Manufacturing Your Products In China

Manufacturing products in China for the European and American markets have grown exponentially over the last few years. This is due to the cheap labor and cheap manufacturing costs in the country. It's an amazing country with multitudes of companies bidding for whatever you want manufactured. I strongly encourage anyone who has a volume internet market to explore the avenue of manufacturing their products in China. You have absolutely nothing to loose.
Start off by sending drawings or templates of the product that you are considering manufacturing. When they get back to you, they will insist on you ordering a minimum quantity to attain the price quoted. The competition over there is fierce. There should be no problem them sending you a sample of the product that they have manufactured free of charge.
Send your drawings to at least 3 companies to attain 3 different quotes. This means you should get 3 samples back, one each from each company. Whatever the price (there won't be much between them) pick the sample that is the best quality. It will so much pay off in the long run.
Planning and organising are essential when dealing with Chinese companies. Shipping usually takes 6-8 weeks so you must plan ahead at all times. For the first few transactions they might insist that you pay up front for the goods until ye build up a business relationship where then they might give you one or two month's credit.
This is quite normal so you must get references from other companies about the company you intend to do business with. You see, there are companies over there that are one man bands which must be avoided at all costs. Usually the bigger, the better, companies who are already doing big levels of manufacturing for other companies.
I believe for items normally priced around $50 here in the western world, you could get a replica made in china for $8-$10.You must do thorough investigation into the market over there before money changes hands. If you are getting to big sales levels in your business, then manufacturing in China is becoming more and more a viable option every day.
There is money to be made in selling products for other companies, in selling your own products that you are buying wholesale, but when you start manufacturing YOUR OWN products that's when the big margins come in to play. Have a look at China if you have the volume. It could the best move you will ever make.

Advantages of Incorporating

Starting a business or relocating your corporation's headquarters? The state of Florida offers many advantages to those businesspeople seeking to relocate or establish a business in the Sunshine State.
In the first quarter of 2005, Florida's GSP (Gross State Product) was $613.9 billion. This number is up 1.2% from the previous quarter and is up 4.6% from the previous year.
In addition to this robust growth rate, there are also government incentives to encourage businesspeople to conduct business and/or incorporate in Florida. Some examples include targeted qualified industry tax refunds to special zones and sites that eliminate state and local taxes to encourage development. This situation, combined with a trained subsidized workforce, creates favorable business conditions.
Besides being good for business, Florida is also one of the top retirement destinations in the United States. Because it offers a zone 10 gardening season, year-round use of beaches, and exotic flora and fauna, many businesspeople choose to relocate a pre-existing business in Florida.
The strong partnership between government and business leaders in the state suggests that Florida will enjoy solid and sustained economic development in the times ahead. Concerned individuals from all sectors united to rebuild Florida after the devastation of four hurricanes in a short six-week period in late November of 2004. The way the whole state pulled itself together with a steady, resilient message that "business will go on" was very impressive, indeed.

Rapid Technology Prototyping

Rapid technology prototyping, alternately referred to as rapid prototyping (RP), is currently the most advanced method for quickly creating a prototype.

This technology is accomplished by using a rapid prototyping machine. Rapid prototype machines can produce prototypes in mere hours. Depending on the complexity of the prototype, it may take anywhere from just a few hours to a few days for its completion.

Rapid technology prototyping is also commonly called solid free-form fabrication, layered manufacturing, or computer automated manufacturing.

The benefits of using rapid technology prototyping are...

»Any object of any complexity can be formed fairly easily and quickly without the need for machine setup or assembly.»Objects are made from multiple materials or as composites.
»Since usually only a single unit is produced, the costs can be kept down to a bare minimum.

Here's a brief explanation of how it works...

Basically, rapid technology prototyping takes traditional 2 dimensional printing and adds a third dimension to it. Therefore, rapid prototyping machines are fondly called 3 dimensional printers. Rapid technology prototyping takes a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) model and using a laser, creates a physical model out of a variety of media. The media types include paper, ceramic material, wax, or even plastic.

In contrast with most machining processes, rapid technology prototyping is an "additive" technique. This means layers of media (whether paper, ceramic, wax or plastic) are combined to create a 3-D solid object. Most machining processes, such as drilling and grinding, are "subtractive" techniques, where material is removed from a solid block.

The process of rapid technology prototyping is listed out below ...

»First, you need a CAD model of your invention.»Next, the CAD model must be converted to STL (stereolithography) format. This file represents your invention as a series of triangles like that of a cut diamond. STL does not represent curved surfaces, only cut surfaces. However, you can create what appear to be curved surfaces by increasing the number of triangles.
»The STL file will need to be sliced into layers from 0.01 mm to 0.07 mm thick, depending on the build technique you choose.
»Construction of the object takes place layer by layer. The rapid technology prototyping machine builds the layers from the selected media.
»The final step is to clean and finish the prototype. In many instances, it will be sanded, polished or painted.

What is it used for?

Rapid technology prototyping is commonly used by inventors to help communicate their invention to a patent attorney or a trade representative. It may also be used for gaining manufacturing quotes, trying to sway investors and in marketing focus groups. As you can imagine, it is much easier to communicate an invention using a 3-D prototype than with a 2-D drawing or blueprint.

What does it cost?

Of course, costs range due to the complexity and size of your invention. They can also increase if you need additional design work such as painting done. Smaller prototypes can be made using rapid technology prototyping for about $250. You can gain an estimate by calling several companies.

There are limitations to rapid technology prototyping, but it truly is revolutionary. In the past, inventors had to wait weeks, sometimes up to months and pay much higher fees to have a single prototype made.

It is also possible to use rapid technology prototyping for making tools. This technique is known as rapid tooling. In addition, it can even be used for the production of parts and manufactures, known as rapid manufacturing.