Background

 

Jerry, the inventor of the patent pending On Demand Wet Wipes, likes the benefits of sanitary baby wipes but does not like the fact that baby wipes have a tendency to dry out and do not properly disintegrate when flushed down the toilet.

 

Jerry’s solution to this problem is to allow the user to dispense liquid onto the toilet paper sheets before use in order to use it as a sanitary wet wipe!  To make his product as user friendly as possible, Jerry incorporated a mount to attach the unit to the toilet paper spindle as well as a sensor to allow the user to dispense the exact amount of liquid desired prior to use! 

 

Not able to find any cost effective prototype companies in the New York City area Jerry contacted Dirt Cheap Prototypes on the recommendation of a good friend also located in the New York City area who had worked with Dirt Cheap Prototypes for the development of virtual prototypes for his product.

 

 

Design Goals

 

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Once Jerry provided our design team with all of the details about his product we worked together to create a target list of the primary features and functions that Jerry wanted to incorporate into his product design and future prototype which included:

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• Proper sensor activation distance

• Suitable power & liquid flow rate

• Quiet operation

• Reasonably small size

• Replaceable battery operation

• Significant use between battery changes & reservoir refills

• Large reservoir

• Simple, secure attachment to toilet paper spindle

• Aesthetically appealing

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Prototype Design

 

Once Jerry hired DCP, our electrical and mechanical engineers collaborated with Jerry to develop a prototype design for his product that incorporated the above listed  features utilizing off the shelf components where possible, combined with newly designed parts to be custom made using prototype materials and part making processes, all incorporated into a sleek and aesthetic housing.

 

 

BOM Costing

 

After the design was approved Dirt Cheap Prototypes performed DCP studied to BOM (Bill of Material) and determined an estimate to acquire/make all of the parts and also assemble, test and report on the performance of the first prototype.  Upon prototype design approval and receiving the estimate for the first prototype iteration, Jerry hired Dirt Cheap Prototypes to make his first physical prototype.

 

Prototyping

 

After many months of work which included making custom parts in house as well as ordering off the shelf components and custom parts from other sources where needed, all of the components were assembled and tested. After several tests and minor tweaks, Jerry's prototype was completed and shipped to him.  Upon receipt of his prototype, Jerry began working to attract the investment to manufacture his product.

 

Testimonial

 

“Dirt Cheap Prototypes was very honest and straightforward with their pricing and services.  They met all of my expectations and I would recommend them to anyone who is looking for a professional, experienced and competent product development to team to cost effectively assist with the development of a somewhat complex electrical product such as mine.  Assuming I obtain my funding for production I will strongly consider using DCP to assist me with the manufacturing of my product.”

 

Jerry S.

New York City, NY