friends and I are trying to come up with an idea to create something. The goal is to patent something for an A in the class. If any of you guys have problems or ideas, we would love to hear them. I understand people don't want to give away ideas, but if you don't have time or just wish something was a thing, let me know. We have class 4 times a week for the year and really want to do something. Thanks for any comments